TV Special Review: It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Funny second special, Arbor Day

Cons: Easter Beagle a bit disappointing

The Bottom Line:

Easter Beagle fun

But Arbor Day is funny

Won't go wrong with disc

More Holiday Fun with the Peanuts Gang

Easter's coming, and the Peanuts gang is trying to get ready for it in different ways. Sally wants a new pair of shoes. Peppermint Patty is trying to teach Marcy how to color eggs. Snoopy wants to do a good deed for Woodstock by buying him a house that will keep him out of the rain. Charlie Brown is upset by the site of Christmas pre-sales at the local department store. Lucy is excited about the start of gift getting season. And Linus is telling everyone about the Easter Beagle who rises up on Easter morning to give eggs to all the good children. Will this familiar sounding tale have the same outcome as the Great Pumpkin?

If I had seen this special before getting the DVD, it was when I was really young and didn't remember it at all. While I was a little surprised and disappointed that the Easter one didn't reference the Biblical story or church at all ala A Charlie Brown Christmas, that's a minor point. While fun, this isn't one of the better holiday specials. There really isn't much of a story here, and it's easy to get bored. Watching Peppermint Patty and Marcy is hilarious, however.

As with other Peanut's holiday offerings, there's a bonus holiday special on the DVD release. This disc's bonus feature is "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown." Sally has to give a report on this obscure holiday, and it gets the gang in the mood to participate. As a surprise to Charlie Brown, his baseball team decides to spruce up the baseball field will all kinds of plants and trees. He only discovers this minutes before the opening game of the season vs. Peppermint Patty's team. Will they be able to play?

This special is by far the better of the two, and I loved every minute of it. It's a more coherent story and has some classic moments like Peppermint Patty trying to pitch around a tree and wonderful site gags involving Woodstock. Plus I learned a little more about this holiday. I confess, my knowledge was about like Sally's at the beginning, so anything was better then nothing.

If you've bought other Peanuts DVD's you know exactly what to expect here. The picture and sound quality are good, but there aren't any extras.

Even though It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown isn't the best, this disc comes highly recommended because of the Arbor Day special. Any Peanuts fan will want this disc to continue their collection of these holiday classics.