{"id":919,"date":"2009-07-01T21:01:19","date_gmt":"2009-07-02T02:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/?p=919"},"modified":"2009-07-01T21:40:29","modified_gmt":"2009-07-02T02:40:29","slug":"my-golden-age-part-ii-classic-peanuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/2009\/07\/01\/my-golden-age-part-ii-classic-peanuts\/","title":{"rendered":"My Golden Age, Part II – Classic Peanuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in May, I posted<\/a>\u00a0about some great 1960’s and 70’s animation DVD sets being offered by Warner Home Entertainment from “my Golden Age”.\u00a0\u00a0 Back then, in addition to being a comic book and Saturday morning cartoon fan, there was one comic strip that was my mainstay, Peanuts<\/em> by the great Charles Schulz.\u00a0 I rarely missed the daily and Sunday Peanuts<\/em> features, and to this day I have a large box full of the well worn paperback reprints.\u00a0 Needless to say, I have collected every issue of\u00a0 Fantagraphics<\/a>‘, The Complete Peanuts, <\/em>which will ultimately reprint in order every Peanuts <\/em>strip from the beginning (they have currently completed 1950 to 1972 in 11 volumes).<\/p>\n

Of course, being a true fan of Peanuts<\/em> also means a love of the great 1960’s animated specials.\u00a0 In my house during the holidays we always look to see when A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/em> is coming on.\u00a0 We haven’t missed it yet.\u00a0 What about, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown<\/em>?\u00a0 We don’t miss that one, either.\u00a0 So, imagine how this old Peanuts<\/em> fan felt when as a member of the Warner Brothers Entertainment Affiliate Program I was asked to review the\u00a0 Peanuts 1960’s Collection<\/strong><\/span>, <\/em>a two-DVD set that will be in stores on July 7, 2009<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"Peanuts<\/a>

Peanuts 1960's Collection<\/p><\/div>\n

This is a fantastic collection, that includes the first six animated Peanuts <\/em>features.\u00a0 This is from WB’s press release regarding the contents:<\/p>\n

* A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/em> (1965) \u2013 In this Emmy\u00ae and Peabody Award winning classic, Charlie Brown is upset by how commercial the Christmas holiday has become. To coax him out of his holiday blues, Lucy suggests he direct the school\u2019s Christmas pageant and decorate a glorious tree.\u00a0 Charlie Brown concedes. The tree he finds however, is puny, prompting everyone to ridicule him.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>

From "A Charlie Brown Christmas"<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em>* Charlie Brown\u2019s All-Stars<\/em> (1966) \u2013 Nominated for two Prime Time Emmys\u00ae, in this delightful special, Charlie Brown is faced with a difficult moral dilemma; should he accept brand new uniforms and give the rest of the gang a chance to be part of an official little league baseball team even if it means that due to policy, Snoopy, Lucy, Patty, Violet and Frieda must be kicked off?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>* It\u2019s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown<\/em>(1966) \u2013 This Emmy\u00ae Award-nominated special, finds the Peanuts gang outfitted in costumes, ready for trick or treating and crashing Violet\u2019s Halloween party. Charlie Brown is in a ghost costume (with more eyeholes cut out than needed), Lucy dressed as a witch and Snoopy in a World War I flying ace costume. Linus decides to steadfastly hold vigil in the pumpkin patch as he awaits the Great Pumpkin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>

From "You're In Love, Charlie Brown"<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0* You\u2019re in Love, Charlie Brown<\/em> (1967) \u2013 This Emmy\u00ae Award-nominated special finds Charlie Brown trying to work up the courage to meet his school-girl crush, the little red-haired girl.\u00a0 He enlists the help of his pals Linus and Peppermint Patty but they only aggravate the situation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* He\u2019s Your Dog, Charlie Brown<\/em> (1968) \u2013 This Emmy\u00ae Award-nominated special finds Snoopy returning to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for a refresher course in obedience training after his mischievous behavior lands Charlie Brown in trouble.\u00a0 On his way to the puppy farm however, Snoopy finds refuge in Peppermint Patty\u2019s house, that\u2019s until Charlie Brown gets a call from the puppy farm telling him Snoopy never showed up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>* It was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown<\/em> (1969) \u2013 At summer camp, the Peanuts gang put up with poor food and the girls winning all the sports competitions. To get even, the boys challenge them into a wrist-wresting contest between Lucy and \u201cThe Masked Marvel\u201d \u2013 a\/k\/a Snoopy in disguise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>

From "You're In Love, Charlie Brown"<\/p><\/div>\n

Even if you’re not a huge fan of Peanuts<\/em>, I highly recommend this DVD set.\u00a0 The animated features have all been remastered, so the color and sound quality are excellent.\u00a0 The shows are in standard format to preserve the aspect ratio of the original television presentations.\u00a0 The packaging is also very good, with the two DVDs being securely stored in one plastic DVD box with a cardboard slipcase cover that will look great on your shelf.\u00a0 The DVD menus are easy to use.\u00a0 One small gripe is that the listing of the contents of each disk does not contain the year each feature was originally aired.\u00a0 Not a big deal for most people, but a detail I would like to see.\u00a0 There is also a bonus featurette profiling composer Vince Guaraldi<\/a>: The Maestro of Menlo Park.\u00a0 This is very cool because for me, one of the best and most memorable parts of the animated features is the great music by Guaraldi.\u00a0 Total run time is 150 minutes.\u00a0 The retail price is $29.99, but it is discounted at online retailers such as Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>

From "You're In Love, Charlie Brown"<\/p><\/div>\n

To own this title on DVD, all you have to do is visit your local or online retailer\u00a0on July 7, 2009.\u00a0 To learn more, \u00a0go to the official Kids WB site<\/a>. You can also get the inside scoop on WB movie and DVD releases at wbreelnews.com<\/a>. Want to buy\u00a0this DVD set\u00a0online? Click here<\/a>.\u00a0 For more Peanuts DVDs offered by WB, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s a cool collection, Charlie Brown!<\/p>\n

\"WB<\/a><\/p>\n