"You're the Greatest," the first feature on the program, is a 1979 prime-time special that many 30-somethings of my vintage may recall. In it, Charlie Brown trains and competes in the junior olympics decathlon against Freddie Fabulous, Marcie, and the Masked Marvel (guess who?). Because most of the show is comprised of the various events in the competition, it emphasizes visual slapstick more than the wry character development and dialogue that are the highlights of other Peanuts offerings. There's not a lot of variety, but it does have its moments (see, e.g., Charles's "winning" lap at the end) and keeps our kids' attention. Charlie Brown's persistence and Marcie's example as a gracious winner are nice character-building touches.
The second special, "Snoopy's Reunion" is of much later vintage (circa 1990). For classic Peanuts purists, there are a couple of disconcerting touches: adults (who look more like characters out of Dennis the Menace than something from Charles' Schultz's pen) play a part in the story, and speak in regular, non-wah-wah voices. The show attempts to fill in the back-story hinted at in "Snoopy, Come Home": How Charlie Brown first got Snoopy. Young kids will like seeing baby Snoopy and his cuddly siblings, and their comic, jug band pantomime. But for parents and Peanuts purists, the story and character development are pretty thin.
For the money, you should look into "A Peanuts Celebration" instead, if you don't already own it.
The first part was okay, but the second part was amazing. Snoopy's life story was marvelous and I really like see Spike, Belle and all the other brothers and sisters at Daisy Hill.A double feature with two great endings. While neither of these features is on the same level as the classic Christmas and Halloween specials (nor are they expected to be) they each have a clever ending (especially "Snoopy's Reunion") that will leave you thinking, "Why didn't I know that was going to happen?" Charles Schulz was a genius and even the lesser-known Peanuts productions show it. "Snoopy's Reunion" does have an admittedly thin plot but it will not keep you from enjoying the perenially-loved and very well-rounded character of Snoopy. And did I happen to see Charlie Brown practicing his assertiveness training when bargaining for a dog that he could never guess would be almost to much too handle?
