Our Peanuts Film Festival series continues with the Peanuts film from 1977. That would "Race for your Life, Charlie Brown". This would be the penultimate film in the catalog that was made when Schulz was alive. The movie first came out in Japan, then the United Sates in summer of 1977. It's not a long movie, clocking in about 90 minutes, it would be good for a TV movie length to get about 2 hours on your station.
The theme music is awesome. The movie is about summer camp. Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucky, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sally, Franklin, and Schroeder all together on a camping trip. Sot he movie starts with the characters on a bus on the way to camp. The bus has a tire blow out, while Sally tries to threaten a girl and didn't work. They had the tire blow out just to have whatever that was happen. Snoopy and Woodstock are riding on a motorcycle because they are cool like that.
The only true stylish way to ride! /Copyright Peanuts
They make another stop before camp, so we can see Snoopy and Woodstock have root beer. Charlie Brown gets forgotten on the bus and has to hitch a ride with Snoopy. He should be happy that his dog isn't normal after all. At the camp, we meet the three villains of this movie , or more to be exact, antagonists, and their cat. Snoopy is afraid of the cat, but Linus has a whipping blanket that scares them off. (Marcie invents the idea of stay-cations) Charlie Brown's goal is he wants to be a leader.
I don't like paper work! Ban Papers!/ Copyright Peanuts
Peppermint Patty is with the other girls and they do this thing that will be used most of the movie, where the girls vote on everything. (Showing us that democracy is a failure) The Europeans will laugh at Franklin for not knowing 24 hours time. Many parts of the movie is little sequences of things that just happen then kind of just stop and move to the next scene. Like the characters having physical training then doing camp stuff like making wallets.
We weed out the weak here at camp/ Copyright Peanuts
Finally, there are some events going on like tent competitions where different tent groups compete for different things. Charlie's group doesn't do to well in the first time. Peppermint Patty's group also has a hard time with the bully group.
The main meal of the movie is this raft race. (RACE for your life) The bully boys have a fancy raft that probably shouldn't be allowed, but apparently nobody official cares. There are four teams , with Charlie Brown and the boys, The Bully Boys, Peppermint Patty and the girls, and Snoopy and Woodstock. I like how Snoopy and Woodstock have a simple sail on a little inner tube.
Other racers nobody cared about/ Copyright Peanuts
The girls continue their ballots and voting thing because that's how decisions should work. (democracy has failed) The race takes a break at night as characters relax for the night, minus the bully boys who try to get a head start by going at night and changing the arrow that was warning racers about rock explosions. Then it snows. (Alright then)
The next day, the race continues. The three non-bully teams are close, not knowing anything that happened the night before. The rock blasting zone comes into play, the bullies could have ended up killing everyone else. Peppermint Patty thinks something is off, but Charlie Brown decides that this is a good way, and Snoopy already went that way. Good thing they didn't die. Snoopy saves the day, because that's why he exists. Funny enough, the end up ahead of the bullies.
Good thing Charlie Brown can't die/ Copyright Peanuts
There's a storm because this movie needs action. The bullies learn that teamwork is important. Snoopy lives a life lonely and depressed calling for Woodstock and Woodstock calls for him as they look for each other. Will they prevail ? Find out, after the Jump
Charlie Brown worries about his dog and his dog's friend. The girls come over and vote to see if they are going to search with the boys or do it on their own.( Voting has failed) Snoopy has found a cabin. Woodstock almost keeps dying. The next day, Woodstock and Snoopy become reunited and they are happy now. (yay!) Charlie Brown and his group find the cabin and later Peppermint Patty's group found him. Peppermint Patty becomes Peppermint Patty ish and just inserts herself and the group in Charlie Brown's stuff.. Snoopy and Woodstock show up and everything is working. Charlie Brown tries to make a good speech, but everyone else messes it up.
They spared no penny and used public domain music. Peppermint Patty has her group vote if the boys stay outside or the girls sleep outside. Peppermint Patty leaves out the boys from the vote because democracy is a failure. Being Charlie Brown's luck, the boys have to sleep outside. Charlie Brown tires to assert himself but you know.
Everyone is paired up, good/ Copyright Peanuts
Charlie Brown leading his troops to win the war/ Copyright Peanuts
Snoopy and Woodstock and their inner tube are back in the race as well. Another fake sign gets Snoopy because of course it does. Another fake sign gets the other Peanuts gang too. Charlie Brown crushes the girls' voting system and takes charge. (What?) They peddle to get to the finish line.
Being close to victory makes the girls too excited and they knock the boys out of the raft. The bullies get close to first place Their boat sinks too and then they pop Snoopy's tube. Woodstock makes a small raft and Snoopy knocks out the cat to have Woodstock win.(That's a good friend)
Guess this is within the rules/ Copyright Peanuts
At the bus again, Charlie Brown keeps on talking and lets the bus go on without him. (What kind of bus driver is that) Good thing, Snoopy has his motorcycle and they ride home in the credits.
ride on!/ Copyrights Peanuts
This is a fun movie. As much of anything, it does have a lot "stuff" in it. Having time to setup that this is a camp then finally getting into the raft race,but then having the movie slightly forget the race for a minute to come back to it. The girls' voting stuff kind of drags things instead of making it feel like it belongs in the plot. Being a Peanuts movie it's going to have little tangents and you're watching Peanuts for the characters, the plot will be secondary mostly. I do like the race being a piece of the plot, I wish it was more of the plot.
It is nice seeing Charlie Brown striving and kind of succeeding, though they don't have him win but it was nice to see for his character. It's a fun movie and doesn't run too long, doesn't try to do more than you expect from it.
That's it for now, tune in next time when we have to fix these screwed up signs.
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