Product Details

• Actors: Duncan Watson, Stephen Shea, Melanie Kohn, Greg Felton, Lynn Mortensen
• Directors: Phil Roman
• Writers: Charles M. Schulz
• Producers: Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: January 9, 1996
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303152821
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,795 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz retired from the cartoonist's life early in 2000, and indeed left a few loose strings hanging among his chronically dissatisfied characters. He never did, for instance, cut Charlie Brown much slack in the romance department (or let him kick Lucy's football, for that matter). Sympathetic readers might have taken note of a story in the press just before Schulz said farewell, in which the inspiration for Charlie Brown's unrequited love interest--the never-seen, too-distant, "little red-haired girl"--was identified as a woman who turned down a marriage proposal from Schultz a half-century ago. That bit of biographical detail now adds poignancy to Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, a 1975 television special built upon years of Valentine's Day "Peanuts" strips. This half-hour show finds Charlie Brown suffering, typically, the ignominy of receiving no hearts-and-flowers greetings while the rest of the gang, including Snoopy, spend their day sorting through piles of love notes. Worse, Schulz's famous sad sack can't get up the nerve to approach his unapproachable angel, though there may be--just may be--a glimmer of hope this time around. It may be Valentine's Day, but not much else is different in the "Peanuts" neighborhood. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover

Love is in the air, but will it be in the mail? Charlie Brown waits by his mailbox, hoping someone will send him a Valentine's Day card.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", February 17, 2008

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (Remastered Deluxe Edition) (DVD)

This Peanuts DVD includes three love-related specials. The title feature, "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" is the first of the three cartoons on the disc. This special aired on television in 1975 and was nominated for an Emmy. Mostly based around Schultz's original strips, the main story follows Charlie Brown as he survives Valentine's Day. The cartoon begins with Snoopy dancing around as cupid and trying to hit Charlie Brown and missing every single time. Charlie Brown faithfully checks his mailbox hoping to get a Valentine and brings a briefcase to school to carry home all the cards he plans to receive. Meanwhile, Linus has a crush on his teacher and buys her an expensive box of chocolates as a gift that Sally believes is for her.

The second special on the disc is "You're in Love, Charlie Brown". The school year is quickly approaching the end of the year and Charlie Brown finds himself head over heals in love with the cute little red-haired girl in his class. He fights to overcome his shyness to speak with the girl before the school year ends because after that, he won't be able to see her until the fall.

The third and final special on the DVD is "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown". This time it's October and the school is gearing up for the big homecoming game and dance. During the homecoming parade, Charlie Brown is informed by Linus that he's going to be the queen's escort at the dance and he will have to kiss her on the cheek. The Queen is none other than the little red-haired girl and Charlie Brown finds himself more nervous than he's ever been before. Of course, before the homecoming dance there's the big homecoming football game.

In addition to a few trailers, BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN also includes a featurette documentary, "Unlucky in Love: An Unrequited Love Story." I really enjoyed this documentary. It includes interviews with Jean Schulz, Charles' widow; his son Craig; Stephan Pastis the creator of "Pearls Before Swine", and several others. They talk about the reoccurring theme of unrequited love that appears in "Peanuts", who the real little red-haired girl was, and why "Peanuts" remains relevant.

BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN is a must-own DVD for any "Peanuts" fan.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Peanuts holiday outing, April 3, 2000

By 

D. Anderson (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peanuts: Be My Valentine Charlie Brown [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" is a worthy addition to the Peanuts pantheon of prime-time holiday specials. Guess how many valentines Charlie Brown Receives? (The painful in-class distribution of cards rings true to my own childhood experience. In my kids' classes, they now require them to bring valentines cards for everyone, probably to avoid the tragi-comic scene that Charles endures so charmingly.) Even funnier is Linus's pining for his teacher, and Sally's mis-reading of the gift-buying by her "sweet babboo." As with all of the best Peanuts videos, this one works on (at least) two levels: Plenty of kid-friendly humor and hijinx, as well as wry dialogue for the more sophisticated viewers. Buy it with confidence.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Send Your Valentines to Charlie Brown!, October 18, 2000

By 

W. Langan "take403" (the end of the world to your town!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peanuts: Be My Valentine Charlie Brown [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I remember how excited I was when this special 1st debuted in 1975. Charlie Brown has high hopes of getting lots of valentine this Valentine's Day including one from the beloved little red haired girl (he brings a suitcase to school). Linus has spent his allowance on a big heart-shaped box of candy for Miss Orthmar and Voilet inquires about heart-shaped shaving lotion for her teacher (who's a man). Lucy asks Schroeder: "Do you realize you could lose me some day?". Sally thinks the box of candy her sweet babboo bought is for her. Snoopy does his hand-puppets show (or should we say "paw-puppets"?). Funny and sad, this special got a lot of valentines sent Charles Schulz's way when it was 1st aired, all for Charlie Brown!