Peanuts - Part 1/2

I don’t know why, but I just find depressed kids in fiction funny. Perhaps it’s that juxtaposition of their age and their anxiety over things far above their pay grade. Hey Arnold? Moonrise Kingdom? The Mysterious Cities of Gold? Laputa? ET? Perfect. Some kids are just more prone to cloudy days than others, even amidst the idillic lie of a western childhood. Apparently, my nickname when I was little was “Jolly Jamie”, which must have been said behind my back, as I have no recollection of it. Puberty soon did away with “Jolly Jamie” though, and mental illness took over. Mother repeatedly mocked my emerging low mood attacks as merely being my “dark teenage phase”, but no, it was here to stay.

While certainly not me at the same age, Charlie Brown and Linus are good examples of what was to come. These short films from the 1960s are much more beloved in the US than the UK, but us UK kids were certainly exposed to them at various points in the 80s. I believe there are new CGI versions, which I’m gonna go ahead and assume aren’t as humorously-downbeat as these counterculture-infused originals. I’ve also never seen the original comic strip, which I’m guessing is what came first. I’m rather fuzzy over the timeline of the Peanuts universe.

Anyway, since tis the season, I thought I’d stick on the DVD collection of those early short films and get cosy. I don’t know whether this set is comprehensive, but, if not, it’s fine. I’m certainly no Peanuts completist.

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

The tragic irony here is how the DVD menu makes an eye-rolling point of telling us that Charlie Brown is now corporate property, e.g. A Charlie Brown™ Christmas. The irony being, of course, that the plot of this film is the titular sad-sack’s moping over the modern commercialisation of Christmas. Sorry, Charlie, but you’re a money-making machine for businessmen and women with second homes now. Still, Linus’ rousing recollection of the nativity story is very sweet, even if you aren’t religiously inclined. I love the Psychiatric Help stall that Charlie’s acquaintance (I daren’t say “friend”) has, which is something I could have done with. I forgot how incidental Snoopy is in these things, as he’s just kind of there as comic relief. It’s a bit sad that he become the icon for the show. I just find him annoying and a little sinister. Who knows why. I’ve still not listened to any seasonal music yet this year, but the classic carols featured in A Charlie Brown™ Christmas are just enough for now.

CHARLIE BROWN’S ALL STARS 

“I think you get sort of a neurotic pleasure from losing all the time”. Pretty sure that’s been said to me by multiple people throughout my life. Oh well, if it ain’t broke! Sports episodes of TV shows are usually just the worst, with the odd exception. The Simpson’ “Dancin’ Homer” is one. The Real Ghostbusters’ “Night Game” is another. But that’s about it. Okay, maybe that Thanksgiving episode of Friends where they play American football. But that’s it. It’s just that popular sport spectatorship and punditry is, and forever will be, a thorn in my side. Sadly, All Stars has the same eye-glazing effect as all those other lazy sports episodes, although it was cute that Linus stands up for Charlie and even makes him a baseball uniform out of his own beloved security blanket. Charlie fretting over managing an official league team also reminded me of me trying to start a “children’s army” when I was little, which must have been inspired by having military parents. The scene where Charlie’s man-obsessed sister tries to get a boy to notice her bikini probably wouldn’t fly today, but those are the conservative times we’re living in. I’m sure it’s all for the best.

IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN

I’ve never been big on Halloween, which even I can’t understand. I mean, it looks fun. But, alas, parties and dressing up and going door-to-door begging was never my thing. I was most likely preoccupied with more pressing matters, such as declaring war on adults (who smell) with my junior army. The Great Pumpkin is a fun little commentary on the nature of belief, although it never takes itself too seriously. Charlie gets pummelled with negativity from the outside in this one, so his demeanour is less depression and more a natural reaction to bitchy girls. There’s a laugh-out-loud moment when Charlie’s sister breaks the fourth wall and looks at the camera in frustration at Linus, which is great. I’ve seen this one, in particular the kids going around in their Halloween costumes, referenced as much s the Christmas instalment, so it’s clearly very dear to filmmakers in America. I wonder whether the universe would break if someone went trick or treating as Charlie Brown. Stranger things have happened, I suppose. Oh I also had an uncontrollable laughing fit during the bobbing for apples scene, when someone says: “Yeah, Lucy, you should be good at this. You have the perfect mouth for it!”. There’s a chance I may have taken it the wrong way. I guess you can’t mention bobbing for apples without somebody smirking. Snoopy’s air-kennel sequence felt a bit endless and apropos of nothing, much like this commentary, but that’s probably me. I just find him rather full of himself. And fictional.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll try and get the next and final three films watched tomorrow, or I could leave it as a Christmas treat for y’all next week. I’ll have a think. I’m trying to lay off the booze until New Year’s Eve, which I do actually enjoy, but I’m sure I’ll crack soon enough.

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles™!