You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)

The Peanuts gang performs the classic Broadway musical.

Director:

Sam Jaimes

Writers:

Charles M. Schulz (created by), Clark Gesner (based on the play by)

Stars:

Kevin Brando, Michael Dockery, Brad Kesten

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kevin Brando	...	Charlie Brown (singing voice)
Michael Dockery	...	Marcie (voice)
Brad Kesten	...	Charlie Brown (voice)
Jeremy Scott Reinbolt	...	Schroeder (voice) (as Jeremy Reinbolt)
Tiffany Reinbolt	...	Sally Brown (voice)
Jessica Lee Smith	...	Lucy van Pelt (voice) (as Jessie Lee Smith)
Robert Towers	...	Snoopy (singing voice)
David Wagner	...	Linus van Pelt (voice)

Storyline

Charlie Brown and the Peanuts sing out as they perform excerpts from the classic musical. Charlie Brown has one of his usual bad days of loneliness and failure whether it be in the schoolyard, at the baseball diamond or at home. Meanwhile, Linus ponders his dependence on his security blanket, Linus bullies and pesters the boys, Sally Brown goes through life with her scatterbrain philosophies and Snoopy indulges in his appetites and fantasies. However, there is music to be had to see them through, until they all realize what truly makes them happy.

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Plot Keywords:

peanuts | liquid | table | surrealism | cartoon dog | 

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Taglines:

Happiness With the Peanuts Gang!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, United Media Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Snoopy speaks for the first time in an animated special (voiced by Robert Towers, who was a member of the 1967 Los Angeles stage cast).

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Quotes

[last lines]
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Sally Brown, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Schroeder: [singing] Happiness is morning and evening, daytime and nighttime too.
Charlie Brown: For happiness is anyone and anything at all that's loved by you.
Lucy van Pelt: [spoken] You're a good man, Charlie Brown.

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Connections

Follows She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown (1980)

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Soundtracks

Book Report
Written by Clark Gesner
Performed by the Cast

User Reviews

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown Not So Good

Peanuts is without a doubt, one of the greatest comic strips ever created. And the TV specials that were spawned from the strip are equally enjoyable to this day. But among the over forty specials created, there is one glaring special that should not have been made. The special, in question, is 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.' This special originated from an off-Broadway play. Yes, a musical. And it shows throughout the special. Charles Schulz did not create this one. Even if audiences didn't know off the bat that Schulz had not written this piece, it would become quickly evident that he hadn't. This special was originally created by a man named Clark Gesner, in the 1960's. According to the bonus feature included in the DVD, "Animating A Charlie Brown Musical", it wasn't even until roughly twenty years later this the play was made into this TV special.

The bonus featurette is about the only major positive to this DVD, sadly. While there are some funny jokes here and there throughout the different segments--this was not one continuous movie. It was just a bundle of separate skits--the fact that Gesner tried to literally adapt the comic strip to the stage, and then to the small screen, made this one of the lesser enjoyable Peanuts pieces.

The only thing that made the bonus feature worthwhile was that producer, Lee Mendelson did try to defend the strip. As a result, he gave audiences a little known fact in that Black Eyed Peas member, Fergie, (a.k.a Stacy Ferguson) was a member of the Peanuts gang in the 1984 special, 'It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.' The reference was made in Mendelson's attempt to defend 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.' The bonus featurette included in this DVD made the DVD worth buying for true Peanuts fans and collectors. But unlike so many of the Peanuts specials that have been released in recent years, this is one of the few that lacks any bonus special(s). So all audiences really get with this new DVD is the one special, with no bells or whistles. Just Clark Gesner's off-Broadway play animated for television. So even if audiences are avid fans and collectors, this is a special that will sadly likely find itself spending more time on a DVD rack than in a DVD player.