Charlie Brown e il racconto di Natale

I have noticed that a few people gave these "Peanuts Christmas Shorts" bad reviews. Perhaps far too many people compare this to "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Granted, I will say of all the Peanuts specials "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was the best of the bunch. However, each of the Peanuts Holiday specials were good in their own way, this one is no exception. Depite the fact Charles Schulz had since passed away when this debuted, I want to thank Mr. Schulz for the Peanuts Gang. It just would not be Christmas without Charlie Brown, the world's favorite underdog, and the rest of the Peanuts gang. I most certainly will not end this review without Snoopy, his short is the best of the bunch. Lucy, Linus, Sally, Charlie Brown, and Snoopy offer their takes on Christmas. As usual it is Snoopy who steals the show. Charles Schulz, Christmas just would not be the same if it wasn't for you. Thank you so very much for Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and all the Peanuts gang.

I believe this is the Charlie Brown I'm thinking about.

Last year (2002), There was a new Charlie Brown Christmas movie on. This amazed me because Charles Schultz had retired the characters with him. I guess he had made this before he died because the writing credits are credited to him. I had taped this special but can't find where I taped it, hopefully I'll find it, otherwise I hope they sell t.

It was a very nice special, this must have been it because it's dated 2002. If it's on again this year, everyone should watch it!

I saw this last night on ABC after 1965's Charlie Brown Christmas, so it may be unfair to compare the two, but I will anyway! This special is far from the 1965 classic simply because it really doesn't stand out. The 1965 version tackled issues like commercialization and what Christmas is really all about. This special simply has different segments devoted to different characters (Lucy, Sally, etc) around Christmastime. Don't get me wrong, this special is cute, generates some good laughs (I liked Linus's infatuation with the weird girl that sits behind him), and sticks to the Peanuts formula. It's just not a groundbreaking special, and I doubt it will really ever stand out. It's worth the 30 minutes though, and if you're a Peanuts fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

My IMDb rating: 7/10

It's 18 minutes. It's a series of Christmas theme vignettes without a continuous story. It's disjointed but it's still watchable. In the end, this is like a TV version of the newspaper comic strips. It has its charms but it doesn't last like the classic Christmas special. The most notable things are the side characters. Linus meets a mysterious girl who calls herself Jezebel and then proceeds to keep changing her name. I think that character has lots of potential. On the other hand, Sally has a fight with an angry kid over a small Christmas tree. The kid is off-putting and doesn't really fit the Peanuts style. It also pales in comparison with the iconic Charlie Brown tree. This is a functional Christmas special but it's nowhere near the classic.

This was a pretty good special. The Peanuts gang feels natural and at home in this special. I know this animated special was largely inspired by original Peanuts comic strips written by Charles M. Schulz not just because I read so, but because you can just see the original strips coming to life as the music and characters be themselves. Cute but clever.

I think that while many might know about this special, it may be a hidden gem for later generations or even earlier generations who remained negligent of the Peanuts animated specials since the early 1970s.

It's truly worth a watch especially when watching the original 1965 Christmas special!