It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)

This special is not as well known as A Charlie Brown Christmas, but in some ways, it lends itself more to rewatchability. A series of vignettes taken directly from the original comic strips, it showcases the brilliance of the witty four-panel structure very well. Storylines include selling wreaths door-to-door, Charlie Brown needing to raise money to buy a girl some gloves, and many of the Peanuts cast taking part in a Christmas play. Although it's not as well-regarded, it deserves to be watched in tandem with the original.

4 Harold Angels out of 5

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

Peanuts covered all the major holidays, which is why all my childhood memories are indelibly linked to them. It was the combination of the simplistic colorful animation and Vince Guaraldi jazz compositions which captured the imagination. Watching this stuff play out was more entertaining than the holiday itself, which always ended up being a disappointment. Truth be told, I can't think of many others besides The Mayflower Voyagers and Garfield's Thanksgiving Special.

Anyway, Peppermint Patty invites herself over to Chuck's, so he and Snoopy must improvise in a hurry. It's not quite the classic that Christmas and Halloween were, but it's in my top 5 favorite Peanuts specials.

4½ jelly beans on toast out of 5

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

"On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag full of toys for all the children." So the legend goes.

Charlie Brown's cut too many holes in his ghost costume. Snoopy imagines he's a WWI flying ace shot down by the Red Baron. Linus stays up all night in the pumpkin patch waiting for something that will never come. Disappointment all around; a metaphor for life. Oh well, maybe next year will be different.

Fun bit of trivia: This was the first Halloween special ever to be broadcast annually. Still ranks up there with the best of them.

5 rocks in the trick-or-treat bag out of 5

THE PEANUTS MOVIE [2015]

35 years after their last original film, Charles M. Schutlz's beloved Charlie Brown comic strip characters are all back in The Peanuts Movie.
The Little Red-Haired Girl has just moved into town and Chuck is very smitten, however his constant blunders and insecurities holds him back from doing anything about it.
With the comic strip being around for 65 years, director Steve Martino and Shultz's son & grandson have a long history of great material to pull from and they manage to comfortably fit in all of the Peanuts' most memorable scenarios.  Bringing the gang into the world of CGI animation had me worried at first but the animators did a wonderful job at giving it refined detail where needed (even if Charlie Brown's single hair looks like a giant pube) and simplicity where it demanded it.  In a time of rapid fire gags and constant attacks of loud noises in animation, Peanuts might be too innocently slow for the kids and a bit too simple for adults but it will most certainly find a spot in the hearts of long-time fans wanting to return to some old friends who never got old.

3 funny looking kids with big noses out of 5

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

The greatest Christmas special ever made. Good ol’ Charlie Brown is depressed about the overcommercialism of Christmas. He’s put in charge of directing the holiday play. He ends up buying a puny tree that nobody likes, everyone laughs at him and ridicules him. Linus waxes poetic on the true meaning of Christmas. Understanding, love, acceptance, the tree is born again. Until next year...

5 "The Doctor is Out" out of 5