Peanuts 1960's Collection

Charles M. Schulz first brought his legendary comic strip to TV in 1965 with the animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas, produced and directed by Bill Melendez. This legendary special featured elements that would reappear in dozens of half-hour Peanuts shows: simple animation that brings Schulz's distinctive style to life, a nonprofessional cast of adolescent voice actors, the great jazz piano of Vince Guaraldi, and, of course, the defining sensibility of Schulz's comic strips (the “wah-wah-wah” horn that depicts adult voices appears in subsequent cartoons). Schulz wrote six animated Peanuts specials in the 1960s, all of which are compiled on this two-disc collection. A Charlie Brown Christmas, a funny, tender, and joyous celebration of the holiday spirit that's still one of the most beloved Christmas specials after nearly 50 years, appears on the first disc, along with Charlie Brown's All-Stars, in which Charlie Brown is promised team uniforms, but only if he kicks the girls and Snoopy off the team; and the Halloween classic It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, famous for Linus' vigil in the pumpkin patch. The second disc features the second-tier cartoons You're In Love, Charlie Brown (with the Little Red-Haired Girl—incorrectly listed on the box as being on the first disc); He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (Snoopy moves in with Peppermint Patty); and It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (the gang goes to summer camp). DVD extras include the bonus documentary “Vince Guaraldi: The Maestro of Menlo Park,” a portrait of the jazz pianist and composer whose bouncy riffs and happy-sad themes helped define the shows. As much social history as entertainment, this excellent collection of the original Peanuts cartoons is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)