Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (Remastered Deluxe Edition)

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (Remastered Deluxe Edition)
"Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz retired from the cartoonist's life early in 2000, and indeed left a few loose strings hanging among his chronically dissatisfied characters. He never did, for instance, cut Charlie Brown much slack in the romance department (or let him kick Lucy's football, for that matter). Sympathetic readers might have taken note of a story in the press just before Schulz said farewell, in which the inspiration for Charlie Brown's unrequited love interest--the never-seen, too-distant, "little red-haired girl"--was identified as a woman who turned down a marriage proposal from Schultz a half-century ago. That bit of biographical detail now adds poignancy to Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, a 1975 television special built upon years of Valentine's Day "Peanuts" strips. This half-hour show finds Charlie Brown suffering, typically, the ignominy of receiving no hearts-and-flowers greetings while the rest of the gang, including Snoopy, spend their day sorting through piles of love notes. Worse, Schulz's famous sad sack can't get up the nerve to approach his unapproachable angel, though there may be--just may be--a glimmer of hope this time around. It may be Valentine's Day, but not much else is different in the "Peanuts" neighborhood. --Tom Keogh

On the DVD
The 2008 remastered DVD has the two additional specials that were on the previous DVD, You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967), in which our hero tries to meet the little red-haired girl, and It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977), a vastly more complex production that has two focuses for CB: win the big football even though Lucy keeps pulling the ball away, and escort--and kiss--the little red-haired girl to the homecoming ball. New for 2008 is a 15-minute featurette on the theme of unrequited love in the "Peanuts" world, with interviews of the Schulz family, Lee Mendelson, and others. --David Horiuchi
Customer Review: Profound In Many Ways
It is in this dvd where we can see that Charlie Brown does not have it as bad as we may think. To be sure, Charlie Brown often goes through a lot of grief and sadness, but somehow he comes out of it by a means outside the box so to speak. The 1st episode is probably the most popular one. Charlie Brown is waiting sadly for a Valentine's Day card, and Lucy taunts him by saying he will need good luck. Linus has a crush on his teacher, and he seems to step outside his normal character: "The amount of money spent on a Valentine should reflect your affection for the person." This does NOT sound like the intelligent Linus who points out the true meanings of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lucy sees a '3d' puppet show hosted by Snoopy, and one is at least entitled to wonder if the writer is saying that true love means working through harsh troubles. At the St. Valentine's Day Party, we can see that things are less than happy. Simply put, the happiness of this day revolves around thinking that the person you like likes you back, and this is almost never the case in this cartoon. (Sally / Linus, Lucy / Schroeder, Charlie / Peppermint Patty) It is an interesting side note that Snoopy cuts hearts out very well, but he uses them to strike Woodstock. (Not so nice!) While Charlie (having received no Valentines) leaves the party destroyed and dejected, he does have a final triumph. Yes, it is a day later, but several girls (including Lucy) walk by to deliver a Valentine's Day Card personally. It is used to be sure, but it does show that they grew to care. While some may feel Schroeder has valid points in his rebuke of the girls, Charlie comes through magnanimously and accepts the card. (Think about it. This shows that the girls grew to some extent, and that Charlie has not only gotten a card, but he gave the gift of forgiveness.) The 2nd episode revolves around Charlie's crush on Heather. School is nearing the end, and Charlie is trying to overcome his shyness and speak to her. He makes a fool of himself, but many people in love do so. A real standout in this episode is when Charlie lets his teacher have it when she asks why he was late: "I was late....BECAUSE I MISSED THAT STUPID BUS! THAT'S WHY"! But again, just when Charlie thinks all is lost, he finds out it isn't. There is hope. The 3rd episode is about Charlie planning to escort and dance with Heather after a football game. This episode suffers most from the fact that everyone blames Charlie for missing the football, but no one seems to mention that Lucy pulls it away every time he tries to kick it. At the very least, Charlie could have explained why he keeps missing the football. But even though all looks lost, we see that Charlie Brown comes through yet again. Charlie Brown does triumph; it's just that he doesn't do so the way we may expect.
Customer Review: Timeless and top quality-A typical PEANUTS film.
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown is another in the by-now familiarly typical Top-Notch film put out by whomever does it, and bless them and Charles Schultz! I watched this every year on TV (and still do) and now, because of Video tape and DVD's watch it a few more times when the mood strikes me, and in almost 45 years have NEVER been dissapointed by a PEANUTS Holiday movie, or any other for that matter. Im also waych the regular Peanuts show when I see them in TV guide. I now have the 6 DVD Holiday set and will alway cherish them, as I am 9 months older that Charlie Brown. I was born Nov 1949; Charlie Brown in October of 1950. God rest your precious heart, Mr. Schultz, and thank you for going on 60 years of happy memories!!