Sorry, this movie sucks

A Major Disappointment

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

"Play It Again, Charlie Brown" is a 24-minute cartoon from 1971, so this one is already almost half a century old and depending on when you read this review actually, it may have happened already. The names Melendez and Schulz make obvious that here we got another Peanuts cartoon of course, but this one is definitely not among their most known by any means. The reason may be that Schroeder is the center of focus here, together with his (very one-sided) sweetheart and that honestly the music component, as much as it may be in the center of it all here, is far from level of quality you'd want it to be. Charlie, his dog and the other more interesting (at least to me) characters here really do not get the screen time they deserve in my opinion, which is quite a pity to be honest and I would agree that the film's popularity, or lack thereof, matches the film's quality, even if it managed to get the Emmy nomination like so many other Peanuts works. Very unimpressive from start to finish and a failed attempt at making a Peanuts cartoon mostly focusing on music. There was potential for much more and this is among the very weakest from the series and I have seen them all at least one. Not recommended, unless you really are a huge fan of the gang.

This one is a lot more centered around young piano prodigy, Schroeder. He spends a lot of time playing in the style of Beethoven, which attracts a few of his friends, especially Lucy. Since Schroeder has never returned the same feelings she has for him, Lucy tries to win him over by having him play at the PTA meeting. The catch is, he has to perform rock music in a band with Charlie Brown, Pigpen and Snoopy. Though the Peanuts rarely make pop culture references, this special has some clever commentary about musicians selling out in order to achieve wide recognition, and Schroeder decides to stick to his guns in the end. It's a lesson that still feels relevant with today's music industry.Score: 76/100

Seventh animated special based on the Charles M. Schulz cartoon strips is also the first aired during the 1970's, and is about Lucy's infatuation with Schroder, but he only loves Beethoven, until Lucy decides to enroll him in the PTA music show, but only if he'll play modern music, something he refuses to do, despite Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Pig Pen already seeming quite capable of going on without him... Strange special is one of the weakest, with a flimsy plot and inconsistent characterizations(since when can poor talentless Charlie play an instrument? Did he take lessons?) Goofy comedy with spray can music and PTA members is cringe-worthy. Entirely forgettable.

Lucy thinks she's found a way for Schroeder to like her when she gets him a gig at the PTA show at the school but Peppermint Patty tells her something that she knows Schroeder wouldn't be crazy about. I'll stop there and just say that this was another "Peanuts" special that I highly enjoyed watching a few years ago having been one of the few I didn't catch as a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s. It happened to be during a few months after director Bill Melendez died and when I originally submitted this, it was dedicated to him. He knew so well how to put Charles Schulz' vision in animated form with great help from Vince Guaraldi's music score. I won't mention any more except just seek out Play It Again, Charlie Brown on YouTube or anywhere if you're in the mood...