It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

Seeing how today is Easter, and I missed this opportunity the last couple of years, I will not miss it this time around. Today, I will be looking at the 1974 Charles Schulz’s TV special, “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.” This focuses a lot more on Snoopy than Charlie Brown this time, and unlike “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” it easily leaves out every religious aspects of the holiday.

Mixing the plotlines of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” bounces three tiny subplots: Peppermint Patty’s (Linda Ercoli) attempts to color Easter eggs, Snoopy trying to get a dry home for Woodstock (both voiced by producer Bill Melendez), and Linus’ (Stephen Shea) loud belief that the mythical “Easter Beagle” will come and bring eggs and candy and peace to the children of the world. Peppermint Patty’s attempts to get her eggs dyed are disadvantaged by, as described by Paul Mavis, “preternaturally weird pal Marcie,” voiced by Jimmy Ahrens, who doesn’t understand that the eggs have to be boiled “in their shells” before coloring them. Mavis stated, “Snoopy, after wringing out a soaking wet Woodstock (his pathetic little nest is offered no shelter in his pathetic little twig of a tree), decides to buy him a nice wooden bird house that Woodstock fantastically appoints in the very latest mid-seventies mod furnishings.” Finally, Linus convinces Sally Brown, voiced by Lynn Mortensen, that the Easter Beagle “will” come on Easter morning.

Mavis pointed out, “By 1974, the whole Snoopy phenomenon was really peaking, and so it's natural that Schulz and producers Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson would want to focus most of It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown on Charlie Brown's dog, and not Charlie Brown. Chuck doesn't have a lot to do here (except of course getting shafted at the end when Snoopy runs out of eggs), and even though I love Snoopy's funny little antics, I miss the morose, moral anchor that is Charlie Brown in these specials.” “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” plays really familiar, as well. The whole “Linus believes in the Easter Beagle” part is taken obviously from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” while Peppermint Patty’s tiresome explaining with absent-minded Marcie remind you of the cooking parts (and the friend’s rejections) of the Thanksgiving dinner in “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.”

Even though a few scenes are very cute and memorable (Snoopy examining into a sugar egg, picturing himself dancing with Easter bunnies, is smart and sweet), it’s hard to say that “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” has much to do with what makes Easter, “Easter.” Mavis mentioned, “For Schulz's A Charlie Brown Christmas, Schulz famously fought the networks who didn't want the cartoonist's explicit religious references (particularly Linus' final Bible quotation, conveying to Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas).” That perspective is not in “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.” “Easter” is coloring eggs, obviously, and that’s about it. Mavis admitted, “That viewpoint is gone in It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. "Easter" is coloring eggs, evidently, and that's about it. That underlying seriousness of tone (which was also found in the amazing Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, which I reviewed here) is totally absent, and as such, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown doesn't have the weight of those other two outings. In the new bonus documentary included on this disc, commentators discuss Schulz's motivations, both artistic and commercial, and they seem to want to have it both ways. Phil Cousineau implies that Schulz was knocking organized religion, but nothing in It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is religious; there's a back-and-forth discussion as to whether Schulz intended deep, meaningful subtexts in his work, or if he was, as he often described it, just making "funny stories." Producer Lee Mendelson is perhaps the most fair, acknowledging that there's definite contradiction in Schulz's frequent disdain of commercialism (seen also in It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown), and his overwhelming success at...commercializing the Peanuts characters. Ultimately, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown suffers precisely because of its unresolved inconsistencies. It's about Easter, but it denies any religiosity; it espouses anti-commercialism, but it was specifically made to get ratings and sell Dolly Madison treats.” These contradictions end with a sweet, light Charlie Brown offering, but no more.

Fun and sweet, “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” is definitely enjoyable, but it doesn’t have the weight of previous Schulz TV specials. Mavis ended by saying, “Those wondering if they should double-dip on this release, the image has been significantly improved, and the additional doc is worthwhile. I recommend It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.”

Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy the egg hunt later on tonight and make sure you watch this special as well. You will love it since it’s one of the funniest specials, although it may not be as good as the others. In the end, this is a Peanuts special, so you have to see this.

Now, I know I have said this in the past couple of days, but now I will say it again. Stay tuned next month of a series of movies that I have anxiously wanted to review.