A Charlie Brown Christmas
by Bill Melendez
from Paramount
This half-hour Christmas show is one of the truly lovable animated specials in TV history, a status proved by its annual network telecast since 1965. A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first, and best, of a series of programs based on the Charles M. Schulz cartoon strip "Peanuts." Hapless hero Charlie Brown finds himself depressed at Christmastime, searching for the true meaning of the holiday amidst the glitz and commercialism of the modern age. Appointed director of the school holiday pageant, Charlie Brown ventures out with Linus to buy "a great, big, shiny aluminum Christmas tree." Instead they bring back a miserable tree--a real one. A Charlie Brown Christmas shows off the "Peanuts" gang doing what they do best: Lucy is bossy, Snoopy is crazy, Linus is sweet, and Pig Pen is, well, filthy. Instead of using adult actors trying to sound like kids, the production features real children providing the voices, an endearing effect. The jazz music score, composed by Vince Guaraldi, has become a classic in its own right; like so much about this program, it's an unexpected but perfectly right choice. --Robert Horton
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
by Bill Melendez
from CBS Television
Charlie Brown gets rocks in his trick-or-treat bag, Linus awaits a visitation from the Great Pumpkin in his terribly sincere pumpkin patch (while the adoring little Sally sits tight with him), Snoopy falls asleep, Lucy harasses Schroeder, and Pig-Pen kicks up a dust storm even beneath his costume in this classic television broadcast. Funny stuff, but also graced with Charles Schultz's more poignant and gently satiric themes from the 1960s on the influence of faith, failure, and hope in our lives. --Tom Keogh
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
by Bill Melendez
from Warner Home Video
IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN (DVD MOVIE)
Charlie Brown gets rocks in his trick-or-treat bag, Linus awaits a visitation from the Great Pumpkin in his terribly sincere pumpkin patch (while the adoring little Sally sits tight with him), Snoopy falls asleep, Lucy harasses Schroeder, and Pig-Pen kicks up a dust storm even beneath his costume in this classic television broadcast. Funny stuff, but also graced with Charles Schultz's more poignant and gently satiric themes from the 1960s on the influence of faith, failure, and hope in our lives. --Tom Keogh
Peanuts - This Is America, Charlie Brown
by Sam Nicholson
from Paramount
An eight-part series from 1988, This Is America, Charlie Brown sets the familiar "Peanuts" characters into scenes of American history: on the Mayflower, at the signing of the Constitution, at Kitty Hawk with the Wright Brothers, on the NASA space station, etc. Mostly written by Charles M. Schulz and produced by the team of Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, it's a mix of cartoon humor (Lucy will pull the football away in any era, and Ben Franklin can actually get Charlie Brown's kite in the air to discover electricity) and history lessons that are sort of like Schoolhouse Rock but longer and drier. Vince Guaraldi's famous music is now performed by jazz veterans Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, and David Benoit, plus pianist George Winston. A few episodes are structured a little differently, giving overviews of inventors (Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, Edison's phonograph), the Smithsonian and the presidency (Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt), and musicians (Stephen Foster, Scott Joplin). In the dullest episode, Charlie Brown narrates the building of the Transcontinental Railroad action in the form of a school report, and it feels like one. Endless recycled footage of people driving spikes alternated with vintage photographs splashed with pastel colors is somewhat rescued by the nice use of American classic songs performed by the Winans. This Is America, Charlie Brown isn't the most entertaining "Peanuts" you'll ever watch, but it's not bad as a sneaky way to teach history to kids. (One installment, "The Mayflower Voyagers," was previously released on the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD.) --David Horiuchi
This is America, Charlie Brown, the series is a special 2 disc set containing all 8 episodes of everyone's favorite peanuts pals traveling through time to visit important places and events in American History. This release is both entertaining and educational.
C.S. Lewis': The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
by Bill Melendez
from Allumination
This animated feature is based on the first tale in C.S. Lewis' classic "The Chronicles of Narnia." Two brothers and two sisters travel through a magical closet into a land of talking animals and mythical creatures.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: UNRATED UPC: 084296409228 Manufacturer No: 40922
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
by Bill Melendez
from ABC Television Center
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown might otherwise be called "Peanuts: The Next Generation" for its sprightly emphasis on Linus and Lucy's younger brother, Rerun, and his quest to be worthy of a pet pooch. Like a, well, dog with a bone, Rerun is intent on forging a happy friendship with a canine as cool as Charlie Brown's Snoopy--in fact, he keeps coming around to see if Snoopy wants to play. (Of course, Snoopy's idea of playing is making Rerun his co-pilot in the imaginary cockpit of his imaginary World War I bomber.) This holiday season television special is not the wise, enduring classic that is 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it is charming and sweet, particularly when Snoopy's brother, the desert-dwelling Spike, comes to stay. Schroeder fans will enjoy the usual shtick between love-struck Lucy and the piano genius' detachment. --Tom Keogh
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
by Bill Melendez
from Allumination
Frosty the Snowman/Frosty Returns
by Jules Bass
from Classic Media
Jimmy Durante narrates this Christmas story that is based on the song of the same name. To make up for the fact that her students are in school on Christmas Eve, the local schoolteacher hires the magician Professor Hinkle to entertain the kids. Unfortunately, he's not a very good magician. Frustrated in his attempt to pull a rabbit out of his hat, he throws it away in anger. Outside, the kids build a snowman (what to call it? Harold? Oatmeal? Frosty!), and when the hat blows onto it, the snowman comes to life. Professor Hinkle decides he wants the hat back so he can make money off of its newfound magical properties, but the kids want to save Frosty. When the temperature starts to rise, a new problem threatens Frosty's existence. Karen, the leader of the children, comes up with a plan to save him: take him on a train to the North Pole, where it's always cold. With a cameo by Santa Claus and the promise of Frosty's return every year, this story of life, death, and holiday cheer is glazed with the sweet frosting of hope and happiness. A true holiday classic. --Andy Spletzer
The Original Television Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town / Frosty the Snowman / Frosty Returns / The Little Drummer Boy)
by Jules Bass
from Classic Media
The original television holiday classics now are available with deluxe packaging and a 12-song music CD with music from the all-time favorite television specials known the world over!
"Frosty the Snowman:" When Frosty the Snowman comes to life, he must weather a storm of adventures and the dastardly plans of an evil magician before he can find safety and happiness at the North Pole.
"Frosty Returns:" This is the adventure of a little girl named Holly and her very special friend, Frosty the Snowman. Holly has to convince the people of Beansboro to save the magical winter dust--and Frosty--when a power-hungry tycoon invents a product that will eliminate snow. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:" Christmas has been cancelled! Or, it will be if Santa Claus can't find a way to guide his sleigh through a fierce blizzard. Rudolph to the rescue!
"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town:" A cheery, delightful story tells how Kris Kringle got his start as the world's most famous gift giver by struggling to bring toys and happiness to the children of Sombertown.
"The Little Drummer Boy:" In this touching Christmas classic, an evil man kidnaps an orphaned drummer boy. After he escapes, he searches for his camel and finds him at the birthplace of the baby Jesus. Having no gift for him, he gives the only gift he has--a song on his drum.
All five titles are on three discs and contain Spanish-language tracks.
A Charlie Brown Valentine
by Bill Melendez
from Paramount
Love fills the air as Valentine's Day approaches--but it's mostly unrequited love for the Peanuts gang, in A Charlie Brown Valentine. The first new Peanuts feature to be created after cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's death in 2000, this 25-minute show looks and sounds like earlier Charlie Brown fare: vividly animated round-faced kids (penned by the king of the uberpopular newspaper comic strip, himself) and a skippy piano score. Chuck still can't attract the little red-headed girl, Peppermint Patty can't sway his affections, and Schroeder ignores Lucy's blatant request for kisses and chocolate. But this story lacks the heart of Charlie Brown's Halloween and Christmas specials, in which characters occasionally step away from their ponderings to skate, dance, or just act like kids. Instead, chronic whining hogs nearly all the action. When Chuck finally dons a tuxedo for his date at the school Valentine's Day dance, the payoff feels too little, too late. (Ages 5 and older) --Liane Thomas
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