Saturday, January 30, 2010
Blog DVD Review: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Remastered Deluxe Edition
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Remastered Deluxe Edition (Warner, $19.98) brings us the 1985 TV special on DVD for the very first time! This is an animated version of the stage musical. The story focuses on of course Charlie Brown, the kid for whom life is a constant source of frustration. The gallery of familiar Peanuts characters, including Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and Snoopy, express their obsessions and insecurities in ten songs retained from the original musical. Clark Gesner's songs are featured.
Let's now move on to the packaging. We have a thin case that is movie style. The cover art is light blue in color, and has a shot of Charlie Brown with a crown with the gang carrying him up. The title of the special is above that, with a mention that the special is a remastered deluxe edition all the way on the top with a Snoopy Peanuts logo! To the back we go, we get a nice shot of most of the cast, as Snoopy and Linus are sitting on top of Snoopy's dog house. The back also has a list of special features. When we open the case, we see the disc on the right panel. There is no artwork on the panels, as it is just plain black. Disc artwork is also in light blue color with a shot of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Woodstock.
The menu screen has options of Features, Special Features, and Languages. We get that light blue background again, with the theme song playing in the background. We also have the same artwork as the cover art on the main menu. We get auto-trailers before the main menu for items like Be My Valentine Charlie Brown, It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown and Peanuts '70s Collection Vol. 1. For Languages, we can have either have English, Portuguese or Japanese. For subtitles we have those three options again and also Chinese and Thai! The Features section has the special listed and it's the only option. Finally, Special Features lists the featurette and a trailer for Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins.
The video and audio is tremendous once again and on par from what we have seen on past sets. These specials have all looked so good ever since they stated the Remastered Collection sets. They have never looked better and the audio is also superb. I am very impressed yet again; what more can I continue to say about these digitally remastered sets? Warner continues to do a great job on this remastering of all these classic specials. This special has 7 chapter stops and it runs 48:04. So, yes of course it is unedited! These sets are must buys for the video quality alone!
As for special features, these sets always have something and here we get a nice featurette like usual! It is titled "Animating a Charlie Brown Musical" and runs 14:41. We find out the 20-year history of the Clark Gesner album that evolved into an Off-Broadway hit before this special was even created. Interviewed are Lee Mendelson (executive producer), Nat Gertler (Peanuts Historian), Dean Stolber (original Broadway Charlie Brown), and Jeannie Schulz (Charles' wife. There is also a clip from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson from Feb. 7, 1973 with Charles Schulz! How cool!
I once again highly do recommend this set for any Charlie Brown-Peanuts fan and classic animation in general. Continue your collection, because we get another classic special we never had on DVD before and also remastered for the first time on DVD. This is totally worth it! Warner continues to do a wonderful job with the remastering and the behind the scenes extras for each set. Let's hope they continue to release more Peanuts specials and eventually we get them all remastered in our personal libraries! We still need volume two of the '70s collection of Peanuts, so hopefully that is out by the summer at least. So start singing Happiness because you'll be very happy after you watch this classic special!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Charlie Brown Official Page
Charlie Brown Specials
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, September 28
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)
Thursday, September 28
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. He joins Drew for the entire show opening up about meeting the love of his life Amal, revealing the sweet thing they still do for each other to this day, their engagement story and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Diane Morgan (After Life) - Diane appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (How to Be a Bookie) and Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie/Corporate) - Sebastian and Baron are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Garcelle Beauvais (Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has an interview with Garcelle at 11pm on E!.
- Kerry Washington (Unprisoned) - Kerry is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
- Ed Begley Jr. (Young Sheldon/Your Family or Mine/Gary Unmarried/Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)) - Ed talks about his new book To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It! A Memoir on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Sam Jay (Bust Down) - Sam talks about her just-released HBO comedy special, Salute Me or Shoot Me, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts