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Charles Schultz was part of the American landscape
for so long that it's hard to believe that he's gone. He
became an icon of the 20th century and the characters he
created from Charlie Brown to Lucy resonated with us because
they were universal and iconic themselves. The Peanuts cartoons
now gives us a unique window into the character, humor and
concerns of children and living in America. Sometimes humor
and a simple comic strip like "Peanuts" can reach far beyond
its original ambition and touch on much deeper elements
of American society. That's why Schultz's creation tends
to resonate while others such as "Garfield" will probably
be forgotten in another fifty years. The humor tends to
be universal and yet unique while the characters reflect
issues that face us even as adults. ***
This collection takes the cream of the "Peanuts" cartoons
that became popular during the 60's. Bill and Lee Melendez
the directors of these TV specials recognized that they
really couldn't mess with much in Schultz's universe because
to do so would cause the loss of the appeal of these characters.
Instead, he built on their world using natural extensions
of Schultz's ideas and sought Schultz's input as writer
and creator of these characters. Consisting of "A Charlie
Brown Christmas", "Charlie Brown's All-Stars", "It's the
Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", "You're in Love Charlie Brown",
"He's Your Dog Charlie Brown" (which appears for the first
time on DVD), "It Was A Short Summer Charlie Brown" (also
on DVD for the first time). Two of these became seasonal
favorites and while all of them enjoyed popularity, some
haven't been seen on TV in quite some time. ---
Image & Sound:
Schultz and Mendez would be pleased as all of these
have been extensively cleaned up for their DVD presentation.
The colors positively pop and detail is extremely good.
The original soundtrack is presented with a focus on making
sure dialogue is clear throughout. ---
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