Time for another one of my re-write posts, as I've done with other posts,this is away to either take an old post and expand, refresh, and fix up, and this one might need that. (You can red the original one here)
This is the 32nd Peanuts special , that first aired on CBS (The Charlie Brown Station) on September 27th, 1988. This Peanuts special is not like the others in many ways. I like to think of the 80's Peanuts specials being a period of just whatever they felt like doing, CBS was paying... and all the holidays had been done, so why not?
This special is another hour-long special (46 minutes without ads) and following "Snoopy! The Musical, the animated version" . This one is about Spike, one of Snoopy's brothers he actually becomes more prominent in the 1980's and 1990's strips where Charles Schulz must have decided to write more about the desert beagle instead of the famous one. Spike is named after Schulz's childhood dog and his character lives in Needles, California.
There''s a simple format to Spike's strips, he's alone in the desert, so he's interacting with things more than people. He's writing letters, and has some of his own adventures, much like his brother.
"It's the Girl in the Red Truck" starts with a shot of a desert and a red truck. Wow the animation is amazing, eat your eyes, Pixar, go away anyone else, the desert looks so real and life-like, like wow! The scenery is amazing, it's beautiful, this was made in 1988? wow, we've not advanced at all. This was peak animation.
Beautiful/ Copyright Peanuts
Alright, I've dragged the joke out too long. This special is hybrid. (it runs on gas and electric) When it cuts inside Spike's home, which is a cactus, the internals all animated, when spike looks out he's animated but the rest is live-action. This was not even the first time Peanuts had done hybrids like this and they've done it after this for ads as well. But those were ads this was a special. It also wasn't made in 1988, it took four years to make this and it was delayed, they actually wanted it to air in March. Hmm? What other live-action/ animation thing was coming out in 1988? (Hmmmmm) They wanted this out in March because later that year "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" was coming out. It's funny, they both were being worked on around the same time. This is not going to be that well done in production,but it's not awful, it's good for CBS. (Cheap But Serviceable-- someone said maybe)
It's like animation with real life backgrounds/ Copyright Peanuts
The music is interesting, it takes it's own direction, instead of being jazz it's something.
It kind of sounds like old video game music or it's for a desert travelogue. This special is 50 minutes long and it will fell 50 minutes long. The credits say starring Snoopy's Brother Spike, since he doesn't speak, it's very correct. It's also starting someone named Jill Schulz. I wonder who she is, so besides having his daughter play the girl... (more on her soon calm down) his son Monte helped with the script. (oh)
I also have to say, since Spike is added in later, because animation, that means they had some camera people out in the desert just taping desert, without other people to put Spike in later, that's kind of funny. They also bought some fake cacti to use because the real ones might not have been in the right spot. (what does even mean?)
Hey there's Charlie Brown, you remember him, but he won't be her long. He's just here to remind you, you should be watching a different Peanuts special where he and Snoopy are there longer. They just are there to tell you his name is Spike incase you didn't see the credits, and fill time between some Spike walking the desert scenes. They are reading a letter Spike sent, and it leads into a the red truck and girl. (Finally, took forever for this special to Girl in the Red Truck)
The special Charlie Brown-ed before it Girl-ed /Copyright Peanuts
If you have a strong attention span , this special is for you. Spike and the girl wave back and forth when she drives by. This is feels like they really wanted to fill out that 50 minutes. Finally the red truck gets tired, and decides to break down right near spike. The girl (I'll say her name soon, don't worry) hears Spike's French practice tapes, which is interesting for a dog that doesn't talk to be learning. She's seems impressed by the tape and learns his name is Spike. I do like the blend of animation and not in this movie. She takes up most of the dialogue because someone has too, as she starts to fix her truck.
I'm the girl not in the red truck/ Copyright Peanuts
She asks Spike would he like to come with her and he decides..yes., I think I will. Also safety first message, they make a point of mentioning that Spike but his seatbelt on and how smart he is for doing so. (Click it or die it) It got my attention. They go to the diner and we get scene where Spike knows the diner owner, Molly. Classic Peanuts dogs favorite drink is root beer, he's a regular customer. (That's the world I want to live in)
Nice of this place to serve cartoon dogs/ Copyright Peanuts
Molly and Jenny (going to use her name now) are talking and giving us some information about Jenny and some stuff about a guy should be coming back. Jenny is an aerobics instructor as well. Back to the red truck, since it's in the title it needs love too. Again, this special is really filling out it's 50 minutes; though, it is nice to see Jenny and Spike spending some time together. There is an awkwardness to using Spike, because Jenny has to do all the talking essentially to fill in space, it's like when Peanuts characters are with Snoopy or an adult and have to do the lifting.
Standing on the dock of the bay, there's a lady looking a nothing/ Copyright Peanuts
Spike gets to watch TV at Jenny's nice house, I like how the remote switches from real to animated when the need for Spike to use it. Hey, it's Jeff! You know Jeff. Fine, Jeff is Jenny's boyfriend, at least I hope he is, and he comes into the house and is surprised to find Spike and thinks he's a wild animal, and doesn't like that he's in his chair. You can feel the tension, is Jeff jealous of Spike? (Find out... after the jump)
This is my chair. I love this chair !/ Copyright Peanuts
I'm sure the kids in the audience are interestested about Jenny and Jeff's conversation about a mutual friend offering Jenny an audition for a jazz dancer. She's not sure really, because she loves her dance class job and this special has added drama I didn't think we needed. She's not ready to try to be in a movie and she does like the desert. She then tires to do something else, and mentions she wants to go roller skating with Jeff.
Now Jeff, (it's the guy in the Blue Shirt, Charlie Brown) talks with Spike, now there's awkward guy talking to a cartoon scenes. Also, I think this special wants us to move to the desert, Jeff is selling it. The music is not selling it...though.
I sometimes see cartoon dogs/ Copyright Peanuts
Jeff makes Spike ride in the back of the truck, because I think he's jealous of the dog. Jenny is worried he'll fall out, but that worried to not stop it. (It's the Dog falls out of the Red Truck, Charlie Brown) Funny enough, Jenny also thinks Jeff is jealous of Spike. (What did they mean by that?) Most of this special is just stuff happening, and we are getting a story about a woman who is conflicted about leaving the desert or staying in the desert. And Rollerblading, we get that too. Jeff talks to Molly about this as well, and that he's concerned she's wasting her life, but Molly is saying one can waste their life anywhere; Jenny seems to be really happy.
This is a weird Peanuts special (hold on to this for later). Oh and If you like rollerblading, this your special, it's like this whole about 5 minutes was just made to have to feature Jill Schulz doing that... and they throw in Spike to do it with her, just to make sure to say it's Peanuts.
she lift/ Copyright Peanuts
Spike accidently gets tossed out and he ends up seeing Jenny and Jeff having some romance, and he feels bad since he also loves her. (That's right) He wanders off , Jenny wonders where he went Well, he ended up meeting some other cartoon dogs, so that's fun... woo.
Jenny is worried about Spike, Jeff is trying to help, but maybe not really. Back to Spike and dogs , shooting has started. Apparently, coyote hunters are out and they are a shooting. Jenny is right that Spike is there and wants to go find and save him. (Spike can't die, that'd be a weird Peanuts special...oh)
The Dog Doesn't Die ! Jeff and Jenny saved him! Thanks to Jeff saving him, it makes Jenny more in love with because he cared about something she cares about. Spike realizes that he won't get the girl and decides to leave. Jenny tells Jeff it's alright. I guess she decides to take the audition as well, and Spike is back home. It ends with him having a fire.
This was a weird Peanuts special. The main reason why, is that it doesn't really have Peanuts in it. While many characters are strong enough to have a focus, you kind of need something to work with, same problem "Snoopy, Come Home" has is that focusing on the dog means other characters have to pull to weight, since they can't talk. The thing is that it doesn't feel like a Peanuts special because it feels more like Charles Schulz was trying to help his daughter (and son) with some experience in media, but had to include a Peanuts character to get on TV.
I do like the concept of mixing the 2D animation and live-action, there's something fun there, it's executed fairly well, it's not going to be as good as "Roger Rabbit" but that had Disney's big wide movie money budget and this was a TV budget for CBS. They worked around the length of time, so it would be wrong to say they were trying to bandwagon on the idea.
The New York Times has a review of the special from when it aired, and the line that the story goes nowhere, is true. Why does Jenny not want try an audition? Because she doesn't want to leave the desert? Why? Because she doesn't want to not see Jeff? No, he doesn't seem to live there? I don't know. There's a weird detached feeling watching this special, a lot of is showing desert area scenery and effect, you aren't getting much of what feels like Peanuts.
I'm not bothered that they experimented here; this is the 32nd Peanuts special, so they had room to experiment after doing everything else. Was this special of necessity? No... but I'm happy it exists, just because it's a weird piece, but there's some heart in it, with Schulz family members working together to make a special. Spike is a fun character, wish he was given more than he was here though. I do kind of wish they had just made a peanuts special but used real places as backgrounds with animated characters.
It closes out the 80's specials which started with "She's a Good Skate" a special that experimented with focusing on Peppermint Patty, with a good result. To doing some hour long specials, to one that focuses on a more minor character, an hour long, and with live-action. It was the last decade(full) of new Peanuts specials, maybe that's why or something.
Stay tuned to the next time when we look at the special where we the other peanuts characters blend with live action. (Wait that's a metlife commercial)
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