It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Peanuts Collection) (Blu-ray Review)

It's another worthwhile Double Feature, Charlie Brown!

In 1966, the Peanuts gang had something to prove. No, not Charles M. Schultz's endearing tykes. I'm talking about Schultz, director Bill Melendez, executive producer Lee Mendelson and their animation team. After the phenomenal success of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 and Charlie Brown All-Stars earlier that year, CBS offered the rising television filmmakers the keys to the network...

Video

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was produced in 1966. It's Magic, Charlie Brown was produced in 1981. Two things that become readily apparent when watching Warner's otherwise reasonably faithful 1080p/VC-1 encoded presentations unfold. Both specials feature lovely colors, relatively crisp lineart, inky black levels and near-perfect contrast, and both transfers preserve the specials' individual grain fields. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is noisier, peppered w...

Audio

Both It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and It's Magic, Charlie Brown offer an able-bodied DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. But while each mix is warm and sprightly, the specials themselves are front-heavy affairs and nothing more. The LFE channel is rarely summoned, the rear speakers are restrained throughout (music being one of the only elements that extends across the soundfield) and dynamics are passable at best. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining -- I wouldn'...

Supplements

The Blu-ray edition of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown includes just one feature: "We Need a Blockbuster, Charlie Brown!" (SD, 13 minutes), a fascinating but all-too-brief account of the drama surrounding the third Peanuts television production, the genesis and development of the Great Pumpkin story, and the ultimatum Schultz, Melendez and Mendelson received from CBS. ...

Final Words

"Two films for the price of one!" I know, I know... it doesn't sound as exciting when you're referring to two 25-minute television specials, but It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a time-honored holiday classic that belongs in every collection and It's Magic, Charlie Brown isn't too far behind. In my book, that's enough to cough up a twenty. The Blu-ray edition itself features a pair of faithful video transfers, front-heavy but relatively impressive DTS-HD Master Audio trac......

Read full review: Blu-ray.com

See more here:
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Peanuts Collection) (Blu-ray Review)