Woah, another new Peanuts special, since that Apple thing exists and they proceeding to make more. Better than us waiting 40 years right? This is "It's The Small Things, Charlie Brown" (wasn't expecting a Blink-182 reference ) is a Peanuts special that came out on April 15, 2022. I am happy it's using the name conventions of the classic specials, compared to "For Auld Lang Syne".
Since this is one of those streaming exclusive specials and that means it has a unquie run time of 38 minutes, which seems to be the same length as "Auld Lang Syne" it's kind of interesting how that length is shorter than what would fill an hour long slot on network TV, but longer than what would fill a 30 minute slot. If lengths affect things, I would think that filler would be less happening, there are specials where stuff just happens to fill out time. (Though Peanuts filler is like an extra treat sometimes, minus that birthday special.)
The animation of the special has the same look as the other one (I'm not going to keep typing the name) it's a very nice high quality 2D animation. Again , I do wish the feature film had this look. Wild Brain is like yeah were putting money into this. The backgrounds look less detailed than before, they look like they are going for a simplified look, but a comic strip look, the backgrounds are more detailed than the strips, it's almost like a painted look. The characters are walking through a painted world, it's an interesting design choice. It's moves fluidly too and it feels pretty nice, and not too off putting for media that has been done more stilted ,by nature, before. The character designs go back to their classic known looks that tends to happen now, so Lucy in the blue dress instead of pants (80's -90's strips and some later specials had her and other girls wearing pants). It's full spirited though.
The music is once again done by Jeff Marrow who seems to do an alright job of capturing the right tone of jazz for the specials, if you are picky about your Peanuts jazz music. It also has grand music like at the start giving it a movie quality sound during the baseball game at the start.
The special starts with Charlie Brown playing baseball in a large field against Peppermint Patty's team. I can tell it's a dream , because I'm me, and I can tell. Charlie Brown is able to throw a pitch so powerful that it makes Peppermint Patty collapse. (You're going to prison for murder, Charlie Brown) Like I said, it's a dream, because Snoopy wakes him accidently, with a water hose. They did change Charlie Brown's voice actor from the last special, and to me, it seems little off, most of the time they've been able to capture the same voice type for Charlie Brown, but this one doesn't seem as Charlie Brown. I'm not going to be mean to kid voice actor; I find it a little off for Charlie's voice though. Linus' voice was retained from the last special and he sounds like how Linus usually sounds, even when there's been different voices.
Ahhhh Charlie Brown is heavy/ Copyright Peanuts/ Wild Brian
Charlie and Linus walk around and Charlie talks to him about the dream we saw. Linus is a realist against Charlie Brown's more up spirit and thinks they don't have the best chance to beat Peppermint Patty's team. (Also we don't ask the question of how many years directly they've been losing that will hurt your head and time in general will rip apart) I do like how it fits the characters: Charlie Brown is an optimist and wants to have the spirit that he'll win, Linus is a realist and doesn't go for an outcome that seems far fetched from past data.
When your baseball team loses/ Copyright Peanuts/ Wild Brain
This special decided to bring back Shermey into usage, they went deep again. Snoopy comes into the special, like how he's been treated in Peanuts media for years. (wow roar) They really have Snoopy come in trying to steal the scenes, the special has become sentient. (help!) Sally shows up and she wants to play in the baseball team, because Charlie Brown made a promise when she turned 5 she would get to join the team.
Home run? / Copyright Peanuts/ WildBrain
Sally has the same voice actress that's been used through out the WildBrain Studios era of Peanuts. Sally seems to very excited on the idea of playing on the baseball team I don't think it makes sense, Charlie Brown, to give Sally an oversized uniform. (Lucy almost dies, so that's something) It tries to show that Sally isn't good at baseball, which sure she wouldn't be, Charlie Brown's optimism and care are what is at play here.
Same/ Copyright Peanuts / Wild Brain
Someone remembered "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" Peppermint Patty shows up on a motocross bike. (We've won You're a Good Sport bros!) Her team also shows up on the same kind, minus Marcie is made to suffer. (poor Marcie) I find it interesting that Thibault is on Peppermint Patty's team and that they decided to use Thibault for something, then again Franklin is on Charlie Brown's team instead of Peppermint Patty's , so, they are going for 100% accuracy here. Also odd to see Peppermint Patty's character be more antagonistic than she normally would be, even with baseball. There is a difference in her role has been shown and how it was here, but it might only distract a person like me who does too much Peanuts stuff, than a casual viewer.
it's a gang! run!/ Copyright Peanuts/ Wild Brain
Sally also gets to take up the plot, where Sally feels left out and then she meets a flower that's on the pitcher's mound and starts talking to it. Charlie Brown tries to give his team a pep talk, after they feel bad. I like that Charlie Brown keeps his spirit and wants to rally his team to a victory. Then something happens, the flower plot shows up.
You're watching HGTV....back when we used to do gardening shows/ Copyright Peanuts/ WildBrain
The team is bothered that Sally is just laying there looking at the dandelion. Sally says that she's not going to move and she's going to protect the flower. No matter what they try. (I wasn't expecting Horton Hears a Who in my Peanuts special) Plan B is to just play around Sally until she gets bored. ( I do wonder where Sally got a book though)
This is what they mean by dandelion tea/ Copyright Peanuts / Wild Brain
More after the jump
This is not the best plan because of course not. That night, Charlie Brown sees that Sally isn't at home, she's still with the flower. ( I also wasn't expecting a BUD-WIS-ER like joke from the sleeping birds)
The next day is baseball day (contract negotiations were good) , but then Charlie Brown finds out the Sally is still there. She brings up the promise she kept with the flower and will be staying there. Charlie Brown visits Lucy's Psychiatric help stand to get some help. (uhhh)
He says that Sally is the one she needs to talk to and she heads towards the baseball field. (Charlie Brown might have not thought up the best idea) Apparently, Lucy has fallen to Sally's mind trap. (it's a cult!) Also, a shiver goes up ones spine with someone when Lucy says Sally reminds her of herself.
Lucy has joined the cult/ Copyright Peanuts /Wild Brain
Now everyone around the town, (hey Eudora) knows about what Sally is doing. This causes a bunch of kids to join and make a commune at the baseball field. (It's like Woodstock) The team (minus Lucy) gets mad at Charlie Brown. Somehow, Lucy is able to convince Schroder to join in and play music. Shermy then says on a field like that, going back to what Peppermint Patty's team members said earlier about how it's kind of a mess, that Sally was able to find beauty. The rest of the team collapses and decides to join too.
It's Woodstock, uhhh/ Copyright Peanuts/ Wild Brain
Schroder is able to compose a new song like chad. Then Sally starts to sing (not sure if they are hearing her singing or this is some musical hokey pokey) The animation sequence is pretty nice. (They are also singing the name of the special, so uh, roll credits) The song is good, and strikes an interesting message. (It also sounds like a Charlie Brown diss track) The idea is to appreciate the small things (yes I know) and to appreciate things that get lost in our lives. That small things come together to make things become big things. The song is well done by Ben Folds.
Peppermint Patty and her team shows up. They do remember P.P is kind of an idiot -She's one of my favorites, so I can call her that- and she thinks that this is some ploy Charlie Brown did to stop the game from happening, because sure alright then. Charlie Brown tells Peppermint Patty he wants to play but his sister cares alot about the dandelion and a alot of other people.
I murder flowers in my sleep, Chuck / Copyright Peanuts /Wild Brain
Charlie Brown decides to do something about the flower (is he going to murder it?) He brought a pot and trowel, so he's not going to just yank it out. Then it gets into a scuffle. Now the flower is dead. (oops) Peppermint Patty's bad timing shows up again and Charlie Brown feels down. Everyone else leaves and he notices how the field looks different in a beautiful way now.
Charlie Brown is high right now, he's seeing the world in paint/ Copyright Peanuts/ Wild Brain
He goes to find Sally. (He drops his baseball, SYMBOLISM) Charlie Brown apologizes to her and shows her the beautiful field saying that she helped do that. Then the dandelion decides to turn into a white puff ball and do it's thing of spreading it's seeds.
puffy / Copyright Peanuts /Wild Brain
It cuts to everyone putting together some stuff and a new team name, the Dandelions, and he gives Sally the job of assistant manager (nepotism). Charlie Brown's team lost again too, it didn't show that though. (cowards!)
AWWW/ Copyright Peanuts /Wild Brain
So, that's the special. I found it interesting, I've seen it talked about as an Earth Day special or something which I mean it takes a lot to see that in some way, I mean, I had to read stuff about this special to get that. It felt, to me, more like a special about how Sally felt as compared to the flower, that she was being ignored and not getting what she was promised for the baseball team. Then again, I can see it working as an environmental message because it saying we should focus on the small things and that working together can accomplish big things. I should point out , maybe it's better this way than trying too hard and forcing it's message. (like 90's movies) Like you can see it where they clean up the park, and make it look nice.
It's not a bad special, and it is interesting to see how Peanuts specials with stories not from the comic strip get done without Charles Schulz being alive. I think it is a hard thing to do, to keep it safe of contact but add in new stories. Not all the past Peanuts specials are gold standard, so they've made some weird ones and flops, but you can tell they had some ideas they wanted to try. I think the worry is that if one isn't too good or doesn't feel like "standard peanuts" means that it causes a write-off of waht can be done, and kind of scares them.
I think this special carries over the characterizations well, remembering that Peanuts characters don't have thing that their character does, many just know them for one thing because it's easier that way. Sally is complex, because she is someone who wants to look up to her older brother, but also forming her own opinions and views on the world as her time goes by. Lucy isn't always just a straight-forward "mean" character, she does have nuance. I do find it interesting this special doesn't go with more of Sally's cynical edge that she does have and really focusing on her innocence side, and that Charlie Brown, they had to find away to make it where he's not antagonistic but they didn't make it where he would be neutral or messing up in some way. You can see the motivations of the two characters and makes it close , but not bad to have it where things end up in a bad spot.
The hard part is that (as of this writing, so if you are reading this in like 20 years, in the middle of rubble or something) this special is on Apple TV Plus and that means you have to get an obscure (at the time of this writing) streaming service and pay them to watch this special. I'm not really a fan of this model for Peanuts, just because, I think Peanuts new media needs to be accessible to keep up interest and also it being Apple just might rub people the wrong way. (They aren't paying me, so... I'm not giving them puffery) I do think you should check out this special, though, because it is a nicely done and interesting special. I do understand it's an ask because of the pay wall stuff.
That's it for now remember all the small things, take care, truth brings, tune in next time, say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home!
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