My Episode Review on Happy New Year, Charlie Brown · 8:25pm Dec 31st, 2019
Happy New Year, Pals!
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my 20th episode review and New Year's Eve gift to you guys, I'm gonna be analyzing "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown".
Here's the summary of it:
The New Year is coming, and Peppermint Patty is throwing a party to celebrate. Even Charlie Brown is attending the part, although his invite is more out of obligation despite having a book report to do.
Now I will say this:
The only minor setback I found in this special was that the voice acting had sounded a little whiney in some ways. Along with that, the characters seemed to be unexpectedly miscast, as they didn't sound at all like how they were voiced in the installments I already reviewed.
Other than that, though, this special was another Charlie Brown episode I deeply enjoyed, and I believe it's one that others will fondly like too.
The story by Charles M. Schulz, and the direction by Bill Melendaz and Sam Jaimes, were all as marvelous as ever. They incorporated tons of hilarious comedy that was well worth the laughs, and there were some emotional moments revolving around Charlie Brown that were strong enough to tug at your soul. To top it all off, the animation was wonderful to look at, everything tied together, and the characters carried the plot wonderfully.
In addition, despite the miscasting and performances, the characters themselves were still pretty lovable and innocent. There was even some great character development, particularly from Charlie Brown. His resolve to complete his book report, and his internal conflict on whether he should join his friends for the party, made everything all-the-more intriguing.
The music by Ed Bogas and Desiree Goyette was quite fun too. They certainly aren't Vince Guaraldi (the late composer for Peanuts installments until his death on 1976), but their music was very fitting. It was the songs that they made for the episode, "Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick" and "Musical Chairs" that I found to be the musical highlights of the special.
In the end, "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown" isn't perfect, but it's still a fun installment of the Peanuts cartoon franchise.
So, I rate "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown" 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Oh yes, I really love this one too.