While I have no proof on that, I would say the odds would be against it. This review is dedicated to my friend Mike Iwanowicz and is for the TV special It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, 1st aired on March 16, 1976. It was directed by Phil Roman. Vince Guaraldi provided the music. Actors included Dylan Beach as Charlie Brown, Gail M Davis as Sally, Liam Martin as Linus, Sarah Beach as Lucy, Stuart Brotman as Peppermint Patty, Greg Felton as Schroeder, Michelle Miller as Frieda, Vinnie Dow as Rerun and Pig Pen and Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock. You can hear Peter Robbins cry "Auggh!" in several parts.
Plot Synopsis: Linus helps his baby brother Rerun into the bicycle seat for a bicycle ride with their mother across the town. "Considering I don't do much, I lead an active life," Rerun wryly reflects. Meanwhile at school, Sally is asked what Arbor Day is all about. She guesses "It's the day all the ships come sailing into the Arbor" and gets laughed at by the class. So Miss Othmar assigns Sally a report in Arbor Day. She asks Linus for help. Linus tries his best to help Sally But she's too busy flirting with (and embarrassing) Linus she doesn't have time to listen. Snoopy and Woodstock goof off in the library and make a lot of noise and get thrown out. Peppermint Patty asks "Chuck" to explain love but Charlie Brown can't give a satisfying answer. So she suggests they get together and play her team against Chuck's. Lucy offers to clean up Charlie Brown's baseball field. In honor of Arbor Day, she turns the field into a garden with vines that terrorize Snoopy, baseball bats used for stakes and a tree on Charlie Brown's pitching mound. Woodstock eats some of the seeds Snoopy plants and gets watered on by Snoopy! The gang calls the field Charlie Brown Field and tells Charlie Brown not to worry and they'll take care of it all. So Charlie Brown plans a team strategy. Finally, when they show Charlie Brown what they've done with Charlie Brown Field, he faints when he sees it! Then Peppermint Patty and her team arrive. Peppermint Patty is naturally frustrated by the setup. Snoopy gets out by the traveling vibes which once again attack him! Linus gets tangled in his blanket and is out. Then it's Lucy's turn at bat. She asks Schroeder to kiss her if she hits a home run. Schroeder cynically agrees, knowing a home run is unlikely. However, Lucy gets her 2nd wind at the "incentive" and hits the ball hard. So Schroeder, true to his word (albiet making his discomfort perfectly clear), meets her at home plate. When Lucy sees how reluctant Schroeder is, she changes her mind about the kiss! Peppermint Patty gets out since she cannot find the bases. Rerun somehow catches one of the fly balls, much to the impressment of Charlie Brown! However, just as Charlie Brown's team is winning by one point, the rain comes. Both teams go home but Charlie Brown stands firm to his mound, refusing to call the game. Sally's only comfort to her big brother is "At least it's good for the crops!" The next day in school, Sally gives a spirited report even quoting it's founder J Sterling Morton. Peppermint Patty also reminds Charlie Brown "At least you got a field named after you, Chuck. Happy Arbor Day, Charlie Brown!"
Definitions: Charles Schulz always enjoyed using big words in the cartoon strip Peanuts. Peppermint Patty vows to annihilate Chuck's team. Annihilate means to completely destroy. Lucy claims "Henceforth, this field shall be known as Charlie Brown Field." Henceforth means from this (or that) time on. Lucy shouts "Incentive!" after Schroeder promises a kiss on the condition Lucy hits a home run. Incentive means something to motivate or encourage one to do something. Lucy also uses a French term au contraire, which means on the contrary.
Trivia: This special was Rerun's animation debut. Also, this was Vince Guaraldi's final musical score as he would pass away just hours after he completed it. Also, the scene where Lucy and Frieda are speaking gibberish is really backwards dialogue. Lucy says "A promise is a promise" and Frieda says "If I could get off this bus....," a line from the then-upcoming movie Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown.
What I liked: Rerun's observations while riding with his mother are cute. Sally's wild guess at what Arbor Day is always has me laughing! Snoopy and Woodstock goofing off in the library is also funny, as well as Woodstock standing on the sprinkler and getting sprayed! I liked that tone in Charlie Brown's voice implying both annoyance and fear as he sees his new field. "What... have you done... to my field?! And what's that tree... doing on my... pitcher's mound?!" Schroeder tries to encourage him "Don't worry, Beethoven never gave up." Charlie Brown sardonically replies "Beethoven never had a tree planted on his pitcher's mound!" I'm glad this special added lots of humor while trying to add a little education in. I give it 10 ships sailing into the arbor out of 10!
Plot Synopsis: Linus helps his baby brother Rerun into the bicycle seat for a bicycle ride with their mother across the town. "Considering I don't do much, I lead an active life," Rerun wryly reflects. Meanwhile at school, Sally is asked what Arbor Day is all about. She guesses "It's the day all the ships come sailing into the Arbor" and gets laughed at by the class. So Miss Othmar assigns Sally a report in Arbor Day. She asks Linus for help. Linus tries his best to help Sally But she's too busy flirting with (and embarrassing) Linus she doesn't have time to listen. Snoopy and Woodstock goof off in the library and make a lot of noise and get thrown out. Peppermint Patty asks "Chuck" to explain love but Charlie Brown can't give a satisfying answer. So she suggests they get together and play her team against Chuck's. Lucy offers to clean up Charlie Brown's baseball field. In honor of Arbor Day, she turns the field into a garden with vines that terrorize Snoopy, baseball bats used for stakes and a tree on Charlie Brown's pitching mound. Woodstock eats some of the seeds Snoopy plants and gets watered on by Snoopy! The gang calls the field Charlie Brown Field and tells Charlie Brown not to worry and they'll take care of it all. So Charlie Brown plans a team strategy. Finally, when they show Charlie Brown what they've done with Charlie Brown Field, he faints when he sees it! Then Peppermint Patty and her team arrive. Peppermint Patty is naturally frustrated by the setup. Snoopy gets out by the traveling vibes which once again attack him! Linus gets tangled in his blanket and is out. Then it's Lucy's turn at bat. She asks Schroeder to kiss her if she hits a home run. Schroeder cynically agrees, knowing a home run is unlikely. However, Lucy gets her 2nd wind at the "incentive" and hits the ball hard. So Schroeder, true to his word (albiet making his discomfort perfectly clear), meets her at home plate. When Lucy sees how reluctant Schroeder is, she changes her mind about the kiss! Peppermint Patty gets out since she cannot find the bases. Rerun somehow catches one of the fly balls, much to the impressment of Charlie Brown! However, just as Charlie Brown's team is winning by one point, the rain comes. Both teams go home but Charlie Brown stands firm to his mound, refusing to call the game. Sally's only comfort to her big brother is "At least it's good for the crops!" The next day in school, Sally gives a spirited report even quoting it's founder J Sterling Morton. Peppermint Patty also reminds Charlie Brown "At least you got a field named after you, Chuck. Happy Arbor Day, Charlie Brown!"
Definitions: Charles Schulz always enjoyed using big words in the cartoon strip Peanuts. Peppermint Patty vows to annihilate Chuck's team. Annihilate means to completely destroy. Lucy claims "Henceforth, this field shall be known as Charlie Brown Field." Henceforth means from this (or that) time on. Lucy shouts "Incentive!" after Schroeder promises a kiss on the condition Lucy hits a home run. Incentive means something to motivate or encourage one to do something. Lucy also uses a French term au contraire, which means on the contrary.
Trivia: This special was Rerun's animation debut. Also, this was Vince Guaraldi's final musical score as he would pass away just hours after he completed it. Also, the scene where Lucy and Frieda are speaking gibberish is really backwards dialogue. Lucy says "A promise is a promise" and Frieda says "If I could get off this bus....," a line from the then-upcoming movie Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown.
What I liked: Rerun's observations while riding with his mother are cute. Sally's wild guess at what Arbor Day is always has me laughing! Snoopy and Woodstock goofing off in the library is also funny, as well as Woodstock standing on the sprinkler and getting sprayed! I liked that tone in Charlie Brown's voice implying both annoyance and fear as he sees his new field. "What... have you done... to my field?! And what's that tree... doing on my... pitcher's mound?!" Schroeder tries to encourage him "Don't worry, Beethoven never gave up." Charlie Brown sardonically replies "Beethoven never had a tree planted on his pitcher's mound!" I'm glad this special added lots of humor while trying to add a little education in. I give it 10 ships sailing into the arbor out of 10!