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
(4/5 stars)
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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, September 15
The Great North - "You've Got Sail Adventure" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Wanting a chance at casually making out, Judy suddenly finds herself with three separate dates to handle simultaneously; Beef goes to meet a friend he met online, only to find out that he's a cruise ship captain, and therefore a dire enemy.
The Simpsons - "Cremains of the Day" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When someone in Homer's life passes away, he and some guys from Moe's go on a road trip to scatter the ashes.
Universal Basic Guys - "Sunset Cruise" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When David, Andrea, Mark, and Tammy go on a cruise together, David and Andrea unexpectedly rekindle their romance; Mark's preoccupation with reeling in a big fish leads to him catching a whale that jeopardizes the safety of the entire cruise.
Bob's Burgers - "The Right Tough Stuff" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Gayle tells the family she's sending in an audition tape to be on Tough Stuff Island, Linda is determined to make her tape boring to save her from being humiliated on a rejection reel; Bob struggles with his new electric grinder.
The Great North - "Look Who's Squawking Adventure" / "Am I The Ice Hole? Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When the eagle Moon is pet sitting escapes, he enlists Beef and Wolf to go searching for it; Honeybee and Beef bond on an ice fishing trip and try to find a compromise between quiet fishing and fun games.
The Conners - "Sober Sex, Plastic Silverware, and Losing My Religion" (The CW, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Part of Becky's recovery program mandates she make amends with people she has lied to over the years, leading her to meet up again with a former high school friend; Darlene visits with Pastor Phil; Louise continues planning her wedding.
The Conners - "The Wedding of Dan and Louise" (The CW, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A weather report forecasting that a tornado is headed for Lanford creates chaos and surprises on Dan and Louise's wedding day.
The Conners - "Peter Pan, The Backup Plan, Adventures in Babysitting, and a River Runs Through It" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Conner home is decked out for Halloween, despite the leak in the roof that forces Dan and Louise to cancel their honeymoon; Becky surprises the newlyweds and takes them on a virtual adventure around the world.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 9)
Friday, September 13
- Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Watch Brian on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Al Franken (LateLine) - Al is a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
- Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor talk about the enduring power of friendship in their new Hulu film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Dana Delany (The Comedians) - Dana discusses her television series Tulsa King on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Josie Davis (Charles in Charge) - Josie will be on Good Day LA on FOX 11 in Los Angeles at 11:30am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts