This is definitely one of the more intriguing movies featuring the Peanuts gang. The basic plot is innocuous enough. It involves Charlie Brown entering a spelling bee to prove that he's not a loser like everyone thinks he is.
There are a few moments, however, that struck me as odd and/or humorous considering that they involved kids only in second grade.
1. Sally tells Linus that she wants to go to a movie with him which is intended for "Mature Audiences".
2. One of the words which is supposed to help Charlie Brown learn how to spell is "codeine".
3. In the background of one scene, you can see pumps at a gas station with bull's eyes on them.
4. Most interesting by far is the scene where Lucy is shaking Linus. She shakes him so hard that his shorts come loose and you see his butt crack. Umm...what where they thinking with that one?!!
Of course, no Peanuts cartoon would be complete without several ridiculous continuity errors. They help add to the basic charm of it all. Two extended sequences pad the running time but bring things to a screeching halt in my opinion. One is with Schroeder playing a piece on his piano and the other shows Snoopy ice skating back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.
Ultimately, the one thing which I did like about this particular movie was that it had a sophistication that was sorely lacking from subsequent Peanuts films. That makes "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" an animated feature which I mildly recommend. 4/10
There are a few moments, however, that struck me as odd and/or humorous considering that they involved kids only in second grade.
1. Sally tells Linus that she wants to go to a movie with him which is intended for "Mature Audiences".
2. One of the words which is supposed to help Charlie Brown learn how to spell is "codeine".
3. In the background of one scene, you can see pumps at a gas station with bull's eyes on them.
4. Most interesting by far is the scene where Lucy is shaking Linus. She shakes him so hard that his shorts come loose and you see his butt crack. Umm...what where they thinking with that one?!!
Of course, no Peanuts cartoon would be complete without several ridiculous continuity errors. They help add to the basic charm of it all. Two extended sequences pad the running time but bring things to a screeching halt in my opinion. One is with Schroeder playing a piece on his piano and the other shows Snoopy ice skating back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.
Ultimately, the one thing which I did like about this particular movie was that it had a sophistication that was sorely lacking from subsequent Peanuts films. That makes "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" an animated feature which I mildly recommend. 4/10