Baseball season always brings back memories of watered beer, overpriced tickets and the Cubs choking. The Cubs will never be the worst team in baseball. That honor will always belong to Charlie Brown’s squad that lost for half a century in the panels of Peanuts. Even with Snoopy in the outfield, Charlie Brown was notorious for throwing weak pitches. He should have been the tosser during the All-Star game’s home run contest. Luckily his bad luck on the diamond was played for laughs and not heartbreaking tears. Team Snoopy is part of the Happiness Is… Peanuts collection. The DVD contains a network TV special and an episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show which aired on Saturday mornings from 1983-85. Both shows are true to the comic strip. Team Snoopy is a team player.
“Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown” (25:27) is a special that aired in 2003. The special’s created from the numerous baseball themed strips written and drawn by Charles Schulz. Charlie Brown swears that the team loses games because of Lucy’s inability to play the outfield. She wouldn’t have to worry about botching so many pop flies if Charlie Brown could strike out a few hitters. Will the team really improve if Lucy gets swapped for a box of rocks? Can Charlie Brown not screw up the trade?
“The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Episode #15” (22:30) starts with the baseball themed “Pelicans.” Peppermint Patty’s baseball teams needs urgent help so she calls Charlie Brown. They don’t need him on the field. He’s required in the stands selling popcorn. But he can’t stay off the mound. Even with a 50 run lead, Charlie Brown screws things up. He’s the Bob Stanley of the animated world. In order get out of the doghouse, Patty forces him to become the team mascot. “Great Pumpkin” sends Charlie Brown to the bowling alley with Peppermint Patty for a Halloween tourney. Linus won’t go since he needs to wait in a pumpkin patch for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. Can Charlie Brown bowl worse than he pitches? “Spike” contains the original visit from Snoopy’s brother that lives in Needles, California. The two brothers have issues with the cat next door.
The special and the episode are fun viewing for fans of Peanuts. They bring the comic strip to motion. It’s always fun to watch Charlie Brown get stripped out of his uniform by a comebacker to the mound. This is more entertaining than sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley contemplating what players will be traded at the deadline. Team Snoopy is World Series worthy.
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers look fine with the animation art bringing out the characteristics of the comic strip. The audio is Dolby Mono. The levels are fine for a very unsophisticated sound mix. There’s a Spanish and Portuguese dub track. The subtitles are in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
No bonus features.
Team Snoopy contains a special and episode of prime Peanuts fun involving baseball. This is more comical than Tim McCarver’s joke book. Who can really think Lucy is the only weak link of Charlie Brown’s losing squad? While Charlie Brown might never be a winner, he’s not a boring loser.
Warner Home Video presents Team Snoopy: Happiness Is… Peanuts. Starring: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Lucy. Boxset contents: 2 episodes on 1 DVD. Released: May 1, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.
