Project-Blu 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' Blu-ray Review, By Nate Boss

A Charlie Brown Christmas

By: Nate Boss, 11.24.2009

The Movie Itself:
Project-Blu Points Bulletin (The PB PB)

Pro:
A timeless classic cartoon, with a positive message
Quality video, better than the program has looked ever
Possibly the best Charlie Brown feature made, the most timeless

Con:
A lifeless, shallow, forced follow-up
A bit too much of the ol' Christian message, which is a good/bad thing. A sign of the times, really
A shame that modern generations don't even know what Peanuts is

Just a few weeks before viewing A Charlie Brown Christmas for review, I started a review (for Trick 'r Treat) with a quote from the film that somewhat represents the current generation's views on the Peanuts gang and legacy. Let's just say it wasn't kind towards the bald headed comic strip and cartoon legend...A sad sign of the times, really.

Quite a few generations grew up with the Peanuts gang in all of its iterations and translations, yet these days, since the retirement and passing of creator Charles Schulz, there's no driving force, no vision. In the 9 years since the departure of the comic pioneer, Peanuts has not produced any original comic strips, though apparently some new features have emerged, though based off of previous stories. The 50 year legacy of creativity (though, to be honest, the strip had more reruns of gags than Jim Davis' Garfield, and that's saying something) is already seemingly forgotten by the world.

The television specials are certainly the most powerful lasting memory, the ones with the most chance to survive as generations grow up knowing less and less about Charlie Brown and co, besides the Snoopy character that has a life of its own aside from Peanuts fame. The first of which, created in 1965 and sponsored by Coca Cola, was A Charlie Brown Christmas. Sometimes the originator is the best, the original flavor that is always fondly remembered, much like that amazing hamburger that no burger can ever again match in flavor.

The story of A Charlie Brown Christmas is so well known and iconic it's hard to do justice, despite the super brief runtime (would be a half hour special with commercials included). Christmas seems to be getting Charlie Brown down, with his lack of things to do, and lack of Christmas cards showing people care. After a visit to local bully/psychologist Lucy, he is asked to direct the Christmas play, but the participants aren't all that pleased with his inclusion, fearing he will mess things up. When Charlie is tasked to grab a Christmas tree, but returns with a scrawny sapling, he is further ridiculed. Can the Peanuts gang grasp the true meaning of Christmas, and accept Charlie Brown and his measly tree that can't even hold a single ornament?

The show sports a wonderful bit of irony, with Charlie being upset at his dog Snoopy's intentions to decorate his dog house (that doubles for a fighter jet, though not in this program) to win a contest, claiming his dog has gone commercial. Yet, the show originally had more than one moment of product placement for Coca Cola, and even included a voice over at the end, over the "Hark!" music reminding viewers to support their local bottlers. These plugs were later banned from television in programming, and as such, are not included in this release.

The show is, in a word, is epic. Combining classical Christian ideals and beliefs on the program (a point of contention originally for the show that Schulz fought for) with a tale of the underdog seeking acceptance, and the stage is set for success. The show doesn't linger, and packs so much into its brief runtime that it feels much longer than it is. It doesn't drag, and constantly advances the tale.

Marcy and Peppermint Patty aren't present, but many of the other trademark characters are out in full force, including Linus (including blanket accessory!), Lucy, Pig-Pen, and Schroeder, and the original Patty (again, not Peppermint). The piano playing, dog kissing, Lucy and Linus flirting, and random dancing are all also present in this show, as all are story stalwarts that define the series.

I cannot imagine children not being exposed to this program in their youth, I really can't, but sadly, with so many more channels of programming, plus TIVO, plus home theater, and it seems A Charlie Brown Christmas is becoming less and less of a required viewing in the developmental years. The show is innocent, sweet, teaches a positive message, and has some nice humor mixed in from the show canine, and deserves a spot in every home video collection, even if it is only played in the holiday season.
Rating: 8/10

The Presentation:

A Charlie Brown Christmas arrives on high def for the first time with this VC-1 encode at 1080p in the natural 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The pillarboxes on each side of the screen are generic black, with no option to spruce them up a la Disney's artwork option. The only way around this would be to stretch the image, and make it look ugly as sin. Classic full frame (back when it meant ratios like 1.1 and 1.33) isn't that bad, though, not as bad as some make it out to be.

I'll admit: I expected the worst. I've seen this special a few times, and it always was a low quality source, loaded with problems. Thankfully, Warner Bros. did a fantastic job with the material, and while it will never, ever, ever look like Up or Monsters Inc (or even the Haunted World of El Superbeasto), it has never, ever looked better. Ever.

First, and most importantly, there's no dirt or scratches on the source. None. There's no artifacting. No real banding issues. Colors are strong and constant (save for a few frames at the 23:16 mark that get super dark before going back to normal). Animation lines protrude their boundaries, and sometimes get very stuttered on panning shots, but that's a problem with the source material, which is quite, quite old, and is certainly not a big budget release like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The thick black outlines surrounding characters fluctuate like you'd see from a cartoon speaker pumping out tunes, especially around heads as characters talk. Again, though, this isn't some BD technical error, it's just the way the film was animated. It looks much like aliasing, but it really is just a sign of the time it was made. Whites are beautiful and pure, reds replicate gorgeously. I had some problems with the homogenized skin tones varying a bit in a single character (think a pale face and arm, and a nuclear red one), but again, source.

It bears repeating: A Charlie Brown Christmas looks as good as it ever has, and possibly ever will, save for a drastic alteration (think Ghost in the Shell 2.0)/ update that would change the film and its magic entirely. This isn't your typical high def candy, but this forgotten flavor is the kind of title that you'd not expect to get a great bump on Blu-ray, only to find out it was a perfect candidate, showing off its fresh new threads.

Of the three classic cartoon titles released at the same time from Warner Bros. (including Horton Hears a Who and How the Grinch Stole Christmas), A Charlie Brown Christmas is the only title to get a 5.1 track (though in lossy Dolby Digital, like the others). While the audio has a slight bit of matrixing performed to move noises into the rears and side channels, there really isn't much one can do with the material. The audio for this release is much like the tree in the film, and any weight put on it, no matter how light, will cause it to double over and hit hte ground.

Dialogue (and the rest of the program, really) linger in the center channel for the most part, with rears receiving some bits of score, but nothing else. The show is very quiet in the cold opening (pre-credit) sequence, but once the title card shows, the audio bumps up in volume quite a bit. There's some subtle bass in the score, but it's not really much, and is certainly less dominant in the track than the random underscore in dialogue, like static, particularly hiding out beneath Sally's dialogue, while it is also present underneath the entire program lightly. The background static turns nasty when combined with the light bits of snare drum in the score.
Rating: 6/10 (video score: 7.8/10, audio score: 4.9/10)

The Extras:
A Charlie Brown Christmas does not have any chapter search options through the menu.

A Christmas Miracle: The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas

It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (HD, 23 min) - This followup feature to A Charlie Brown Christmas features a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix, with a VC-1 encode. The music and dialogue don't mix too well, with the bass coming through the center channel. This feature lacks the magic of the original

Trailers - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie and Lola volume 6: How Many More Minutes Before Christmas?
Rating: 4/10

Overall:
I'll admit, for many years, I hadn't viewed anything Peanuts related, until I discovered an adult oriented (due to extreme language) series of dubs from the television specials that would make Schulz spin in his grave. Ever since, I get great pleasure in the Charlie Brown stories, even if a part of me is reciting the cruder lines. Honestly, it's made the program all that much more enjoyable, and has reinvigorated my taste in the bumbling youths and their dramas. A Charlie Brown Christmas is a fun film, a sweet film, and is to the point and honest if ever a program were. Yes, this film looks much better on Blu-ray, and benefits greatly from the increased resolution and clarity. No, the audio isn't equally impressive by any means. That doesn't mean this is any less worthy of a recommendation, especially considering the disc includes a buy 5 get 1 free code, digital copy, and standard DVD edition of the disc, for the kids, or on the run viewings on trips to the extended family around the holidays. A Charlie Brown Christmas is beautiful, and is the gold standard through which the rest of the Peanuts programming is to be judged against.
Rating: 6/10