A Boy Named Charlie Brown brought Peanuts to the big screen. I have always been a huge fan of the Peanuts franchise. They’re simple, but smart stories for the young and young at heart. I can think of nothing better to review on the 5 year anniversary of my blog. The great Charles M. Schulz first created Charlie Brown for a 1950 comic strip series. The Peanuts popularity soon grew to TV specials like the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
I’d say it was only a matter of time before they made a major motion picture, but Charlie Brown really is so down to Earth. A Boy Named Charlie Brown manages to feel big without losing its simple charm. Everyone knows Charlie Brown as the boy who just can’t seem to win. He can’t fly a kite properly, he can’t play baseball without losing his clothes, and everyone treats him like a blockhead. All the classic characters and moments are there.
Snoopy dreams he’s a World War I flying ace, Lucy doesn’t let Charlie Brown hit the football, Linus obsesses over his blanket, Sally crushes on Linus, and Schroeder plays his piano. A Boy Named Charlie Brown is a musical with many abstract animated sequences accompanying them. The main conflict for Charlie Brown is a spelling bee that finally gives him self-confidence. Of course he blows it on the word beagle (“Good grief”). Like so many great Peanuts stories, A Boy Named Charlie Brown offers an important lesson about believing in yourself.

Charlie Brown hopes to fly his kite
Followed by: Snoopy Come Home
This is the only Peanuts movie they’ve never shown on any of the station’s I watch, still need to see it. Looks good though.
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I first watched it on ABC Family (Freeform). I recently rewatched it on Hulu.
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I never saw the movie but I did see a live stage production of this at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Very much enjoyed it.
Loved the Peanuts comic strip.
I wonder if Dr. Anthony Fauci would trip up over spelling the word “beagle”.
Or if he appeared on the quiz show Jeopardy and the quizmaster gave the answer “Lunch for Moroccan desert sandfleas”, Fauci would press the button and say, “What is a beagle?”.
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I saw the stage version too. It was an elementary school play.
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I LOVE your Charlie Brown/Snoopy retrospectives here! Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes were always my roll. I still read those comics ..only now on twitter. 🙂
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I’m happy to hear that. Glad to meet a fellow fan.
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