Since 1950, Charles Schulz' Peanuts has remained a popular and enduring franchise celebrating the life and times of Charlie Brown and company. This lovable loser, clad in his trademark yellow and black shirt, has been the centerpiece of a long-running comic strip and appeared in countless animated full-length films and shorter TV specials. The very first Peanuts animated feature, A Charlie Brown Christmas, aired in 1965 to enormous success---and like nearly all successes, sequels were inevitable. For the most part, these animated specials were based on original Peanuts comic strips, which were fleshed out to create fully-realized 25-minute adventures. Featuring simple yet charming animation, a cast of child voice actors and music by Vince Guaraldi (until his death in 1976, though his music was often used posthumously), Peanuts animated specials have become a staple of American television for decades.

As pointed out in an accompanying behind-the-scenes featurette, You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown was created smack-dab in the middle of Peanuts' 50-year run. Originally broadcast in 1975---soon after motocross was introduced to American sports fanatics, mind you---this athletic adventure serves up plenty of thrills, chills and spills. After Peppermint Patty shows off her new dirtbike to Charlie Brown and company, she informs them of an upcoming race: the winner scores two Pro Bowl tickets, so it's a no-brainer. All good ol' Chuck has to do is buy a bike---but since he's short on cash, he's stuck with one that resembles his Christmas tree ten years earlier.

Nonetheless, he's determined to enter the race, even with the stiff competition of Peppermint Patty, some kid named "The Masked Marvel" and a gaggle of assorted no-names. As Charlie Brown's pit crew (read: Linus) and the rest of the gang watch from the sidelines, it looks as if slow and steady might actually win the race. Even a trip to the hospital (and kennel), along with the acquisition of a more organic bike helmet, doesn't seem to slow our hero down. But will the round-headed kid finally pull off a victory? And even if he does, will his prize be worth all of that hard work?

The more things change, the more they remain the same---and that's not just in reference to Charlie Brown once again missing a place-kick, Snoopy's brawl with an inanimate object and Linus' well-spoken words of wisdom. Things were changing behind-the-scenes as well, though the steady direction of Schulz and the late Bill Melendez kept everything tied together nicely. Vince Guaraldi died a year after production was completed---so even though child voice actors had changed several times in the past decade, You're A Good Sport feels like one of the last "original" Peanuts specials. Though it's not quite at the top of Schulz' back catalogue, it's easily one of his more entertaining and enduring non-holiday specials. I'll admit to only seeing this special maybe once or twice growing up---so though my memory was a bit cloudy, it didn't hamper my enjoyment one bit.

Since You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown has held up so well during the past 34 years, it's fitting that Warner Bros. would give it special treatment as one of their Remastered Deluxe Edition titles. Paired with the like-minded You're The Greatest, Charlie Brown (covered in more detail below) and a spirited behind-the-scenes featurette, die-hard Peanuts disciples should enjoy this release from top to bottom. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, You're A Good Sport looks excellent from start to finish. The color palette is natural and vivid, black levels are rock solid and overall image detail defies the production's limited budget. Digital problems, including edge enhancement and interlacing, are virtually non-existent. From top to bottom, Warner's remastered visual presentation is fantastic and should certainly please fans of the franchise.

Like the studio's other Peanuts releases, this Deluxe Edition's audio treatment is also satisfying in its own right. Presented in its original Dolby Digital Mono (and also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese), the dialogue and music cues are generally crisp and clear. Very slight amounts of hiss and crackling can be heard along the way, but this is undoubtedly due to the source material. Optional English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Thai subtitles are included during the main feature(s) only.

Next up is "Dust Yourself Off and Pick Yourself Up, Charlie Brown" (11:35, below right), which provides a bit of background for You're A Good Sport. Participants include Craig Schulz (son of Charles), Peanuts historian Nat Gertler, animation historian Jerry Beck and author Shari Young Kuchenbecker (not sure why she's on here, to be perfectly honest). Overall, this is a fairly solid behind-the-scenes piece: Craig Shulz details his passion for the then-fledgling sport, which is filled out nicely by vintage photos, home movie clips and modern footage of his bike collection. Other comments are often of a more historical nature, though the context is appreciated. It's obvious that there wasn't much more ground to cover here, but "Dust Yourself Off" is a welcome addition and should please Peanuts fans overall. As a footnote (and minor complaint), the included clips from You're A Good Sport aren't from the remastered print---but on the bright side, it's good for comparison's sake.

Both extras are presented in 1.33:1 format, but only You're The Greatest includes optional captions and subtitles. This proves to be mildly disappointing: when a studio bothers with 7 sets of subs during both featured shorts, why not go the whole way?

Continuing their trend of lightweight but enjoyable Peanuts Deluxe Editions, Warner Bros. serves up You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown with style. This off-road adventure has aged fairly well in the last 44 years, thanks to a familiar blend of colorful characters, terrific music and round-headed determination. Schulz' finely-sharpened sense of humor is on display at every turn, while the deceptively simple animation also manages to carry its own weight. The overall presentation of this release is easily on par with other Deluxe Editions, boasting a rock-solid technical presentation and a pair of appropriate bonus features. Casual fans may be satisfied with a rental, but die-hard Peanuts disciples should pick this up without hesitation. Firmly Recommended.