He's a Bully, Charlie Brown (2006 TV Short) User Reviews

Enjoyable Peanuts TV special

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 25 February 2011]

Rerun is cheated out of his marbles at summer camp by cocky and obnoxious bully Joe Aggit. It's up to Charlie Brown to stick up for Rerun and put Aggit in his place. Once again, this special offers the usual winning blend of sweet warmth, gentle humor, and amiable well-defined characters. Directors Larry Leichliter and Bill Melendenz relate the story at a constant brisk pace and maintain a pleasant tone throughout. Snoopy is in fine form here: He gives Charlie Brown lessons on how to play marbles, packs up a ridiculously huge amount of stuff for summer camp (he even brings a bowling ball!), and reprises his supremely hip alter ego Joe Cool from "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown." Moreover, it's a hoot to see Marcie make Peppermint Patty jealous by claiming her and Charlie Brown are getting intimate with each other. Better still, Charlie Brown gets to be a hero and actually wins for once. The big high stakes marbles game between the extremely hateful Aggit and Charlie Brown is a lot of fun. The jaunty'n'jazzy rendition of Vince Guaraldi's catchy and charming classic theme keeps things bubbling along. Worth a watch for Peanuts fans.

Marble Mayhem

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 20 November 2015]

"He's a Bully, Charlie Brown" is one of the most recent Peanuts short films and this one features Rerun once again as one of the main characters. It is not even 10 years old and was the last Charlie Brown short film that the legendary Bill Melendez worked on. The story is not too great this time and also slightly predictable. A bully tricks little Rerun and takes all his marbles. Charly gets trained by Snoopy to become a great marbles player and gets them back. Well.. when it initially seems he lost, I expected Snoopy to step in and play against the bully, but Charly turned things round in the end. And there is a little story about jealousy in here too, so the girls get some screen time as well.

These Peanuts cartoons are around 50 years old now and there is actually a full feature film coming out this year and judging from early reviews, it seems to be good. But back to this short film: The only known voice actor in here is Taylor Lautner ("Twilight"), who speaks for the Bully. And I liked the goodness that these films have written all over them. One example would be Charlie wanting to give the marbles back to the bully and only keep Rerun's. As a whole, it's nice to see how they are still producing successful entertaining Peanuts short films after all these decades. It's not one of the best, but it's worth the watch. Thumbs up.

Fine for what it is

[mitsubishizero · 7/10 · 20 May 2019]

Charlie Brown And his friends go to summer camp while Peppermint Patty sneaks out of summer school to visit him. Earlier, 'Rerun' finds a jar of his grandfather's marbles in the attic and takes them with him on the bus ride. While getting used to the camp he comes across the camp bully Joe Agate who pretends to teach him how to play marbles then steals them from him afterwards.

This forces Charlie Brown to step in and win them back with the help of Snoopy I'm his Joe Cool persona. The special was adapted from a story from the original strips and I think it does it pretty well doing so while also including an ok sub plot. The sub plot focuses on Peppermint Patty trying to get close to Charlie while also dealing with her friend Marcie. Their chemistry is hilarious. It's funny to see them bounce off each other. The music's decent. I really like the marble theme that plays throughout the special.

If there's one nitpick I have it's that I wish Snoopy and 'Rerun' had more screen time they're kind've Pushed aside later on. Aside from that I enjoyed it. It may not be a classic but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. Take it for what it's worth and see for yourself.

Bullying is Bad and this Special is Just Alright

[KinoBuff2021 · 7/10 · 31 January 2023]

'He's a Bully, Charlie Brown' is an okay Peanut's special. It's probably middle tier not because anything is bad but because nothing is very good (or as good as many of the Peanuts specials have been).

This special is pretty much about Charlie Brown going to summer camp with most of his friends and then another kid at camp begins bullying other kids. This leads to the Peanuts gang getting frustrated as they try to enjoy their special.

The storyline is okay and has a good message that it isn't right to take advantage of other people. However, the message sometimes felt like it was just being brushed over as there is no big speech to profess why bullying is bad. The animation isn't the best either, but the special is still humorous. And Joe Cool makes an appearance!

Again its better than what I am writing, but I just wanted to point out how the special is still a solid special despite a few minor flaws.

Not a necessary special to watch, but if you have nothing else to watch then give it a go!

Dim and Unimaginative

[RiffRaffMcKinley · 1/10 · 23 November 2007]

From the first appearance of any sights on the screen, I could tell this terrible special would be a new low for everybody's favorite mysteriously bald child. I knew because the animation looked cheap and de-saturated, not to mention robotic and just generally awful. You'd expect animation like that in a spoof-- if "Family Guy" did it in a flashback, it would be great. The problem is, we're actually supposed to think this is ingenious. Instead, it seems that the voices of the Peanuts gang are getting worse with each passing special-- as are the specials themselves. I liked "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown". It was a very endearing film, and, in a bizarre way, a touching tribute to the tragically lost genius of Charles Schulz. But this special is just a waste of time and the energy it took to not change the channel.