Following after three successful holiday specials, Charles Shulz's and his team decided to keep going with their Peanuts Holiday offerings, in which Charles promptly asked … “has there ever been a prime-time, Easter themed TV special?” Shulz's already had pre-set Charlie Brown Easter themed comic strips in 1972, so it only seemed fitting to transition Snoopy's "Easter Beagle” sketches into animation. Thus, April 1974 marked the premier of “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown”, the twelfth of “The Peanuts” Prime-time TV specials, and fourth of their holiday events. Speaking personally, this special concluded a childhood series of five holiday-themed Charlie Brown offerings, and it’s admittedly the one I loved the least of the bunch … yet still have fondness for.
Naturally, it’s the Easter season, and Linus per usual, is eager to spread the word of the titular Easter Beagle, and his immanent arrival on Easter Sunday.
His friendly crush Sally, has mixed feelings on this, as she wants to trust Linus, but she hasn’t forgotten her disappointment on Halloween with the Great Pumpkin. Linus’s older sister Lucy is downright irritated with him, and has her own goals of setting-up the greatest egg hunt, in which she wins everything. Speaking of Eggs to color for Easter, Peppermint Patty’s attempts to teach Marcie how to color eggs is as challenging as jumpstarting a car in a blizzard … whenever she thinks she makes progress, Marcie just makes another unintentional blunder that spoils everything. Meanwhile, as all this is going on, the little bird Woodstock loses his house in a rainstorm, and tasks best friend Snoopy to find a new birdhouse. Oh … and Charlie Brown is in there too … somewhere.
Yeah … problem number one with this special is that Charlie Brown is almost an extra, and is ether pushed off to the side-lines, or completely absent. Not that I need every Peanuts special to revolve around him, but the holidays in my view are a special occasion in which our lead should either be the main focus, or at the very least have equal attention as the other kids. Just like in the original Sunday-comic strips, Charlie Brown sadly doesn’t get an Egg on Easter, but sense we spent such little time with him, the moment doesn’t feel earned, and just leaves me feeling empty. For as downbeat as Charlie Browns Valentines got, we at least saw him keep hope alive, and that one day he’ll receive something special, which made for a bitter sweet ending. Had he gotten more of an arc about keeping the faith alive amidst all his doubts and misfortunes, this outcome would have been justified, but that never really happened.
I also find Linus a little insufferable in this outing, which is a shame, because his optimism for the holidays is usually a bright spot. It’s hard to explain, but in comparison to his excitement for the Great pumpkin, he felt more whimsical and jubilant as he expressed his feelings, but this time around, he just feels cynical and even accusatory toured how the other kids celebrate Easter.
This special clearly wanted to put all its focus on the other kids, with no specific main character, making it feel more like an ensemble peace. The approach at least lends itself to a simple, day in the life atmosphere, and it’s leisurely paced to make you feel like you’re experiencing a little slice of life with these kids. I’d say most of it works, with plenty of charm to spare, but I don’t think it’s quiet as consistent as some of their other offerings.
Thankfully, there are still those special moments that do their job putting me in a good Easter mood. My favorite little scene of the whole special is when Snoopy finds an egg-shaped charm box, and pictures himself hanging out with some bunny’s. It’s a cute little moment, which has the distinction of Snoopy speaking for the first time … he shouts “HEY!” … and the scene is also relevant for giving Snoopy his inspiration to become the titular Easter Beagle. The climactic sequence of Snoopy delivering Eggs on Easter Sunday is another cheerful highlight, with decent build-up, and another pleasant music track. I also like that, even though all the kids know it’s snoopy, it’s still a win for Linus, as everyone (minus Charlie Brown) is filled with a sense of warmth and friendship. Even Lucy shows how much she’s grown, as Snoopy gives her a dog kiss, and for once, she doesn’t go into panic mode like she usually dose, and feels genuinely touched from his kind gestor.
In the end, while I wouldn’t call this one of the absolute best of “The Peanuts” holiday offerings, I’ve always welcomed it as a minor tradition to return to for Easter. In general, there are so few Easter specials as it is, that I can’t help savoring Easter Beagle as something sweet to share with the kids for the holiday. If you’re a general Charlie Brown fan, I’d say it’s well worth a watch, but don’t expect it to be on the same high standards as the early classics. Yet, with that said, I know this special has it’s fans, and it was even nominated at the Emmy Awards for Best animated Prime-Time Special. So, even with my reservations toured this outing, there’s definitely something there to make it worthwhile, and who knows … it might just be a welcomed little treat for ones Easter basket.
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