It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976 TV Short) User Reviews

The first time Lucy tries to do something nice for Charlie Brown.

[ofpsmith · 8/10 · 31 January 2015]

It's Arbor Day in wherever the Peanuts live and everyone except Charlie Brown (Dylan Beach) seems to be working to celebrate it. Meanwhile Charlie is working on his upcoming baseball game with Peppermint Patty (Stuart Brotman). Well the plan of the Arbor day celebration collides with the game and the team ends up converting the baseball field into a garden. And if you thought that it was bad before when Charlie had a whole bunch of dandelions on his pitcher's mound now it's a tree. The first nice thing they do for Charlie and what a surprise, it almost ruins the game. Charlie isn't too thrilled about this and neither is Patty. But it turns out that all the plants work to their advantage and they end up winning. Until it starts raining. A good thing never lasts for Charlie does it? I have to say this is probably one of the most clever ideas that I've seen the Peanuts done. Have it so that the only way they can win a game is by having an impaired field. That's just genius. I say if you are a peanuts fan check this one out. It should be pretty easy to find.

Nice Peanuts TV special

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 13 April 2011]

A well-meaning tree-planting scheme gets out of hand. Charlie Brown's baseball team plays against Peppermint Patty's team in a field that's been turned into a lush garden. Director Phil Roman, working from a typically sweet and witty script by Charles M. Schulz, ably crafts an easy'n'breezy laid-back quality which makes this good-natured affair a totally engaging delight to watch. Naturally, there are several amusing gags: Snoopy and Woodstock get out of a library for making too much noise, a smitten Sally pines for a disinterested Linus, Patty likewise hits on Charlie Brown, and Snoopy even briefly reprises his sunglasssed hipster supreme Joe Cool persona. The disastrous big game is an absolute hoot. Peppermint Patty is in real peak fiercely competitive form here as she continually brags about clobbering the opposing team. Moreover, there's a pleasingly ironic conclusion with said game being rained out just as it seems that Charlie Brown might win for once. Vince Guaraldi's neat jazzy score does the mellow trick; sadly this was his final score for a Peanuts special. A pleasant show.

Underappreciated Peanuts special

[newtype_1 · 8/10 · 13 April 2020]

Right off the bat, (har, this episode is heavily baseball themed) I'd like to say the Charlie Brown actor in this one is particularly good. This one probably gets ignored because it sounds like boring late 80s educational Peanuts but is really funny. It deals with the sequence from the comics where Lucy planted a block garden on the baseball field unbeknownst to Charlie Brown. So the Arbor Day theme kind of fits, but is distracting. Interestingly, the kids name the field after Charlie Brown in this episode, something I don't think I've heard of before or since.

Plants vs. sports

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 13 April 2018]

"It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown" is a Peanuts television special, which the title already makes obvious and this one is from 1976, so already over 40 years old. Like some of the others, it was nominated for an Emmy, but did not succeed. The names you find attached to this project like Schulz and Melendez most of all define these Peanuts films and even if director Phil Roman may be more known for his Garfield stuff, this one we have here is still not his only effort about Charlie Brown and the gang. Like the others, it runs for roughly 20 minutes and focuses on the subject of Arbor Day, an occasion that is really unknown here in Germany and I don't know how it is in the United States, maybe a bit more known. I see it is in less than two weeks. It needs to be said that they did solid justice in terms of the subject of nature here. I liked the romantic reference about sitting under a tree and talking and while one boy does not want that at all, another, namely the one in the title, may be right in this process already, even if the girl longing for him seems to realize it more than he does. And the baseball action on the not exactly appropriate field was occasionally fun too. Maybe Snoopy could have been a bit better, this is the rare occasion where the kids have interesting and even sometimes funny story lines, but Snoopy is rather forgettable and also not too funny in his scenes, for example when he wrestles a resilient plant. Overall, one of the better, but not best Peanuts films I'd say. I enjoyed the watch enough to give this one a thumbs-up. Go check it out, especially if you like the kids gang. Chances are oretty much zero you have not seen another Peanuts work when you consider seeing this one, so you can also decide for yourself.

Terrific cartoon

[MikeK-7 · 10/10 · 9 January 2003]

Aaawwww, the cartoons of youth passed. Having Mr. Schulz as a native of St. Paul, it makes me appreciate his cartoons even more so. If you look carefully you can see little hints of St. Paul and its humor. Vince Guaraldi music is simply great and entertaining. Too bad this was his last composing for the Charlie Brown shows.

Not Exactly Educational but Still Pretty Good!

[KinoBuff2021 · 8/10 · 28 January 2023]

For those who haven't seen 'It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown' , one might think this is just an educational Peanuts special with little substance, but that is quite the opposite! Its a pretty good special that has a message, but retains that classic Peanuts humor.

Sally needs to give a presentation on Arbor Day, so she gets the help of Linus and Lucy who then decide to make a garden in Charlie Brown's baseball field all before the first game of the season. Almost every member of the Peanuts gang gets to add a little something to this special which is why I think this is actually a pretty good special.

Although the educational message gets tuned out by the Peanuts' hijinks, the special stays simple and that's what makes it an underappreciated classic!

Give it a watch! Its pretty good!

Beethoven never had a tree planted on his piano!

[williamlangan-22870 · 10/10 · 10 July 2022]

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!