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Peanuts and Baseball on DVD

Blake Petit | Ama, Louisiana United States | 03/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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 Baseball DVD Has Two Hits And One Error

sundayclub | 04/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

""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!""

AWESOME, even for a little Princess....

James N. Williamson | New Jersey | 06/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Our 34 month old daughter LOVES sports, esp. baseball....so, we ordered this for her thinging she would get a kick out of it.....well, she makes her Mother watch it every day, sometimes twice a day...."

Peanuts are healthy

Annette Vannostrand | 03/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang certainly tell it like it is. A good source for children to see they are not alone "out there". A live and let live example of how to rise above ones failure and success - without drugs, weapons, etc. Good to watch with your children."