This is the last Peanuts TV special released during the
1960s, and while it’s overall very good, this is one I personally get the least
amount of entertainment out of, regarding the 60s anyway. The
story is told through flashbacks that Charlie Brown and his friends look back
on as they write a 500-word essay about what they did over their summer
vacation for school. Through the
flashbacks, we see the Peanuts gang get up to so many escapades at camp, which
is another common trope from the comic strips making its animated debut. It should probably be noted that the reason
Charlie Brown and the boys end up going to camp is because Lucy went behind
their backs and signed them all up and convinced their parents that they wanted
to go. I find myself amused by the scene
for the boys’ reactions, especially Charlie Brown alluding being signed up for
camp to getting drafted, as well as disturbed that Lucy has the kind of power
to rob so many kids of their summer and rope them into something they really
don’t want to do. This has got to be one
of her nastiest moves. Anyway, this
scene is a good way to foreshadow what most of the special consists of while
the Peanuts gang is at camp. Much of
what we’re exposed to are scenes of the boys and the girls competing against
each other in various camp activities, and the girls having great fun with them
and coming out on top, while the boys just can’t seem to find victory at
anything they do and just feel miserable especially when the girls constantly
rub their victories in the boys’ faces.
At first, it’s easy to get some mild enjoyment out of this setup, but to
me moments like this seem to go on too long and just make me pity the boys and
their failures instead of enjoying myself.
Also, considering the time this special first came out, I like that it
shows that girls are capable of being strong and victorious, but it doesn’t
completely work since in making the girls look strong, they had to make the
boys look weak. The goal is kind of
botched if you’re just going to put another group of people in the role society
had constantly put women into at the time.
Easily the most entertaining parts of the camp scenes involve Snoopy
living it up at camp amidst the boys’ misery since any scene of a male
character enjoying himself can liven up this story at this rate. Now, because of Snoopy actually having a good
attitude at camp he ends up being the most athletically capable member of the
boys’ team. As a result, he becomes the
centerpiece of the climax of the special where he takes on the character of a
figure known as the Masked Marvel and challenges Lucy to a wrist-wrestling
contest. This climax is easily the
strongest point of the special with so much intensity packed into the
background music as well as the animation which really entices you to root for
Snoopy to win the boys a much-needed victory against the girls. Speaking of the animation, it really goes out
of the box and wild as we see the effects the wrist-wrestling has on Snoopy and
Lucy with a lot of detail going into their strained faces and sweat. Then, the whole scene caps off in a typical
Snoopy fashion where he wins the match with a kiss while all Lucy can do is
pitifully attempt to call it a foul.
Yes, this part of the special is packed with so much greatness that you
can easily see why Charles Schultz himself considered it his favorite piece of
Peanuts animation. As great as the
payoff was, it’s not really enough to shake off the somewhat depressing tone of
the story, especially since after that, we cut to the present where we learn
that Charlie Brown failed to meet the 500-word requirement for the paper and
laments that it was a short summer, and that “it’s going to be a long
winter.” This tone does work since I
feel like kids can really identify with the overall story when they experience
summer vacation, realize it goes by so fast, and end up back in school before
they know it. Because of that, I can say
this special is worth a look, and you can get a good amount of enjoyment out of
it, just not as much as other Peanuts specials, during or after this decade.
Recommended
Ranking
1) A Charlie
Brown Christmas
2) It’s the
Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
3) He’s Your
Dog Charlie Brown
4) You’re in
Love Charlie Brown
5) Charlie
Brown’s All-Stars
6) It Was A
Short Summer Charlie Brown
Final Thoughts
The Peanuts specials are some of the most famous animated
series of all time, and their debuting decade features some truly great
performances and really show off how capable Schultz’s characters are of the
animation medium. The stories are
simple, but the way they are executed allow them to come off as universally
appealing filled with great humor from how the characters perceive the
childhood events they go through, strong and honest messages, and a certain
edge to the atmosphere by showing off how mean the world can be, even if it
sometimes goes too far. Plus, following
the prevalent failure, Charlie Brown, through these specials allows the
audience to see themselves in the situations that aren’t far off from what they
go through in life. I think it’s pretty
common for a lot of people to find difficulty in certain things like finding
out the meaning of Christmas, or winning a ball game, or trying to talk to a
girl, or surviving summer camp. In
getting through these challenges, there are just so many obstacles that stand
in your way, but many of these specials show that through trying and never
giving up, you end up with something that makes it all worth it. The point is made so strong in this decade, I
can definitely say that this was when the Peanuts specials were in their prime. While your favorite specials from the decade may
end up being everyone else’s favorite specials from the decade, those being the
two holiday specials, the other four are really nothing to push aside, with
some of them worthy of being in the same league as the big two. What makes the decade really stand out are
just how strong the little things of the specials are. The characters featured have a lot of
memorable moments revolving around their identifiable traits, the simple
animation of Bill Melendez immerses you into the childlike world with the simple
backgrounds, solid colors, and the limited movement, which honestly when put
together looks like a work of art, and most of all, the jazz music of Vince
Guaraldi is in top-form. The music just
seems to bring everything from the writing, to the animation together, creating
an atmosphere unique to this series of specials which keeps you invested in
what’s going on, even if it’s not much.
Some of the most effective jazz pieces that do this include “Baseball
Theme,” “Skating,” “Great Pumpkin Waltz,” the title themes from “You’re in
Love,” “He’s Your Dog,” and “It Was A Short Summer,” and of course the anthem
of the Peanuts specials “Linus and Lucy.”
This decade really demonstrates how Vince’s music added a lot to the
Peanuts specials, and that his passing in 1976 was quite a cost, but that’s for a future post. For the decade
as a whole though, there’s just so much to appreciate that makes the specials
stand out better here than in any other period.
Whether you’re a big Peanuts fan, or a mild one who only
knows the series for its holiday specials, all the specials from the 1960s are
worth a spot in your animation collection.
Buy them on DVD separately or together in the 1960s Collection Box Set
ASAP.
Highly Recommended
That's all the reviews for the Peanuts specials of the 1960s. Next time we'll be covering the first season of the recent Nickelodeon hit, The Loud House. Until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
No comments:
Post a Comment