Yet another film that would not have been given the green light in our current climate. Not because it’s offensive or politically incorrect, mind you, but given the army of service dogs currently working the malls, the running “No Dogs Allowed” gag (voiced to perfection by oracular-tongued Thurl Ravenscroft) would have been as relevant as a Sony Trinitron. The plot unfolds like a stack of individual strips from the color Sunday funnies: Charlie Brown is such a loser that even his pet dog wants no part of him. Will time spent in the service of bedridden Lila cause Snoopy to relocate? Unlike Lila, freshman players Woodstock and Franklin became series regulars while poor sick Lila… well, draw your own conclusion. A hallmark of the Peanuts cartoons were Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy scores which Charles M. Schultz purposely sidelined in favor of a more saleable Disneyesque soundtrack. The Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book) inconsiderable score was indeed peanuts compared to the work they did for Uncle Walt. (1972) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.