Rating: 
Summary: #1 top grossing film (for the week ending December 17, 1969)
Review: It earned $290,000 the very first week that it opened. Anyway, I was five when it came out and I remember those long lines that came out to see it - like a blockbuster, like Star Wars or Jurassic Park today. It was a great film and Charles Shultz had a wonderful way of sayin', "It's ok. It's ok to miss the mark. It's ok to fail. It's ok to be vulnerable. We're all very human. We're all just a boy named Charlie Brown." Everybody relates to it and we've all been there. We've all been that kid that nobody expects anything from, that who, no matter whatever he does, has to please somebody in order just to exist - staring up at that blackboard, on the spot, try'in to please everybody just to make some friends. Sacrificing himself. But you know what? We didn't come to see them. We came to see him. He's the one that Shultz drew for 50 years. He's the one that Rod McKuen wrote the song about. He's the one that all the other films and tv specials are named after. Cause he's pretty special and we all love him and can't get enough of him. "The word is...beagle?...beagle?...beagle?" Yeah, BEEGUL!
Rating:
Summary: #1 top grossing film (for the week ending December 17, 1969)
Review: It earned $290,000 the very first week that it opened. Anyway, I was five when it came out and I remember those long lines that came out to see it - like a blockbuster, like Star Wars or Jurassic Park today. It was a great film and Charles Shultz had a wonderful way of sayin', "It's ok. It's ok to miss the mark. It's ok to fail. It's ok to be vulnerable. We're all very human. We're all just a boy named Charlie Brown." Everybody relates to it and we've all been there. We've all been that kid that nobody expects anything from, that who, no matter whatever he does, has to please somebody in order just to exist - staring up at that blackboard, on the spot, try'in to please everybody just to make some friends. Sacrificing himself. But you know what? We didn't come to see them. We came to see him. He's the one that Shultz drew for 50 years. He's the one that Rod McKuen wrote the song about. He's the one that all the other films and tv specials are named after. Cause he's pretty special and we all love him and can't get enough of him. "The word is...beagle?...beagle?...beagle?" Yeah, BEEGUL!
Rating:
Summary: We're all a boy named Charlie Brown
Review: Although I was not born until over a decade after this film premiered in 1969, I have seen it several times over the years through TV airings (i.e. on the Disney Channel). It was the first of four "Peanuts" full-length animated features to be produced through 1980, and although I've seen all four and all are good, this is my favorite. The central plot revives around Charlie Brown's trying to prove that he can win at something by entering a spelling bee. He manages to, believe it or not, win the school spelling bee and is off to the national competition and makes it all the way to the very end, and then... well, I'm not going to spoil the ending. Naturally, none of the other kids (except Linus, who goes with him to the tournament) believe he can win - hence the song "Failure Face," sung by Lucy and the other girls when they learn that Charlie wants to enter the spelling bee. But Charlie Brown still believes in himself, and for him to make it as far as he does is something to be proud of. I also remember the earlier "baseball" vignettes very well, with Frieda's bubble gum popping all over her face when the ball hits her bubble and bursts it, Charlie Brown being hit by a line drive and Lucy proclaiming that the injury's not serious enough to merit first aid - "second or third aid will do," and so on. Even Charlie Brown's old nemesis, the Kite-Eating Tree, puts in an appearance. Also, the music is well done. Some of the songs rank a little high on the corn factor (i.e. "I Before E Except After C"), but the title song is more memorable and more moving than you might expect it to be (with someone like Rod McKuen writing and singing it, how could it not be?). While the "Star Spangled Banner" and Beethoven vignettes and Snoopy's figure skating scene may not have been necessary to the plot, they are visually and aurally stunning. Overall, this movie is very faithful to the comic strip, adapting many classic "Peanuts" strips dating back as far as the late 1950s, and, like the strip itself, is a delightful mix of the humorous, the bitter, and the bittersweet.
Incidentally, another reviewer wondered why Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Woodstock aren't in this movie. The character of Marcie was not introduced into "Peanuts" until 1971, and Woodstock was around but was not named Woodstock yet (not until 1970). As for Peppermint Patty, she was around too, having first appeared in "Peanuts" in 1966, but she was not yet a "main" character - her involvement in the strip at that point was more or less limited to being a tomboyish girl who played baseball with Charlie Brown (i.e. the strip hadn't yet started to delve into her problems in school). For a "Peanuts" movie that features Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Woodstock at their best, watch 1980's "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!)."
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: As I read reviews, I don't see the words "Funny" in here. This movie is very very funny. The opening scene w/ Chuck, Linus, and Lucy lying on the hill is something that still gets a chuckle out of me. While this movie is mainly for kids, it is easily enjoyed by many older kiddies. The wit and just ultimate feeling sorry for the boy in the yellow shirt with a black zig-zag, but in a way that most of us have felt at some time in our lives. Nothing's going right, everyone hates you, except for that one kid with the stupid blanket. Then suddenly, you find something you're good at, and suddenly your fairweather fans are eveyrwhere supporting you. You feel a huge pressure to do the best that you can, and you bumble up once. Suddenly, everything is back as it was at the beginning. Gorgeous irony in this flick. I reccommend it to anyone who's felt down in their lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: As I read reviews, I don't see the words "Funny" in here. This movie is very very funny. The opening scene w/ Chuck, Linus, and Lucy lying on the hill is something that still gets a chuckle out of me. While this movie is mainly for kids, it is easily enjoyed by many older kiddies. The wit and just ultimate feeling sorry for the boy in the yellow shirt with a black zig-zag, but in a way that most of us have felt at some time in our lives. Nothing's going right, everyone hates you, except for that one kid with the stupid blanket. Then suddenly, you find something you're good at, and suddenly your fairweather fans are eveyrwhere supporting you. You feel a huge pressure to do the best that you can, and you bumble up once. Suddenly, everything is back as it was at the beginning. Gorgeous irony in this flick. I reccommend it to anyone who's felt down in their lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: The ending says it all
Review: Aside from a few overlong musical interludes (although the Beethoven segement, the Star Spangled Banner, and the final tune is wonderful), this is a wonderful movie that will stay in your mind forever if seen in childhood and that you will truly enjoy as an adult. The final scene with Linus, CB, and Lucy (along with Rod McKuen singing the title cut) says it all in this film. Don't know what I'm talking about? See it and you will.
Rating:
Summary: Charlie's finest hour!
Review: Charlie Brown is at his best in his first film as Charlie addreses his own insecurities and gets the remarkable achievement of going to a major spelling bee only to loose when final victory is so close. Along the way we are treated to a brilliant rendition of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata with some wonderful gothic imagry. We have Snoopy at the Rockefeller plaza skating around and letting his imagination run wild, and we have a great flying sequence as Snoopy does an air battle. There's so many wonderful moments it's hard to list. Rod McKuen's theme is just so poignant for the ending. After Charlie looses he realizes through simple images that life has indeed moved on and that he's going to be OK. The ending is just so moving and to have that juxtiposed with smart and quite witty scenes early on is such a rare thing in any film. The biggest shame is that this is NOT available on DVD. This is a lost treasure and I'm glad at least we can see it on VHS!
Rod McKuen
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Paramount Family Favorite
Review: Good grief. G-O-O-D G-R-I-E-F. Good grief. Even though Woodstock, Peppermint Patty and Marcie did not appear, (Neither
did Rerun) This is still a great movie. Charlie Brown tries to
volunteer for a spelling bee,But Lucy Van Pelt, Frieda (who blew
bubble gum at the baseball game) and Violet think he's just a
"Failure Face". There's not just that spelling bee, There's more.
Before the spelling bee, Charlie Brown has a baseball game to play. Some parts are funny. Frieda blows bubble gum,Pig Pen puts
dust on the ball,Snoopy ( Voiced by Bill Melendez, who produces
with Lee Mendelson) yawns and gets the ball in his mouth, Linus
Van Pelt (Brother of Lucy van Pelt) puts his security blanket
(Which is his trademark) in his baseball hat and Frieda,Violet and Patty(Not related to Peppermint Patty) do not catch the ball.
Although some parts could look like romance scenes like Lucy
kissing Schroeder and Sally (Related to Charlie Brown) says to
Linus "Isn't He The Cutest thing", This film is great and is
the 1st full-length film. F-I-L-M. Film. Cinema Center Films,CBS
Video,Cbs/Fox Video,Fox Video,Paramount Pictures,1969,Rated G.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Paramount Family Favorite
Review: Good grief. G-O-O-D G-R-I-E-F. Good grief. Even though Woodstock, Peppermint Patty and Marcie did not appear, (Neither
did Rerun) This is still a great movie. Charlie Brown tries to
volunteer for a spelling bee,But Lucy Van Pelt, Frieda (who blew
bubble gum at the baseball game) and Violet think he's just a
"Failure Face". There's not just that spelling bee, There's more.
Before the spelling bee, Charlie Brown has a baseball game to play. Some parts are funny. Frieda blows bubble gum,Pig Pen puts
dust on the ball,Snoopy ( Voiced by Bill Melendez, who produces
with Lee Mendelson) yawns and gets the ball in his mouth, Linus
Van Pelt (Brother of Lucy van Pelt) puts his security blanket
(Which is his trademark) in his baseball hat and Frieda,Violet and Patty(Not related to Peppermint Patty) do not catch the ball.
Although some parts could look like romance scenes like Lucy
kissing Schroeder and Sally (Related to Charlie Brown) says to
Linus "Isn't He The Cutest thing", This film is great and is
the 1st full-length film. F-I-L-M. Film. Cinema Center Films,CBS
Video,Cbs/Fox Video,Fox Video,Paramount Pictures,1969,Rated G.
Rating:
Summary: A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Review: I am an 18 year old college student who, after completing high school, have never learned any lessons as important as the life lessons that I have learned from this film. Poignant, sentimental, and heartwarming, this film delivers moving memories and gentle reminders for the older audiences and instills a sense of innocence and natural truth in the younger ones. Truly a classic of the 20th century. Film highlights; original music compositions and various other selections, musical montages, and the excellently portrayed messages of loss, discovery and acceptance.
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