Search - Peanuts Holiday Collection (It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / A Charlie Brown Christmas) (Deluxe Edition) on DVD

Peanuts fun with the Family

Ms. Sarah Beaton | 11/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Peanuts collection is wonderful because there are no commercials and extras on each DVD. My kids particularily like the Mayflower video which is very informative. The video collection makes watching tv enjoyable with my kids."

It Does not Get Any Better Than This!

Tim Janson | Michigan | 01/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They are like familiar guests that visit every holiday season only they are not as obnoxious as family members and they don't overstay their welcome. Warner Home Video has released The Peanuts Holiday Collection, a three DVD boxed set containing the Peanuts most beloved holiday specials: A Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Edition, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Deluxe Edition, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Deluxe Edition. Each feature has been re-mastered and looks fantastic. In addition, each comes with a brand new featurette and other bonus material making the set a perfect selection for the holidays.



A Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Edition is the feature that started it all, an Emmy and Peabody award winning classic that premiered in 1965. Charlie Brown searches for the meaning of Christmas while all of his friends are wrapped up in the seasonal commercialism. It is up to Linus to explain what Christmas is all about in his Biblical reading from the Gospel of Luke.



The disc includes the featurette, "A Christmas Miracle, The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas". In the featurette, producers the late Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson discuss how the show came about and their collaboration with Charles Schulz. They actually thought they did a terrible job and figured it was the last time they'd ever do a Peanuts feature. More than a few network executives had to eat their words when the show was the second highest rated show of the week. Melendez explains the decision to use actual kids for the Peanuts voices at a time when using adult actors was common place. As a tidbit, Melendez himself voiced Snoopy.



This disc also contains the 1992 special "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown", a far less successful feature. Here, Charlie Brown is selling wreaths door-to-door (and it's not even Thanksgiving yet) and the gang prepares to put on a Christmas play. You also get a CD with several songs from the original soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi.



It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Deluxe Edition was actually the third Peanuts special, debuting in 1966. Charlie Brown and the gang go out trick-or-treating, Linus and Sally are camped in the pumpkin patch awaiting the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, and Snoopy imagines himself as a World War I flying ace, battling the Red Baron. This special was just as successful as the Christmas show, pulling an incredible 49 share in the ratings.



A new featurette, `We need a Blockbuster, Charlie Brown" is included. Here, Melendez and Mendelson talk about how they were asked by CBS to create another ratings winner and went to Schulz to find out what theme would work. Schulz' wife and son also provide input on the creation of this seasonal favorite.



A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Deluxe Edition first premiered in 1973 and was yet another Emmy winner for Melendez, Mendelson, and Schulz. This special differed in that it did not draw upon the comic strip for its plot but was mainly composed of all original material. Thanksgiving becomes a meal with toast, popcorn, and jelly beans! A second feature "The Mayflower Voyagers" is also included. Part of the "This is America, Charlie Brown" series, this 1994 feature finds Charlie, Sally, Linus, and Lucy, as pilgrims crossing the ocean onboard the Mayflower.



The all-new featurette for this disc is entitled "Popcorn & Jelly Beans: Making a Thanksgiving Classic". Once again, Melendez and Mendelson talk about the genesis of this cartoon. To them, Thanksgiving seemed to be the next obvious choice for their latest Peanuts special.



If you already own these specials there probably isn't a very compelling reason to run out and buy this set if you're just interested in the cartoons themselves. However if you are interested in learning more about these classics then it is definitely worth getting for the three new featurettes. Each runs about 14 - 15 minutes and is a lot of fun. You get the sense that they had a lot of fun making these holiday specials.



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