There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy, on Apple TV+

Snoopy's doghouse is a lot like the Tardis. It seems to hold infinite storage space. Of course, that is really just the power of his imagination. Still, it is such a shame to lose it. Technically, it was Sally’s fault, but it is still gone just the same in There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy, the new Peanuts animated special directed by Ridd Sorensen, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

It is time for Charlie and Sally Brown’s annual yard sale. Honestly, it really more of Sally’s yard sale, because he has trouble letting go of his old stuff, for sentimental reasons. In contrast, Sally has no sentimentalism when it comes to money. That’s how she accidentally sells Snoopy’s doghouse. Of course, she was so intoxicated by her sudden revenue, Sally cannot remember who bought it. Somehow, Snoopy will have to scrounge up another deerstalker cap and magnifying glass to track it down. At least his loyal “owner” Charlie Brown will stick with him every step of the way.

Like all of Apple TV+’s Peanuts specials, There’s No Place Like Home is just as cute and endearing as you might expect. In fact, thematically, it sometimes feels closer to Shulz era specials, except that Charlie Brown is maybe a bit more proactive.

Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, on Apple TV+

The Peanuts comic-strip premiered in 1950, but Charlie Brown and the gang have always been Gen X’ers at heart. Think about it: they stay outside all day long and they never have any adult supervision. That is why they love camp, except maybe Sally. She is like the Gen-Z’er of Peanuts, who would rather stay home watching TV. Just for the record, this is not Camp Remote from Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. This is Cloverhill Ranch, where everyone feels welcome, even a blockhead like Charlie Brown. He is excited to introduce Sally to the camp’s activities, but it turns out this might be the last hurrah in Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, directed by Eric Wiese, which premiers this Friday on Apple TV+.

Of course, the Peanuts kids can sing. They had their own hit Off-Broadway musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Group singing also happens to be a very camp thing to do. Frankly, Charlie Brown enjoys everything about Cloverhill, which seems very un-Charlie Brown, but the recent Apple TV+ specials have cut Chuck a lot of breaks. It is sort of nice, because we all love the character, but it still feels sort of wrong, because it breaks with the tradition established by Charles Schulz.

Regardless, Cloverhill is his happy place, but Charlie Brown cannot help noticing there have been fewer and fewer campers every year. Yet, he initially focuses on convincing Sally to be less of a miserable Gen Z wet blanket, while Snoopy and Woodstock commence a treasure hunt using the map they accidentally unearthed. Unfortunately, just as he starts to make progress with Sally, the invisible adults announce this will be Cloverhill’s final season. How can the Peanuts gang save the camp? This is a musical, so that should be your first clue.

In fact, this happens to be a pretty solid musical. It isn’t quite Good Man, but it features two pleasingly melodic and memorable tunes penned by Ben Folds. “When We were Light” is a standout that measures up to anything you can currently hear on Broadway, while “Look Up, Charlie Brown” has a really nice musical theater dramatic arc. However, Folds’ best Peanuts tune remains the title song to Snoopy Presents: It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown, which should have won an Emmy (or even a Grammy).

This is America, Charlie Brown: The Music and Heroes of America

Of course, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang love jazz. For years, their specials were scored by the great Vine Guaraldi—and to jazz fans, he was indeed great. They even had the occasion to talk about music, including several jazz masters in the final episode of This is America, Charlie Brown, “The Music and Heroes of America” (directed by Sam Jaimes), which screens at the Paley Center as part of its Independence Day celebration.

Schroeder has an important class presentation on the history of American music, but he is reluctant to hire Snoopy. You know that beagle is a wild improvisor. However, it turns out he could use some of Snoopy’s solo virtuosity. Much to his surprise, his portion of the program performing Great American Songwriters like Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, and George M. Cohan are quite well received.

Then Franklin takes over to present spirituals, the blues, and jazz. Throughout the program, Lou Rawls sings (off-camera) standards like “When the Saints” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” Ironically, even though this episode discusses jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, it was one of the few episodes of the series not scored by a composer known for their jazz work. While five previous episodes featured music from Dave Brubeck, Dave Grusin, David Benoit, George Winston, and Wynton Marsalis, “American Music” was scored by Ed Bogas (who succeeded Guaraldi as the in-house composer for Peanuts specials) and Desiree Goyette.

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, on Apple TV+

Charles M. Schulz’s introduction of the black character Franklin in his beloved Peanuts comic strip eleven days after the assassination of Martin Luther King is widely considered an important statement on behalf of racial integration. Yet, Franklin was even more culturally significant, because he was the son of a Vietnam veteran (at least as I see it, as a fellow son of a Vietnam vet myself). Franklin’s arrival is adapted (and somewhat updated) in the latest Peanuts special, Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

To reflect current times, Franklin’s dad is still a vet, but the details of his service are kept vague. Of course, like most military brats, he has had to move constantly to each new duty station. This time, they have relocated to wherever Charlie Brown lives. Always a little shy, Franklin has a particularly hard time fitting in, because he is thrown by Lucy’s grouchiness and Linus’s weird “Great Pumpkin” babble.  And then there’s Pigpen.

The only one who talks to him is the round-headed kid, Charlie Brown. Both could use a friend, so they enter the local soapbox derby together, but like in Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, the dangerous competition puts them under stress, before bringing them back together.

Although Franklin never had a surname in the comic strip, Schulz dubbed him Franklin Armstrong in one of the specials, as a tribute to cartoonist Robb Armstrong, who co-wrote this special. In most respects, it stays faithful to Franklin’s debut in the strip. However, it follows a trend in some of the new Apple Peanuts specials that moderates Charlie Brown’s born loser blockheadedness. Poor Charlie Brown just isn’t supposed to kick the football—ever.

Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz

He was a man of deep faith and deep neuroses. Despite his extraordinary success, Charles Schulz remained a very humble and humane man. What better means to tell his story than through the artform he perfected? Writer Luca Debus and artist Francesco Matteuzzi chronicle Shulz’s life with comic strips (including a double color panel every seventh page) in Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz, which releases today in bookstores.

Clearly, much of Debus’s dialogue is fictionalized. In real life, we usually don’t have reliable punch-lines on every third beat, but a comic strip pro like Shulz would surely appreciate it. Presumably, the Schulz family did not sanction Funny Things, because none of the Peanuts gang are ever pictured, but it is hard to imagine they would object to its lovingly humanistic portrayal.

Most of the major events will be familiar to fans, especially if they have seen Apple TV+’s Who Are You, Charlie Brown, but Debus places much greater emphasis on the impact of various family tragedies on the young Schulz. He also devotes a good deal of time to the cartoonist’s wartime service, his early professional service, and his long history of church work (which Apple predictably overlooks).

Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie, on Apple TV+

In terms of temperament, Marcie is probably the closest to poor Charlie Brown, but she is no blockhead and there is no way her best friend, Patricia Peppermint Patty would ever forget about her. Still, there are times she takes Marcie for granted. In fact, many of the shy, bookish girl’s insights go unappreciated in Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie, the latest Peanuts special, which premieres tomorrow on Apple TV+.

Peppermint Patty is determined to win her school’s annual golf tournament, even though she has incredibly stiff competition from Snoopy. Her not-so-secret weapon is her caddy, Marice who can read greens and winds better than Bagger Vance. However, Marcie has other issues on her mind, like the insufficient number of pizza slices in the cafeteria at lunch time and the hall congestion in between periods that always makes the undersized underclassmen late for class. She has ideas to solve these problems, if people will listen to her.

One-of-a-Kind does not have an original song like the memorable title tune of It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown, but it is another good opportunity for a long-time supporting Peanuts character to get a turn in the spotlight. Marcie is definitely a sweet kid, who has many admirable traits worth emulating. Plus, her golf tips are surprisingly good for a cartoon character.

Of course, Snoopy rocks golf clothes like nobody’s business. He has relatively little screen-time in this special, but he makes the most of it. Screenwriter Betsy Walters does a nice job deepening Marcie’s relationship with Peppermint Patty, in ways that the Charles Shultz family clearly felt was in keeping with the original comic strips and their conception for the special.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Vince Guaraldi’s Original Soundtrack

This year, you can only watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with an Apple TV+ subscription, but you can finally hear all of Vince Guaraldi’s classic music, in its entirety. For years, the audio masters were presumed lost, so the previous 2018 soundtrack release simply dubbed Guaraldi’s themes (along with accompanying sound effects) from the film print—which fans found unsatisfying. However, the heirs of producer Lee Mendelson finally unearthed the original music master tapes after their father’s death. Earlier this year, fans finally got to hear the full Guaraldi soundtrack in the manner it deserved to be heard. It is great jazz any day of the week, but you can’t beat the nostalgia of listening to the soundtrack of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown during Halloween time.

Fittingly, the soundtrack album starts with the classic Peanuts theme “Linus and Lucy.” This take sounds somewhat different than that heard on the A Charlie Brown Christmas record, because Ronnie Lang’s swinging flute is featured so prominently, but it is still easily recognizable in theme and tempo as the Charlie Brown music you know. The same is very much true of the “Charlie Brown Theme,” appearing in several arrangements throughout Great Pumpkin, but you won’t find that one on the Christmas record.

Ironically, “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” is on the Christmas record, where it weirdly fits in just fine, because it is such a lovely piece of music. “Graveyard Theme” might sound like an incidental mood piece from its title, but it serves up a really slinky groove with a cool bass line that stands alone quite nicely.

There are a few pieces that mostly help listeners relive Snoopy’s antics from the special, like Schroeder’s WWI medley. However, even Guaraldi’s “Red Baron Theme” sounds pretty hip and swinging. Even the moody “Breathless” has a strong rhythmic drive and Lang’s flute gives the second reprise a distinctive, exotic flavor.

“Linus and Lucy” “Great Pumpkin Waltz” “Charlie Brown Theme” and “Graveyard Theme” are each repeated several times throughout the soundtrack album, including several alternate takes. Yet, each rendition has sufficient variations to more than merit their inclusion in the program (even the alternates are surprisingly good, which is not always the case).

Admittedly, Christmas is more traditionally associated with seasonal music than Halloween, but it just seems like Fantasy Records left a lot money on the table not pursuing a soundtrack album after It’s the Great Pumpkin premiered. Seriously, how many copies of the Christmas album have they sold over the years? It even features Monty Budwig on bass and Colin Bailey on drums (laying down a rock-solid beat), who also played on some of the Christmas tracks.

At least it is here now, but its not just nostalgia. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a great jazz album, from Guaraldi, who is still not fully appreciated as a jazz artist. (For Great Pumpkin, he also had some notable assistance from former big band lead John Scott Trotter orchestrating and conducting the score.) Highly recommended for jazz fans, Peanuts fans, and trick-or-treats, Guaraldi’s It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack is now available on CD, LP, and digital.

Snoopy Presents: To Mom (and Dad) with Love, on Apple TV+

Parents like to say every day is children’s day—unless you are Charlie Brown, who never gets to have his day. On the other hand, every day is usually great for Peppermint Patty, except Mother’s Day, because she doesn’t have one. However, she has Marcie to help her cope in Snoopy Presents: To Mom (and Dad) with Love, directed by Clay Kaytis, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

This new Mother’s Day special is a bit of a departure from the previous Peanuts holiday commemorations, because it very much focuses on Peppermint Patty, with both Snoopy and Charlie Brown only playing supporting roles. Of course, Snoopy still gets an adventure in, when he sets off with Woodstock to find his avian friend’s sainted mother.

Although we never learn the circumstances, it is clear Peppermint Patty has grown up without her mother, just her cool, sporting dad, which probably explains why she always kicks poor Charlie Brown’s butt in sports. She always hated Mother’s Day, but this year it is really getting her down. Fortunately, Marcie will step up, the way Linus sometimes does for Charlie Brown.

To Mom is consistently sweet and endearing. It helps define the idea of family inclusively, but without charging into the raging culture wars. Presumably, Charles Shulz would have been comfortable with it. After all, he always expressed humanistic compassion for kids who felt a little different or a little lonely. In this case, screenwriter Alex Galatis manages to build an entire story out of Peppermint Patty’s off-hand mention in one comic strip (from 1973) that she has no mother, without creating any new backstory of his own. That’s some agile writing and good management of a beloved licensed property.

It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown—on Apple TV+

Earth Day is one of the few “holidays” the Peanuts gang didn’t have a special for, until now. (To be fair, they had Arbor Day, which is pretty much the same thing, but a different day). Their latest special of the Apple era is indeed intended to commemorate Earth Day, but it works just as well for the opening of baseball season. Flowers will be planted, but it is unclear how much baseball will be played on Charlie Brown’s regular weed-infested field in Snoopy Presents: It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown, directed by Raymond S. Persi, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+.

Purists amongst us will be happy to see the black-headed kid’s name back on the title (they’re still using that “Snoopy Presents,” but whatever). Snoopy is a star, but Charlie Brown is the heart and soul of Peanuts, partly because he is such an eternal optimist. This time he is convinced his baseball team can beat Peppermint Patty’s for the neighborhood pennant. It maybe wouldn’t be as crazy as it sounds, because he has them playing some pretty good ball. The thing is, he promised Sally she could play this year—and she is terrible on the field.

The real trouble comes when she gives up on playing and becomes fixated on a dandelion growing on the pitcher’s mound. Much to Charlie Brown’s frustration, her sudden enthusiasm for wild nature starts to catch on in the neighborhood and within his team.

None of Apple’s Peanuts originals have quite matched the gentle wisdom of Charles Shulz’s writing, because how could they, but the previous For Auld Lang Syne came pretty close. Small Things also has some worthy sentiments, but it happens to be the first that really creates its own musical identity. In the past, Jeff Morrow’s music was nice, but clearly tried to evoke Vince Guaraldi’s classic themes, while staying appreciably different (presumably for legal and economic reasons).

Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne

Like a lot of people, Lucy had a Charlie Brown kind of New Year’s last year. This year, her Christmas is not panning out either. Lucy Van Pelt is not the sort of person you want to disappoint, so Linus and Charlie Brown agree to help make her New Year’s Eve party an unforgettable bash. Yet, her bossiness keeps getting in the way in Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne (directed by Clay Kaytis), the first new Peanuts holiday special in ten years, which premieres tomorrow on Apple TV+.

It is December, but we end up skipping over Christmas, after Grandma Van Pelt calls to say she can’t come this year. Linus is a little relieved, but Lucy is very disappointed. To cheer herself up, she decides to throw herself a New Year’s party. Naturally, she assigns everyone a job to do, but they wouldn’t mind, if she would just let them do things their ways.

Meanwhile, Snoopy’s entire litter is visiting for the holidays, including big lovable Olaf and his sister Belle. Crusty Spike wants to finally get a picture of them all together, but his efforts are constantly frustrated.

Evidently, Apple’s Peanuts originals must all use Snoopy rather than Charlie Brown in the title. The “Snoopy Presents” makes him sound like a celebrity executive producer, but this is probably the best of the Apple-produced Peanuts programming to date. Kaytis and co-writers Alex Galatis and Scott Montgomery rekindle the spirit of the eternal Peanuts classics, even though they give Lucy some vulnerability and sentimentality that we have never seen from her before. (Seriously, she is the girl with the football, remember?)

Who Are You, Charlie Brown?—on Apple TV+

Snoopy has been NASA’s semi-official mascot ever since the Apollo 10 lunar and command modules were nicknamed in honor of him and Charlie Brown. They also own Christmas thanks to the beloved TV special and Vince Guaraldi’s iconic soundtrack album. Plus, there were movies and a frequently revived stage musical, but creator Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz remained as unassuming as the round-headed kid he brought to life. Shulz and the beloved Peanuts franchise are celebrated in Who Are You, Charlie Brown?, directed by Michael Bonfiglio, which starts streaming this Friday on Apple TV.

Schulz did not have a particularly happy childhood and he did not do particularly well at school. Parallels between his life and Charlie Brown are not coincidental. However, he discovered he had a passion for cartooning that developed into a specialty for writing and drawing children. Thanks to the everyman appeal of Charlie Brown and Snoopy’s wild flights of fancy, Peanuts caught on big, but Shultz never changed.

Who Are You covers most of the truly pivotal moments in Peanuts history and Shulz’s life, like the Apollo 10 mission, the classic Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, and the continuation of the strip after Shulz’s stroke, but the hour long documentary-tribute really only scratches the surface. There is no discussion of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (a huge hit Off-Broadway), the theatrical films, the Christian theological interpretations of Shulz’s writings, Guaraldi’s records and scores, or more darkly, the failed kidnapping attempt of 1988.

So, Who Are You is far from definitive by any stretch, but it wonderfully soothing to revisit Shulz and his cherished characters. In between biographical segments, Bonfiglio incorporates a new animated story, featuring Charlie Brown as he wrestles with home assignment to write an autobiographical essay. Maybe best of all, these segments feature Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” and “Skating.” Arranged by Jeff Morrow, they still sound quite faithful to the classic originals.

The Snoopy Show, on Apple TV+

When Charles M. Schulz first brought his beloved Peanuts characters to TV, the resulting Christmas special did two nearly miraculous things. It managed to shoehorn some King James scripture and original jazz music into primetime television. Eventually, there was even a Saturday morning cartoon, but just about every form of animated Peanuts gets compared to three perennial favorites (Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown). You might notice Charlie Brown is in each title. Recently, Apple has started producing new Peanuts programming and fans are glad to have it, but their focus has been on a certain beagle. Fortunately, he and his feathered best friend are still endearing, even if there isn’t quite the same level of magic in The Snoopy Show, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

This will indeed be Snoopy’s show, so don’t you forget it. It even starts with his dueling origin stories in the opening vignette, “A Snoopy Story,” wherein Snoopy writes memoirs, but Charlie Brown sets the record straight (we also briefly get to see Snoopy’s brothers, Spike and Olaf). Each of the six 24-minute-ish episodes contain three mini-stories, sometimes sharing a common theme, like Halloween and outdoor winter frolics.

The best is probably “Happiness is a Snow Day,” in which Snoopy teaches the uptight Marcy how to enjoy a winter’s day off from school and “Dress-Up Snoopy,” which follows Snoopy’s efforts to devise a costume for Charlie Brown that will catch the Little Red-Headed Girl’s eye. There is always a risk revisiting Halloween, because “Great Pumpkin” remains so popular, but it really pays off in this segment. Unlike many episodes, poor Charlie Brown’s neuroses return to center stage here. Frankly, he is sometimes missed, because his modesty and indomitable humanity are what made the best specials so special. (Snoopy also probably works better when he rolls in and out for his mic-drop moments.)