I remember this Peanuts movie-special, along with A Boy Named Charlie Brown, fondly as a kid, when they replayed these specials on Nickelodeon (or it might have been Disney's channel, can't remember which). Each one had several songs in each pot, all of them catchy to one degree or another, and featuring some of the genuine wit of the comic strips. This film is maybe relying on more sentimentality than the former, as in this one the issue of leaving home and belonging to an master/owner (and the attachment), and the comedy isn't as rampant as in other Peanuts specials. But of the dozens of Peanuts specials- and the short-lived television series- this is one of the better ones, as there are some moments that still stick in my mind many years after seeing it. One of these is the classic "No Dog's Allowed" song, with the perfect bass sounding voice. And the whole sequence where Snoopy is under protest taken in by a very determined little girl is brilliantly done for laughs. For some kids, depending on if they're attached to the Peanuts or not, may feel stronger with this film, with the very conflicting climax with Snoopy and his masters. There's enough fun though, as Woodstock's first appearance in the Peanuts series is well placed and delivered, with as many vaudevillian expressions as Snoopy.
Just good, family fun for all.
Just good, family fun for all.