DVD Review: You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
Animated Special Based On Charles M. Schulz' Peanuts Comic Strip
Oct 8, 2008
In the shadow of the 1972 Nixon/McGovern election, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz - along with producer Lee Mendelson and animator/director Bill Meléndez - brought one of his 1964 comic strip sequences to animated life, turning it into "You're Not Elected Charlie Brown."
Now Warner Bros. Home Video has remastered the 25-minute special and brought it onto DVD, packaging it with another special, 2006's "He's a Bully, Charlie Brown."
"You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown": Classic Peanuts
When Lucy's polls show that Charlie Brown (voice of Chad Webber) could never be elected school president, he decides to back Linus' campaign. Thanks to a pro-recess, anti-homework platform - and a little arm-twisting, courtesy of his big sister - Linus (Stephen Shea) seems to be a shoo-in for the job. However, he risks it all when he decides he has to talk about The Great Pumpkin, a mythical creature who rises out of the pumpkin patch to deliver toys to good children on Halloween . . .
Can Linus overcome his fatal gaffe? Will he truly be an agent of change in school?
It's not the greatest Peanuts special ever made, but it's still a fine short. Mendelson and Meléndez did a spectacular job of bringing the spirit of Schulz's cartoon strip to the small screen, and the script never bogs down. And it stands the test of time, feeling as current in 2008 as it ever did in 1972.
But the centerpiece of the show is the short animation based around jazz composer Vince Guaraldi's song "Joe Cool." It features Snoopy in his Joe Cool personae, "hangin' round the water fountain, playing the fool," and the combination of the song and visuals is just about worth the price of admission right there. Is it any wonder the tune has since become a jazz standard?
"He's a Bully, Charlie Brown": Schulz's Last Work
This 2006 special has the flavour of farewell to it, since it was the last special Schulz worked on before his death in 2000. It also features the last time Meléndez voiced the character of Snoopy.
While Charlie and the other Peanuts gang head off to summer camp, Peppermint Patty is stuck in summer school. While at camp, Rerun gets swindled out of his marbles by the local bully, Joe Agate. Rerun convinces Charlie Brown that he's the one to take Agate down a few notches by taking him on in a marbles match, despite the fact that Charlie Brown has never played marbles before in his life.
Can Charlie Brown find the help he needs to teach this bully a lesson he'll never forget?
While the animation isn't as richly textured as previous Charlie Brown shorts (the addition of CGI to some sequences doesn't quite work), it still has that wonderful Peanuts spirit. As a bonus, we get to see Marcie tormenting Peppermint Patty with the possibility that she's romancing 'Chuck.' Who knew that Marcie could be such snarky little b***h?
Extra Features
There's an "all new" documentary featurette, "The Polls Don't Lie: The Making of 'You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown,'" which features modern-day interviews with people like Charles' widow Jeannie Schulz, animation expert Mark Evanier, Meléndez, Mendelson, plus voice actors Todd Barbee (Russell) and Hilary Momberger (Sally).
The Final Analysis
This DVD is a no-brainer for Charles M. Schulz fans: it brings the bittersweet whimsy of Peanuts to animated life. While this DVD is a worthy introduction for those who have never experienced Schulz's magic, both specials pale in comparison to the genius that is 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
For that reason, the You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown DVD gets an 8/10.
P.S. - Now can I get that frakkin' Vince Guaraldi Peanuts theme out of my head? AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!
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