Peanuts - Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown Reviews

• Peanuts and Baseball on DVD

  
  By A11YV6VC51HJTV on 2004-03-10
  Sometimes I feel a bit taken advantage of by Paramount. I suspect they know I will purchase every Peanuts DVD they deign to make, no matter what, and they take advantage of me. This disc features three baseball-themed half-hours on it, including one really good one.

  The title cartoon is 2003�s �Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown.� It�s a cute cartoon, like most of the recent ones a compilation of like-themed comic strips set to animation. It�s sweet, it�s fun, but it doesn�t quite pop.

  �Charlie Brown�s All-Stars,� the classic cartoon in this set, DOES. Charlie Brown convinces his baseball team to stick around with the promise that Mr. Hennessy, the hardware store owner, will sponsor the team and buy them uniforms. The deal is jeopardized, however, when Charlie Brown learns that joining a league would force him to kick Snoopy and the girls off the team. Out of all the older �Peanuts� cartoons, this is one of the ones with the strongest emotional content and real message. It�s a touching cartoon, even today.

  �It�s Spring Training Charlie Brown� from 1992 closes off the set and, frankly, leaves me scratching my head. Apparently the league has relaxed their rules, because this time out Mr. Hennessy is again offering to sponsor Charlie Brown�s team and get them uniforms... but ONLY if they can actually win a game. Following the same plot as the previous cartoon, it was probably a mistake to put them on the same DVD. And the weird rap Franklin performs makes me think it may have been better not to put this one out at all -- it was just plain annoying.

  This is a decent set, and with Paramount dropping the prices on the Peanuts DVDs there�s almost no reason for a real fan of the characters NOT to buy it.
  
  

• Peanuts TV Shows Should Have Stopped When Schulz Did

  
  By A3K1LK6DJCVPUK on 2004-01-26
  Since the 1960's, Peanuts TV shows have graced the airwaves. Most, especially those shown in the 1960s and 1970s, were very good. The quality of the programs started to decline in the 1980s as holiday specials were replaced with theme shows (The "This is America, Charlie Brown" series is an example). But all in all, if you loved Peanuts, you loved these shows.

  When Charles Schulz passed away in 2000, his family decreed that they would allow additional Peanuts TV shows to be produced provided that the shows were based off of Schulz's comic strips. No original stories involving the Peanuts gang could be developed since, obviously, Schulz wouldn't be the one creating those stories.

  The problem with these new shows, like "Lucy Must Be Traded" is that they have no real story to them. They are just 30 to 45 second vignettes hodge-podged together with very little to tie them to one another, much like the old "Charlie Brown and Snoopy" TV show that was aired on Saturday mornings in the 1980s. It's basically a live version of several comic strips with a baseball theme. Very uninteresting and not something to celebrate the memory of the greatest cartoonist of the 20th Century.

  I hope that the Schulz family will retire the Peanuts characters from TV as they did with the strip, which I felt was the right thing to do. Charles Schulz deserved better.
  
  

• Very Worthy Program; Under-Estimated by Some

  
  By A3MD3EWWMZPRVO on 2004-02-04
  Many fans of the old holiday shows seem to hold a grudge against the newer cartoons, ever since the debut of The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show (which I still absolutely love to this day).

  Which I don't get.

  Sure, these newer specials are completely different from the older ones, in that they are strip-by-strip segments. Not one big story.

  But, you know what? The "later" cartoons (1970's-today) have better animation and much better timing in between dialogue.

  What does this mean? The classic Peanuts gags we have all come to love -- and chuckle out loud at via the daily comics and endless array of Peanuts books -- are better executed. Way better. How many of us who watch the Halloween special every year yawn and think "ho-hum" whenever Charlie Brown says, "I got a rock"? I know I do. And why? This piece of dialogue is one of many that just wreaks of poor execution and boredom.

  These newer cartoons still contain the classic Peanuts humor we all crave and adore; and none of the lines are delivered in poor fashion.

  Throughout the years, in terms of animation, timing and dialogue-delivery, Peanuts specials have only become better.

  Some fans do not think like this. Some will forever insist that everything about the vintage programs are far superior. The original Christmas special or Halloween show could be re-made today with better animation and overall execution, and they would still insist the original is best.

  To each his own. But I don't think that anybody would deny that everything about the later Peanuts programs, in terms of how each one is executed, is superior to the 1960's-mid '70's era of specials.

  No, this brand of newer features, much like episodes from The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show, are not full-length stories. But, they do succeed in bringing Schulz's strips to life. And with the highest possible quality in traditional animation today, mind you.

  Shulz would be proud.

  I mean, it's like, what do you want? Nobody is allowed to create new stories, and I don't know about anyone else, but I would rather have new programs based on the strips than no Peanuts television specials at all.

  But it's up to you. Don't want any new shows based on the comic strips? Don't buy them; nobody's forcing you to.
  
  

• Dont' buy it for the main title

  
  By A2N8AFQV49WYJI on 2004-02-03
  I agree with the main review. I saw this special on television - BORING!!! The saving grace to this DVD like many of the other Peanuts DVDs is the most of them have 1 to 2 of the older shows remastered and on the DVD. I will puchase this item when it comes out, but I am mainly after the other two Peanuts shows that are on it.
  Now I just wish they would release the 4 Peanuts movies on DVD!!
  
  

• Peanuts Baseball DVD Has Two Hits And One Error

  
  By A1KESCXX2LTH83 on 2005-04-03
  "Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown" first aired on ABC-TV in 2003 to mixed reviews; it's now available on DVD along with two additional baseball-themed TV specials, and each one is ideal for someone in your family.
  "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" was the followup to the highly acclaimed 1965 Christmas special, and it features the same original cast of voice talents. Charles Schulz' script is fast and funny with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. There's also an inspirational scene where Schroeder berates his teammates for abandoning their faithful manager. Animation buffs have pointed out a lack of attention to detail in the drawings compared to the later specials, but the high quality of the gags more than makes up up for it. Recommended for the whole family, especially for long-time Peanuts fans.
  "It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown" was produced for CBS-TV in 1992, but wasn't completed in time for the start of the baseball season. It eventually went straight to video. Long-time Peanuts fans were appalled at the use of a techno-synth score in place of the light jazz that had become the trademark of the series. Other contemporary touches included touch-tone phones and a rap-style production number performed by Franklin. The pint-sized baseball player Leland is cute and funny, but there's little else here for adults to enjoy. Recommended only for younger kids.
  "Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown" aired on ABC-TV in 2003, and was compiled from strips dating back to the late sixties. The result is the funniest Peanuts special in recent history. Charlie Brown and Lucy throw insults back and forth like Abbott & Costello; he watches helplessly as she gleefully sabotages every game. The gags come at a leisurely pace, and David Benoit's faithful renditions of Vince Guaraldi's original scores are a pleasure to hear. Marcie appears briefly as Lucy's replacement, but she turns out to be truly dumb about baseball, whereas Lucy merely pretends to be dumb. Recommended for the whole family, especially older kids.
  My preferred lineup: "All-Stars" first, "Traded" second, "Spring Training" last. I leave you with these words of baseball wisdom from Charles Schulz: "Winning isn't everything... but losing isn't anything!"
  
  

• Peanuts - A Boy Named Charlie Brown
• Snoopy, Come Home
• It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (remastered deluxe edition)
• It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown
• Peanuts - This Is America, Charlie Brown