It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown [DVD] [2008] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

While the rest of the Peanuts gang are preparing for their usual Halloween rituals, Linus is busy writing his letter to 'The Great Pumpkin', a figure who is seems to be a cross between Santa Claus and Pumpkinhead who he believes gives Halloween presents only to kids that really deserve it. He is ridiculed by everyone apart from Sally who is the only one who will join him in the pumpkin patch.

The trick-or-treating goes well for everyone apart from poor Charlie Brown who is only given rocks. That's probably what would happen to me if I went trick-or-treating as a child. Meanwhile, Snoopy dresses up as a WWI fighter pilot and pretends to be shot down behind enemy lines. But there's not enough of Pigpen, who is my favorite character.

A great TV special indeed. Kids back in 1966 didn't know how good they had it. With all of today's CGI technology I guess we have forgotten that, sometimes, the simple stories and animation can be the most endearing.

Also included on the Blu Ray is It's Magic, Charlie Brown. Annoyed at Snoopy for just sleeping all day Charlie Brown gives him a library card and tells him to go educate himself. The book he comes home with is full of magic tricks which he practices live in front a bunch of Chuck's friends. Some of the tricks work, others don't. But once the show is over Chuck is turned invisible as some kind of weird side-effect. Now with the powers of invisibility Chuck's only desire is to kick a football without Lucy yanking it out of the way at the last minute, as she so often does.

I think a lot more could have been done with this story. As soon as Charlie Brown goes invisible he orders Snoopy to fix him. Why not have more fun playing jokes on people? There was a lot of potential here but it's mainly wasted. Fun though.

The colors sure do pop on this Blu Ray. But Warner have issued it in a horrible "eco-case" (this needs to stop NOW!) but at least it's given a little extra protection by the slipcase.

I grew up watching this with my folks every year at Halloween (it was always run on TV), and now thanks to the DVD I can watch it with my daughter. Three cheers for nostalgia! (And really, really charming animation.)

Anybody who's read or watched Peanuts knows that Linus Van Pelt believes in the Great Pumpkin, who (allegedly) rises from the most sincere pumpkin patch in the world and gives presents to all the world's children. So you can guess what happens in "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," an enchanting little Halloween tale with lots of rocks, pumpkins and a World War I flying ace.

Autumn has come, and the Peanuts gang is embracing the season -- carving jack-o-lanterns, jumping into leaf piles (with wet suckers), and Charlie Brown kicking the football. It also means that Linus is writing his yearly letter to the Great Pumpkin and planning to sit in the pumpkin patch being sincere while all the other kids are out trick-or-treating. Since Sally has a crush on him, she plans to sit out there as well.

So while Sally and Linus are out there being sincere (much to the scorn of Lucy), the other kids congregate for a round of rather disappointing trick-or-treating ("I got a rock") before going on to an equally disappointing party. Meanwhile, the World War I flying ace (aka Snoopy) is shot down over enemy lines, and wanders through the French countryside. The real question is: will the Great Pumpkin appear?

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is one of those delightful Peanuts specials that everybody has seen, but somehow they never get stale or boring. And though nothing major or groundbreaking happens here, the humor is in the little running jokes that Charles Schulz littered his series with -- particularly in Linus' deep, devout belief in the Great Pumpkin.

So there's lots of funny dialogue ("You didn't tell me you were gonna kill it!" Linus howls when Lucy starts scooping out pumpkin goop), hilarious scenes (guess who all the little ghosts are!), and the occasional joke that highlights the humorous maturity of the little gang ("Funny thing about this document... it was never notarized"). It's a bit like taking a guided tour of the most fun memories of your childhood.

Sally Brown is especially funny here, since she's a sharp-tongued little firecracker who says... well, whatever's on her mind, while Linus' faith in the Great Pumpkin drives him to brave others' mockery (even though nobody has ever seen the Great Pumpkin, or gotten any toys from him). As for poor Charlie Brown, you can guess how the Halloween festivities go for him.

There's also an extra special on this, "It's Magic, Charlie Brown": Snoopy starts experimenting with magic tricks, but accidentally turns Charlie Brown invisible. Though understandably he's upset about this, Charlie Brown soon realizes that there are some benefits to invisibility.

So to celebrate the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, sit in the most sincere pumpkin patch you can find and watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." When he comes, not IF!