You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, but not so good on DVD
By Phillip Sayblack
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Peanuts is without a doubt, one of the greatest comic strips ever created. And the tv specials that were spawned from the strip are equally enjoyable to this day. But among the over forty specials created, there is one glaring special that should not have been made. The special, in question, is ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.‘ This special originated from an off-broadway play. Yes, a musical. And it shows throughout the special. Charles Schulz did not create this one. Even if audiences didn’t know off the bat that Schulz had not written this piece, it would become quickly evident that he hadn’t. This special was originally created by a man named Clark Gesner, in the 1960’s. According to the bonus feature included in the DVD, “Animating A Charlie Brown Musical”, it wasn’t even until roughly twenty years later this the play was made into this tv special.
The bonus featurette is about the only major positive to this DVD, sadly. While there are some funny jokes here and there throughout the different segments—this was not one continuous movie. It was just a bundle of separate skits—the fact that Gesner tried to literally adapt the comic strip to the stage, and then to the small screen, made this one of the lesser enjoyable Peanuts peices.
The only thing that made the bonus feature worthwhile was that producer, Lee Mendelson did try to defend the strip. As a result, he gave audiences a little known fact in that Black Eyed Peas member, Fergie, (a.k.a Stacy Ferguson) was a member of the Peanuts gang in the 1984 speacial, ‘It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.‘ The reference was made in Mendelson’s attempt to defend ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.‘
The bonus featurette included in this dvd made the dvd worth buying for true Peanuts fans and collectors. But unlike so many of the Peanuts specials that have been released in recent years, this is one of the few that lacks any bonus special(s). So all audiences really get with this new dvd is the one special, with no bells or whistles. Just Clark Gesner’s off-broadway play animated for television. So even if audiences are avid fans and collectors, this is a special that will sadly likely find itself spending more time on a DVD rack than in a DVD player.
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