Peanuts - Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown (1966)

The struggles of managing a losing baseball team are underscored in this 25-minute film featuring the Peanuts gang, based on the cartoon strip by Charles M. Schulz. Angst-ridden Charlie Brown attempts to motivate his team, while Lucy in right field nettles poor Chuck into a nervous wreck. With their losses mounting, Charlie Brown tries every remedy to score a win--even trading his own dog--yet nothing improves the team's dismal record. Then Chuck orchestrates "the greatest trade in the history of baseball." While this film has the look and feel of earlier Charlie Brown classics, the heart is gone. There is a noticeable difference between this feature and "It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown," the last film created under Schulz's supervision. His presence is sorely missed. While winning isn't everything, Schulz would have found a silver lining in the art of losing, or a character redeemed through the process. One plus: smooth jazz accompaniments by David Benoit. (Ages 5 and older) --Lynn Gibson Amazon.com

AWESOME, even for a little Princess....

Our 34 month old daughter LOVES sports, esp. baseball....so, we ordered this for her thinging she would get a kick out of it.....well, she makes her Mother watch it every day, sometimes twice a day.... June 8, 2007

Peanuts are healthy

Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang certainly tell it like it is. A good source for children to see they are not alone "out there". A live and let live example of how to rise above ones failure and success - without drugs, weapons, etc. Good to watch with your children. March 22, 2007

An unexpected pleasure

A suggestion from Amazon precipitated the purchase. We are unconditionally delighted. August 13, 2005

Best of the post Schultz era

The immortal "Charlie Brown All Stars" - 5 stars
The new "Lucy Must be Traded" - 4 stars
The mediocre "Spring Training" - 3 stars

Since "All Stars" and "Spring Training" have been around a long time, I'll limit my comments to "Lucy Must be Traded".

This is definetly the best of the post Schultz era so far. It recaptures some of the old magic. The jazzy piano background music is very reminiscent of the glory days.

Charlie is a little less wishy-washy in this outing. He's determined to get his worst player, Lucy, off the team. You'll have to watch to see what happens.

I recommend this DVD to any true Peanuts fan. June 2, 2005

Peanuts Baseball DVD Has Two Hits And One Error

"Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown" first aired on ABC-TV in 2003 to mixed reviews; it's now available on DVD along with two additional baseball-themed TV specials, and each one is ideal for someone in your family.
"Charlie Brown's All-Stars" was the followup to the highly acclaimed 1965 Christmas special, and it features the same original cast of voice talents. Charles Schulz' script is fast and funny with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. There's also an inspirational scene where Schroeder berates his teammates for abandoning their faithful manager. Animation buffs have pointed out a lack of attention to detail in the drawings compared to the later specials, but the high quality of the gags more than makes up up for it. Recommended for the whole family, especially for long-time Peanuts fans.
"It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown" was produced for CBS-TV in 1992, but wasn't completed in time for the start of the baseball season. It eventually went straight to video. Long-time Peanuts fans were appalled at the use of a techno-synth score in place of the light jazz that had become the trademark of the series. Other contemporary touches included touch-tone phones and a rap-style production number performed by Franklin. The pint-sized baseball player Leland is cute and funny, but there's little else here for adults to enjoy. Recommended only for younger kids.
"Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown" aired on ABC-TV in 2003, and was compiled from strips dating back to the late sixties. The result is the funniest Peanuts special in recent history. Charlie Brown and Lucy throw insults back and forth like Abbott & Costello; he watches helplessly as she gleefully sabotages every game. The gags come at a leisurely pace, and David Benoit's faithful renditions of Vince Guaraldi's original scores are a pleasure to hear. Marcie appears briefly as Lucy's replacement, but she turns out to be truly dumb about baseball, whereas Lucy merely pretends to be dumb. Recommended for the whole family, especially older kids.
My preferred lineup: "All-Stars" first, "Traded" second, "Spring Training" last. I leave you with these words of baseball wisdom from Charles Schulz: "Winning isn't everything... but losing isn't anything!" April 3, 2005

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