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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Charles Shultz at his best, 14 December 2000
10/10
Author: dario87 from Chicago, Il

This beautiful animated Peanuts Memorial Day Special is a must see for anyone who loves America. This is a sequel to the film Bon Voyage Charlie Brown and takes place right after the gang leaves France. The film is loaded with powerful WWII imagery and also talks about WWI which is also interesting. Linus's speech "In Flander's Fields" is extremely moving. Shultz was a WWII veteran and he delivers an excellent episode that everyone should see.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Mandatory viewing!, 4 June 1999
10/10
Author: Michael "Rabbit" Hutchison from Roseville, MN

Truly an impressive feat, this animated special is quite a departure from the rest of the Charlie Brown series. Featuring rotoscoped footage of Normandy Beach and a reading of the poem "In Flanders Fields" by Linus, it will touch the hearts of adults while not being too gruesome for kids. If it were up to me, I'd require every person in America to watch this each Memorial Day, Veteran's Day and Fourth of July!

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Another excellent, oft-ignored Peanuts special., 10 October 1999
10/10
Author: Robert Morgan from Indianapolis

Like many other Peanuts specials from the 80's, this walks a fine line between educational content and entertainment. However, the special works very well- the education isn't beaten over one's head, while the entertainment isn't frivolous. Unlike many other cartoon specials "celebrating" various things, this one has a message, and it has an emotional impact.

As another poster has commented, this is ostensibly a sequel to the feature film Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back)- a film that Mr. Charles Schulz found to be disappointing. He more than made up for it with this 1/2 hour special... the events in the feature film are truthfully ignored for the most part; it's just used as a springboard to get the Peanuts gang back into France.

I have, over the years, gotten inured to and distrustful of the motives behind most of the glorifying/worshipping films regarding WW2. I'm not much for hero worship, and being beaten over the head with propaganda about how previous generations were better/holier than later generations. However, this special, unlike so many critically acclaimed films, presents the facts and emotions underlying much of WW2- one is left to make one's own judgement. It's one of the most powerful messages about the Allied forces' sacrifices I've ever seen... all presented through the mouths of tiny animated children.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Memories stirred from over 20 years ago, 25 October 2004
Author: tecknikov from USA

As I watched the recently released on DVD movie "Ike, Countdown to D-Day", starring Tom Selleck, I was reminded of another film. It was just a 20 or 25 minute animated piece starring the Peanuts Gang titled "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?" In such a respectful and poignant way, this film recounted the awesome sacrifices made at the Normandy Invasion and left me with a profound impression that will remain with me the rest of my life. I only saw it once, the night it was first broadcast, but I will never forget it. I notice it is not available on DVD. If anyone out there reading this has any clout in the digital world, could you please see about getting it released on DVD? As one American who owes so much to those gallant men and women for their sacrifice, I sure would appreciate it.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
It moved me, 9 January 2003
10/10
Author: Mike (rkoegel@earthlink.net) from Selbyside - St. Paul, MN USA

I was 9 years old and in the hospital because of respiratory problems and was going through their video library and came across this. It was almost 6 years until I saw it again, I could never find it at any video retailer, and Paramount had just released all the shows remastered on tape. It's a somber and personal look at World War II, it should be required for history afficiados (forgive spelling). Do not miss.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
An Excellent Title to a Seldom Seen Movie, 27 September 2001
10/10
Author: sbertolino from Virginia, USA

This interesting short movie (24 minutes) won a Peabody Award for excellence. In today's cynical, apathetic society where people are not really interested in the sacrifices that were necessary to conquer evil, it's not surprising that this movie is not shown more.

As far as the movie goes, any plot is clearly secondary to the point of the movie which is to educate youngsters about the Allied invasion of France and to a lesser extent the World War I events at Ypres and Flanders. The film is most successful in this respect with, (as usual) Linus as the champion. The images shown during his descriptions of the D-Day invasion are powerful and interestingly very atypical of the usual Peanuts animation style. Actual combat photography is used, although it is transformed into two-tone color images. The use of the red imagery is powerful in the battle scenes (it seems odd discussing battle scenes in a review of a Charlie Brown movie).The film does a solid job of educating and instilling awe, sorrow and compassion for the men who fought the battles discussed.

Seriousness aside, the other parts of the film are typical Peanuts fare: Charlie Brown gets hurt a lot, Snoopy is in charge and gets into trouble, Linus is the scholar, etc. These parts made my 4-year old son laugh. But more important, it made him start asking questions about what the gang was doing, who the bad guys were and if any good guys got killed. These questions mark the beginning of an understanding of magnitude of the effects of World War II and the lives forever altered and ended by that conflict. In this respect, the movie is a resounding success and deserves the ten stars I gave it.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
This film is a deep, moving film that everyone should watch., 16 November 1998
10/10
Author: Bilbo-13

This film is the sequel to "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!)". Charlie Brown and his crew are travelling along across the French countryside, when they come to Omaha Beach, where the allied forces landed on D-Day. Linus tells them about D-Day and WWII. This is an amazing film. I strongly recommend that you watch this video.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
The ending to "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown" you didn't know about., 8 December 2005
Author: emasterslake from United States

I remember seeing this TV special a few years back. What's cool about this one is it's told by Charlie Brown who explains to his sister Sally, what he and his friends did after they left that manor from "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown".

As they travel more around France they end up at a Memorial of WW1. And shows some footage of the French, English and Americans fighting against the Germans back in WW1.

This TV special has educational value and some emotional parts to it.

It's been so long since the last time I've seen it. I hope to see it again someday.

It's more of a sequel than an Average Charlie Brown Cartoon.

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Excellent, 20 May 2009
10/10
Author: trigerhppy from United States

I have seen this special only once, during it's original broadcast. My parents let me stay up to watch it. I had not thought about it until yesterday, passing a field of poppies here in Afghanistan, I thought about Linus reading the poem IN FLANDERS FIELDS. I truly wish more people would see this special and that it would be rebroadcast. Charles Schultz served in the 20th Armored Division in Europe at the end of WWII, seeing a small amount of combat. He later remembered the troops every year by having Snoopy visit Bill Maudlin (the cartonist behind Willie and Joe) for memorial day. Before his death he donated $1 million to the National D Day memorial. What have we learned is what children need. I would love to get a copy on DVD

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