'Toon Reviews 8: Peanuts 1970s Special Part 3

There’s No Time for Love Charlie Brown

When it comes to specials that show off Peanuts’ storytelling craft, this special, as unknown as it is, is one of the specials that does it the best.  Practically every minute of it has something great to it that successfully holds the audience’s interests.  Its theme is of the kids struggling with schoolwork which prevents them from thinking of other things in life such as, as the title says, falling in love.  The first several minutes of the special sell the theme with a series of short scenes of many characters doing tests, projects, and homework assignments, all of which sell the appeal of the characters and give the unique feel of reading Peanuts comic strips about school.  Now, as someone who’s spent several years as a student putting schoolwork above everything else, I, and maybe all students, can really relate to these short scenes and the effect it has on the kids.  Also, even if you’re not a student, the school troubles can be seen as any overbearing factor of life, like a job or something.  Anyway, what we see of the gang at school leads us to the main plot of the special where Charlie Brown has to get an A on a report of an upcoming field trip to an art museum to pass the semester.  However, with his reputation of messing up in mind, the special goes in an amusingly interesting direction when he, along with Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie, enter an adjacent supermarket instead of the museum and only Marcie has suspicions that they’re in the wrong place adding an entertaining charm to this plot point.  Speaking of Marcie, this special marks her animated debut. Immediately, she shows off great appeal.  She’s smart in terms of knowledge and to her surroundings, but is nervous when it comes to new activities like field trips.  Her dynamic with Peppermint Patty, whom she calls “Sir” adds to her charm for having someone to look up to for guidance.  This dynamic also benefits Peppermint Patty by presenting her as a loyal friend who helps Marcie through the field trip no matter how hard it turns out to be making her come off as more than the absent-minded character she usually is.  Speaking of which, Marcie also shows how helpful she can be to Peppermint Patty with being social.  Through observing her interactions with Charlie Brown, Marcie discovers that Peppermint Patty’s in love with him, and when Peppermint Patty objects by unintentionally saying no one could ever love Charlie Brown, Marcie points out that was a bad move through noticing that comment seemed to hurt him.  Marcie also puts things right for Charlie Brown letting him know that Peppermint Patty really does like him while also showing affection to him, though wisely behind her friend’s back.  As you can see, Marcie, as well as Peppermint Patty, prove to be the stand-out characters of this special, but really, all the characters shine in here, particularly Charlie Brown, Sally, Snoopy, Linus, and Lucy.  This is perhaps one of the best displays of personalities from the Peanuts cast.  As for how this special ends, it’s actually pretty satisfying with Charlie Brown ending on good terms with Peppermint Patty and Marcie, and even though he went to the supermarket instead of an art museum, that mess-up gets him the A he needs.  He may be built on bad luck, but it really is great to see Charlie Brown get a happy ending every now and then.  This special packs in so much greatness; the story is interesting, all the characters present are utilized greatly, and the themes are relatable and well presented.  It all results in, what I feel, is one of the strongest Peanuts specials conceived.

Highly Recommended

The Ranking

1. There’s No Time for Love Charlie Brown
2. You’re Not Elected Charlie Brown
3. Play it Again Charlie Brown

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next special, the most recognizable one from this decade, the Emmy Award-wining "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."

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

'Toon Reviews 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 18

April Fools Rules

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most charming elements of the show introduced to us in this season is Luan and the many ways she brings comedy into just about any situation.  You can easily tell how passionate she is about making others laugh (or at least try to).  She always knows how to work in a pun or joke to what’s going on and it never feels out of place.  True, some of her jokes don’t always work with some of them coming off as statements with certain words replaced with others that rhyme that anyone can make, but most of the time, they’re clever enough.  Now, because Luan has already shown to almost constantly be making jokes and puns in all the cartoons she’s been in so far, it shouldn’t be a surprise that she wastes no seconds when pulling pranks on the biggest day of all for them, April Fool’s Day.  On this day, she’s shown to pull off some extreme pranks all over the Loud House some of which tend to be very inconveniencing and painful, way beyond the boundaries of her typical puns.  They’re so extreme that the Loud family, parents included, treat the whole house like a war zone that they have to take shelter from that day which is another example of this show’s charming quality of offering a unique perspective of simple situations of life.  While Luan’s pranks really go too far since they cause real legitimate pain and fear in everyone, what keeps them from becoming mean-spirited is how hilarious each of the pranks turn out in execution.  Each prank suits the animation medium for how big and over-the-top they are as well as how they can really take you by surprise whether its raccoons hiding somewhere, exploding sinks and flower sacks, and very springy sofa cushions, and the puns Luan says in response to the pranks being set off only add to the hilarity.  There’s also some heart to the pranks when you consider that Lincoln purposely sets them off while his family stays safe in the name of protecting Ronnie Anne from being pranked whom he hears is coming to visit which also helps make the pranks we see work.  I have to admit that it’s nice that they managed to work in showing how much Lincoln and Ronnie Anne have grown as friends amidst this huge laugh fest with Lincoln risking everything to protect her from Luan’s pranks and Ronnie Anne rewarding Lincoln’s efforts with kindness and a pie to Luan’s face.  They really make a charming couple.  Not to mention, this cartoon really makes you appreciate how Lincoln is wise to his sisters’ antics since he can easily sense a prank to set off while the rest of the family end up walking right into certain pranks without thinking at the end of the cartoon.  For anyone who’s a fan of Luan’s love of comedy, this is a must-watch especially since it has certain factors to make everything work. 9/10

Cereal Offender

 

 

 

 

 

 

As this cartoon proves, you can take the Louds out of the house, but their spirit and chaotic nature will follow them wherever they go.  This can make for something highly entertaining, but in Lincoln’s case, it’s very frustrating and challenging since all he wants to do in this cartoon is complete the grocery shopping and make sure there’s enough left over for a cereal he wants called Zombie Bran as part of a deal he makes with Mom.  While his sisters make Lincoln’s mission more challenging than it already is, they still really succeed in livening up the cartoon.  Everything they do in the supermarket may not be socially appropriate, but it’s fitting for their characters and it’s easy to see that no one has any malicious intent.  Scenes like Lynn rushing around the aisles in a shopping cart, Luan using the produce to make jokes to entertain the customers, and Leni’s naiveté leading her to free lobsters and chickens (who are already cooked) demonstrate how much mileage for entertainment the show can get out of simple story ideas.  That’s one of this its biggest strengths.  Plus, despite his sisters’ antics, Lincoln does manage to fight through them all and get his cereal, and even has a bratty kid who does have malicious intents get what he deserves.  It’s not until near the end of the cartoon when the sisters do start acting jerky when they allow the younger sisters to get the gimmies the moment they find out Lincoln’s trying to get himself a treat despite the fact that the deal with Mom only concerns Lincoln.  There, they honestly do come off as selfish and irrational, and their actions end up getting the Loud family banned from the supermarket and Lincoln getting chastised.  If you were to watch this cartoon for the first time and this scene comes on, you might get the impression that it ruins everything by making what could’ve been a fine and good cartoon a bad one.  Instead, it goes in a much more acceptable direction by having the sisters realize they did wrong, feel bad about it, and make things up to Lincoln by buying him Zombie Bran themselves further showing that despite their antics, the Loud siblings really do care for each other.  It doesn’t excuse their behavior before, but the fact that they regret what they did and that Lincoln got what he deserved has a sense of accomplishment and shows that what we saw from this cartoon was worth it.  This is good because on the whole, this cartoon shows just how entertaining and caring when the moment calls for it the Loud siblings are. 8/10

 

The Ranking

1.      For Bros About to Rock

2.      Undie Pressure

3.      Project Loud House

4.      Space Invader

5.      Driving Miss Hazy

6.      Left in the Dark

7.      Toads and Tiaras

8.      Picture Perfect

9.      House Music

10.  Save the Date

11.  Sleuth or Consequences

12.  Hand-Me-Downer

13.  No Guts No Glori

14.  Attention Deficit

15.  Changing the Baby

16.  Along Came A Sister

17.  April Fools Rules

18.  A Novel Idea

19.  Sound of Silence

20.  Butterfly Effect

21.  A Tale of Two Tables

22.  Cereal Offender

23.  Cover Girls

24.  It’s A Loud, Loud, Loud, Loud House

25.  Overnight Success

26.  In Tents Debate

27.  Out on a Limo

28.  Linc or Swim

29.  The Sweet Spot

30.  Heavy Meddle

31.  Get the Message

32.  Ties that Bind

33.  Making the Case

34.  Chore and Peace

35.  Two Boys and a Baby

36.  The Green House

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode which honestly includes two problematic cartoons with the stupidity-fueled "Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru," and the constantly competitive and twerking "Come Sale Away."