Brad Cook reviews Peanuts: 75th Anniversary Ultimate TV Specials Collection…
Sixty years after A Charlie Brown Christmas ushered in the era of Peanuts TV specials, Warner Bros. has collected 40 of them for this new five-disc Blu-ray release. Some are missing, likely due to rights issues, but the classics are here, along with many deep cuts that casual fans will probably enjoy digging through. The studio included a booklet that runs down all the specials, along with character bios, but there are no bonus features found here. “I got a rock,” as Charlie Brown once said.
My childhood was, shall we say, difficult, but I always looked forward to this time of year because of, among other things, the Peanuts Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials. I loved Charles Schulz’s comic strip, and still do — I think Charlie Brown will always be my spirit animal.
I tried to pass on my love of Peanuts to my kids, but only my daughter has really responded to it (which is fine; my kids are free to create their own identities). She and I have watched the classic specials many times, along with the new ones that have debuted on Apple TV+ during the past few years.
When I first saw the name of this new collection, Peanuts: 75th Anniversary Ultimate TV Specials Collection, I thought, wait, what, 75 years of TV specials? It’s actually been 60 years since the first special aired in 1965, while the comic strip is celebrating its 75 anniversary this year. So if you’re wondering the same thing, there you go.
You’ll find 40 specials in this five-disc collection, along with a nice little booklet that gives a few details about each one and describes the main characters. The very first one, the perennial classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, leads off the proceedings, which features an unbroken run through Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!, which aired on January 1, 1986.
Continuing chronologically, the final special included here is 2021’s Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, which premiered on Apple TV+. The first missing one is Snoopy! The Musical, which originally aired on January 29, 1988. I suppose rights issues with the music may be the reason why it’s missing, and similar intellectual property snags may be responsible for the others left off here too. My understanding is that you can find some of the missing specials on Amazon and/or VHS.
However, you still get the classics in this collection, including 1966’s It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and 1973’s A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Sure, many of these specials can be found on Apple TV+, assuming you’re a subscriber, but fans will appreciate having the discs around, since you never know when contracts will expire and rights will fall into limbo.
Unfortunately, there are no bonus features found on these platters. This is my first time with any of the Peanuts TV specials on home video, so I don’t know what’s been commissioned in the past when it comes to extras. This year’s 60th and 75th anniversaries of the first TV special and the comic strip, respectively, should have warranted some kind of retrospective look back, but, alas, no.
Finally, if it matters to you, you won’t find these specials’ original mono soundtracks, and some of these transfers look worse for wear. However, most of the specials look good, and if you’re even a casual Peanuts fan, you’ll probably enjoy digging into some of the deep cuts found here.
Brad Cook
