'Toon Reviews 8: Peanuts 1970s Specials Part 11

What a Nightmare Charlie Brown

This Peanuts special leaves me with mixed feelings.  I actually owned this special back in the days of VHS, yet I don’t recall watching it all that much.  It’s not bad, but certain factors of the story rub me the wrong way.  The meat of the special is led into by moments of Snoopy being criticized for being “overly-civilized.” That may be true, but I personally don’t get why it’s a problem.  All Snoopy does is show that he doesn’t want to join Charlie Brown in playing sled dog and then make himself a big pizza dinner which is normal for him.  Through it all, Charlie Brown keeps lecturing him about how Artic dogs live mostly with how they always have to pull mushers and eat once a day.  But, why does Snoopy need to know all this?  They don’t live in the Artic, and even though it’s snowy now, another season will come and he won’t be able to live like an Artic dog, so there really isn’t anything wrong with Snoopy going about life the way he does.  With that in mind, I don’t feel like Snoopy is deserving of what he goes on to endure.  Due to eating all that pizza, Snoopy dreams of being part of an actual sled dog team.  These instances just feel really out of place in the light-hearted slice-of-life world of Peanuts.  The sled dogs aren’t a cartoonish interpretation of sled dogs with relatable human qualities.  They look, behave, and sound like actual sled dogs, and they make the special really intense.  I’m all for raising tension, but since this is still part of a Peanuts special, the intensity is a little much, and since it doesn’t really feel like Snoopy deserves to be put through all this, it's hard to watch.  Also, these dogs are way too cruel to Snoopy.  They bark loudly at him, they won’t let him join in their howling, they won’t even let him eat.  Snoopy may be too privileged compared to these dogs who have to work all the time, but that’s just how he was brought up, and because of how cruel the sled dogs are, it’s also way too painful to watch him go through this.  Of course, this special becomes hard to watch when Snoopy enduring the sled dogs is the bulk of what we see.  There’s a break in the action where we get the fun antics we expect from Snoopy when he sneaks into a bar, but they don’t have a strong connection to the main plot and feel like they’re only there to pad out the running time, so when Snoopy’s back with the sled dogs, we’re forced to endure his unnecessary cruelty once more.  What a mood whiplash.  Eventually, Snoopy overpowers the bully dogs by becoming savage himself.  While it’s great to see Snoopy get back at the dogs who caused him pain, being forced to do this really isn’t like him.  The most appealing thing about Snoopy is that he’s not like other dogs, so for him to just go and act like a real one doesn’t feel right, and that’s not an appropriate way to feel towards a popular cartoon character.  Plus, since it’s clear from the beginning that everything Snoopy endures is a dream, all these cruel and out-of-character moments come off as pointless that we as an audience shouldn’t have had to watch.  For all my animosity towards the plot, I do feel like the idea of an outsider dog being thrown in a darker environment who grows to overpower everyone is an interesting one, and it’s interesting that it’s done without dialogue.  It just doesn’t feel right for a character like Snoopy to be put through it.  For his sake though, it’s nice that the special ends with him waking up in the real world, Charlie Brown allows him to spend the night with him, and he treats himself to a nice ice cream sundae.  On the whole, this special is pretty bothersome in parts, but the interesting story idea and dialogue-less setup prevent it from being bad.  Some people might like it because of the story, but others who respect Snoopy might not be inclined to watch it more than once.

Worth a Look

The Ranking

1. There’s No Time for Love Charlie Brown
2. It’s the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown
3. You’re Not Elected Charlie Brown
4. You’re a Good Sport Charlie Brown
5. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
6. Be My Valentine Charlie Brown
7. Play it Again Charlie Brown
8. It’s a Mystery Charlie Brown
9. It’s Arbor Day Charlie Brown
10. What a Nightmare Charlie Brown
11. It’s Your First Kiss Charlie Brown

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last special of this decade where Charlie Brown takes up another unique sport in "You're the Greatest Charlie Brown."

If you would like to check out other Peanuts special reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.