Search - Peanuts: It's the Pied Piper Charlie Brown on DVD

Horrible. The Worst I've Ever Seen!

Erik Morton | Carmel, CA United States | 08/29/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marci, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock and all the rest of the gang, are as apart of our culture as anything else I can think of. Anybody who says they hate PEANUTS is out of their freakin' minds, I say.



All except when it comes to this particular video, IT'S THE PIED PIPER, CHARLIE BROWN. They can trash it like ISHTAR for all I care. Heck, I'd join in with 'em!



Why do I express such disgust over this short, you say? Well, for one simple reason (which other reviewers have commented on as well): Grown-ups are actually SHOWN! And they TALK! This is nothing short of blasphemy in the Charlie Brown universe!! The stories were always based on the kids' point of view, and dealt with childhood problems alone. Fully introducing adults into the picture destroys half the charm of the comics/series! Sure, adults were featured in the miniseries THIS IS AMERICA, CHARLIE BROWN, but since that was a nonfiction documentary series, that's a totally different case.



It saddens me that my 5-year old neighbor says that this is his favorite Charlie Brown video. He will clearly never fully understand and appreciate what PEANUTS is all about, what makes it so special, and why it is unique. Stick with the original classic specials from the 60s/70s, and the 80s TV series. WITH NO GROWN-UPS!!!"

Mr Schulz would come out of his grave...

marianna1200 | 06/13/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"...if he could possibly see this movie!I am a life-long Peanuts fan, and I I heard that a new Film does come out (I am from Germany) I just had to get it!!!In all the years the animated Characters looked more and more similar to the Comic strip. But this film could have been done better by myself!!! The Characters dont look like themselfes. The Lip-Synch isnt given. AND the Characters are all drawn and colored on the Computer, wich doesnt fit at all to the old epidsodes. All Characters in the Film that doesnt belong to the Peanuts gang itself, look like a crossover between the Peanuts and Garfield.The Retrospective with Mr.Schulz is just the 30Year Charlie Brown Special, with some additionalcomments. (Althoug i never seen the the DVD before I had known every word. Because I have the Special in German on Video.)Collectors like me got it already.But anyone else... ...please dont buy!David Malambre, Germany(excuse my bad english)"

Zero Stars

Kate Smart | Private | 10/06/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'm thankful that I took this loser of a cartoon out of the library instead of purchasing it. This is the worst Charlie Brown film ever made and the folks involved in its creation should be ashamed. Charles Schulz would not be pleased. First of all, it features adults! Charlie Brown is supposed to be a kids-only universe, where adults are not even audible, let alone seen. The grown-up animation looks nothing like the peanuts - it's as though modern animation had been cut and pasted into the show. The story line is stupid, there is no existential angst to be found, and Charlie Brown SMILES all throughout. AAAAAGH!
If you love Peanuts, don't see this one - it'll break your heart."

Pied Piper has special retrospective interview

Xeneri | 08/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a little different from the other "Peanuts" specials, as it places Charlie Brown and the gang in the retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin.It begins with Charlie Brown telling little sis Sally the story of The Pied Piper. Just like in Hamelin, their town once was overrun with mice. Charlie Brown goes to the mayor's office with a simple solution: make Snoopy the Pied Piper. Promised a year's supply of dog food for his services, Snoopy (armed with a concertina instead of a pipe) begins to magically lure the mice out of town. But as soon as the mice are gone, the mayor goes back on his promise! So Snoopy plays his concertina once again, magically compelling the mayor and his council to dance out of town to the tune of "Snoopy, the Pied Piper." All's well that ends well. It's good to see the gang doing something a little different for a change, but though I liked this story, I prefer original Peanuts tales rather then faerytale retellings. As for this DVD release, there's some good and bad. The good is the bonus feature of a special 11 minute retrospective interview with Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. The bad is that though Paramount is highly promoting their video release of "Pied Piper" with a chance to win one of 50 original cels from the making of the film, the sweepstakes will not be available with the DVD release. Ah well. Diehard fans will buy both I'm sure...."