Search - I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown on DVD

Cute and Funny Gags for Little Kids and Rare Old Footage Too

sundayclub | 11/07/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This hour-long Christmas special aired on ABC in prime-time last year, and it's now out on DVD with two featurettes that were produced specifically to be tacked on to ABC's recent airings of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". One of them is a brief documentary on the creation of the original 1965 Christmas special with rarely-seen animation from the early sixties, making it a must-see for Peanuts historians.
There's no underlying religious theme here - just a string of family-friendly gags recycled from strips dating back to the sixties. The only thing here that might confuse your pre-schooler is why any parent would name their kid "Rerun". (It's actually a nickname; Lucy felt alienated when Linus was born, and she experienced a "rerun" of those feelings when her new baby brother joined the family. The kid's real name has never been revealed.)
Long-time Peanuts fans are making unflattering comparisons between this special and the 1965 holiday classic, but I think there's room on your shelf for both of them. This is a cute and funny cartoon that the whole family can enjoy together."

Cute DVD for Xmas

Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 12/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 40-minute TV special tells the story of Rerun, Linus and Lucy's very cute younger brother (I loved the scenes with him stuck on the back of his mother's bicycle). As the smallest child he feels left out of playing around with the other kids and wishes for a dog for Xmas. He starts a great friendship with Snoopy but Charlie Brown is reluctant to let him go. I felt so sorry for Rerun. He's just so desperate for attention, to be taken seriously. He's got a lot of love inside him and needs a best friend to let it all out. Jimmy Bennett's voice acting is spot-on and makes him so real.

It's all harmless fun, if not completely indisposable. I've made it a Xmas tradition already as well as the other seasonal Charlie Brown specials. Though the DVD is where the real worth comes in. Included is a decent documentary on the original Charlie Brown Christmas, with interviews with cast members and the filmmakers. Also included is Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales, a series of Xmas sketches featuring different Peanuts characters, lasting about 5 minutes each. Some very kiddie trailers are on there also.

The DVD is in 1.33:1 full frame, as drawn, with Dolby 2.0 sound."

Cute, with great extras

A Christmas Music Fanatic | Frederick, MD United States | 02/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After reading some of the negative reviews posted here on Amazon, I decided to first watch this DVD myself before allowing my kids to see it. I found it to be delightful, even as I watched it a second time with my kids. The documentary on the making of A Charlie Brown Christmas is a nice extra, and I especially enjoyed the animated short "Christmas Tales".

I feel the need to address some of the other reviews. Yes, Rerun gets suspended for "harassment", but the word "sexual" is not used, for starters. I was worried I would have to explain that word to my kids. Wasn't an issue. The "harassment" consisted of Rerun suggesting, innocently and jokingly, to a disillusioned girl in his kindergarten class, that they run off to Paris. That's it. Not only does Rerun not know where Paris is, he doesn't have the first clue what it would mean to "run off" there. For her part, the girl thinks it's funny, so she tells her mom about it. Presumably her mother was the one who took issue with it and reported it to the school, who then took action (though it's possible that the mother thought it was funny and the school just over-reacted, who knows).

As for the comments regarding the "PC agenda", obviously those viewers either are new to Peanuts or they never understood what Peanuts was all about in the first place. It is exactly the OPPOSITE. Peanuts has always managed to weave social commentary into the fabric of what, on the surface, were always simple, charming tales of the everyday lives of a group of children. It was obvious to me that Rerun's being suspended was a swipe at today's sometimes ridiculous political correctness. And it was a subtle reminder that kids are often the "mature" ones in this world, and it's the adults that mess everything up. Indeed, when Rerun tells big sister Lucy that he got "fired" from school for making the suggestion to the little girl, Lucy says "Let me guess: harassment?" with a tone of cynicism that indicates that she understands fully the occasional stupidity of political correctness. Again, it was exactly the opposite of "pushing a PC agenda"; it was ridiculing political correctness. Was it a little less subtle than usual? Yes. If I were advising the makers of the program, would I have told them to leave that part out? Probably. But did it upset me? Not at all.

One last thing. Smart people know better than to attempt to compare this to "A Charlie Brown Christmas". It's completely different, and it wisely doesn't attempt to recapture the magic of that classic special. Watch this video and judge it solely on its own merits. You may love it, you may hate it, but give it a chance."

Bonus Material The Real Draw Here...

Edwin Graf Diemer | Red Bank, NJ USA | 12/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great bonus material here-"The Making Of A Charlie Brown Christmas" is wonderful. It would have been a great bonus to the "Charlie Brown Christmas" DVD, but that release was a year before the featurette was made, so its lack is understandable. "Dog" is well-done for the most part, but suffers as most programs do that include "Peanuts" strip material from app. the mid 70's to mid 80's; the tone became very bitter and mean during that time. During one segment, Rerun is suspended from school for sexual harrassment-how could they think this was funny, especially in a Christmas special? It is easy to skip, though."