The Movie:

While not as popular (or as good) as the first and best Peanuts Christmas special, I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown still rightfully deserves a spot in any fan's collection. A much more recent offering from Schulz's enduring and endearing creations, it manages to hit that nice mix of humor and sincere sweetness that made the earlier efforts such classics. Warner, as part of their recent wave of Peanuts re-masters releases this one on DVD with, appropriately enough, Happy New Year, Charlie Brown backing it up. Here's a look...

I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown:

This story revolves around Rerun, the younger brother of Lucy and Linus Van Pelt. The holidays are fast approaching and all that Rerun wants for Christmas this year is a pet dog. Lucy, ever the dominant member of the household, is bugging poor Rerun during the kids' Christmas break, telling him that if he thinks she's crabby know to just wait until she gets older. Rerun expresses lament that no one ever listens to little kids, and he's right. After finally reaching the end of his rope, tired of being mistreated by those around him, Rerun turns to the only one who can help him - Snoopy!

As Rerun and Snoopy go about spreading holiday cheer, the sneaky Beagle is knowingly crafting a plot to bring his cousin Spike to the neighborhood for Christmas, meaning that Rerun might just get his wish after all, but really, is Spike the kind of dog that Rerun had in mind when he asked for a dog for Christmas? Rerun soon learns the answer to that question...

Rerun is a little too nice for his own good, which might irk some but at least here he's true to the spirit of the comic strip in which he was introduced and his good intentions and pleasant nature never feels insincere or fake which makes him pretty easy to like. The story has a nice moral to it, as most of the Peanuts material does, and those who had older siblings growing up will certainly be able to relate to the character and his predicament. This special was made after Schulz had passed away and so he obviously didn't have any input here but you've got to give the producers credit for coming up with a story that definitely keeps the tradition, tone and good natured humor alive.

I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown won't ever usurp the first Christmas special. It doesn't quite have the same wide-eyed sense of wonder and down to earth sweetness that made that one so great, but it does come close enough that fans should see that it certainly compliments it nicely. The plot isn't as rich, and often it seems like a series of gags strung together, but the characters are all handled right as is the dialogue and the style. It's not a classic, but it's pretty good.

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown:

This 1986 special follows Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang just as they're about to leave for the Christmas Holidays. A few minutes before the bell rings, Charlie Brown learns that he has to read War & Peace over the break. This is a lot of work, and something he doesn't take too lightly so when Marcy and Peppermint Patty invite him to their New Years Party, he doesn't really think he should go but he does out of obligation to his friends. Linus mentions that 'Many is the book report that he been written by just reading the dust jacket' but Charlie Brown does his best to plow through the mammoth tome, despite constant distractions, and to still find a way to hang out with his friends over the break.

One of the better eighties era specials, this one has got a lot of great humor in it. On top of that, it's got some interesting bits involving the cute red haired girl and the famous dancing Pig Pen. It's well written and features some great jokes that long time fans of the series will appreciate, including some of the long running 'Sweet Baboo' bits with Sally and Linus.

Schulz wrote the script for this one himself so it's not surprising that the dialogue is simply perfect. It's maybe not quite as sweet as some of the other specials have been but it is definitely just as funny if not more so than most of them. Of course, a Snoopy related subplot involving the celebrations he and Woodstock plan is an obvious highlight but most of the enjoyment comes simply from watching the kids deal with their problems, all of which may seem inconsequential to adults but which, as kids, we'd all handle with just as much heaviness and drama.

Video:

Everything in this set shows up in 1.33.1 fullframe, just as it should be. The quality is very good and there's really very little to complain about. Colors look nice and bright without appearing overcooked and there are only minor instances of any noticeable serious print damage (just specks here and there). Some mild grain is visible in some spots but that's completely forgivable, it just looks more film like. There aren't any problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement to complain about and overall the material looks pretty impressive, though the fact that the transfers are interlaced is irritating.