Two new Peanuts by Schulz DVDs with some (but not all) new-to-DVD Boomerang shorts

Readers will recall that back in 2016, the Boomerang channel aired 104 shorts based directly on Peanuts comic strips, each about 6-7 minutes long.

In 2017, Warner Home Video released three Peanuts by Schulz DVDs that compiled those shorts. Between them, the DVDs contained 80 of the 104 shorts. The last DVD went on sale in October 2017... and for 15 months, there have been no further releases, leaving 24 shorts unreleased on DVD.

The good news: Warner has released a fourth Peanuts by Schulz DVD, and a fifth is on the horizon.

The bad news: We may still not get the shorts on DVD, even so.

The first new DVD, Peanuts by Schulz: It's Only Love, came out on January 8, 2019, and proclaims "18 all-new shorts" on its cover. (Unlike previous volumes, this one is a single disc.)

The problem is... that's false. Only 10 of the shorts on the disc are new. Eight are repeats, already released on the previous DVDs.

That makes Peanuts by Schulz: It's Only Love a pretty poor value, even at the normal sale price of $9.99, and it leaves 14 Boomerang shorts unreleased.

(Note that Amazon lists this DVD's title incorrectly... they call it Peanuts by Schulz: The Complete Series, which is most certainly isn't.)

The 10 new shorts on Peanuts by Schulz: It's Only Love are:

The Little Red Haired Girl
The Mysteries of Love
Nobody Likes Me
Not Your Day
Love is in the Air
It's Only Love
Go for It, Charlie Brown
A Fascinating Friend
Misunderstanding
Just for Love

(For a complete list of all 104 broadcast episodes, and a few additional details about the shorts and other DVDs, visit the Peanuts Animation & Video Page.)

The next DVD, Peanuts by Schulz: Springtime, is due out on February 26, 2019. Its cover claims "15 all-new shorts"... which can't actually be true, since there are only 14 new ones left to release. Will all 14 of those really be on this DVD? We don't know, since a list of the shorts that will be on the disc hasn't been announced yet. But given that It's Only Love didn't really contain 18 new shorts, and we already know that a claim of "15 new" for the February disc can't be correct, it would be wise to be skeptical.  [And indeed, it turns out this DVD is even worse: only 3 of the 15 are new.  See this blog post for more details and commentary.]

Memo to Warner Brothers: it's not that hard to keep track of which shorts you've already released, and you shouldn't be making fans buy repeats just to get some new ones.


Meanwhile, all 104 of the Boomerang shorts are available from iTunes and Amazon as digital streams/downloads, in four separate Peanuts by Schulz collections (or one big complete one). However, the shorts not released on DVD yet are spread out across each of the four digital collections, so you'd have to re-buy everything to get the rest of the shorts; and of course, you can't put the digital downloads on DVD. (For what it's worth, the digital downloads are available in high definition as well as standard definition.)

In fact, in another apparent attempt to confuse or mislead consumers, Warner has now added a fifth digital collection, matching the It's Only Love DVD, even though it just repeats shorts that are already in the other digital collections. Sheesh!

Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown DVD is now out!

The much-anticipated DVD of the third Peanuts theatrical movie, Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977), is now available.  Released on February 10, 2015 by Paramount Home Video, the DVD presents the film in 16:9 widescreen, and the only bonus feature is the film's theatrical trailer.

(The trailer is something of a curiosity, featuring narration by a voice that sounds an awfully lot like Bill Hinnant, who played Snoopy in the original 1967 off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.  Either that or it's his brother Skip, of The Electric Company fame.)

Interestingly - as was the case with the A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home DVDs - the Race For Your Life DVD actually shows less picture than the VHS release of the movie. The entire movie was originally drawn as a 4:3 (square) image, like the Peanuts TV specials, and that is what was released on VHS.  When the movie was presented in theaters, the top and bottom of the image were removed, and the DVD replicates that 16:9 (rectangular) image. This is not necessarily good or bad, but just noting the difference, since typically DVD releases include more of the picture than the VHS tape.  Regardless, it's great to be able to add a DVD with better picture quality to our collections.

While there isn't a Blu-ray disc release of the movie to go with the DVD (alas), Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown is now available in high definition as a digital rental or purchase from iTunes or Amazon Instant Video (and possibly other providers). None of the other three theatrical movies are available as digital files at this time, although many of the TV specials are.

While the initial announcements of the Race For Your Life DVD said that the fourth movie, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown would also be coming out this year, so far there's no sign of it - no release date has been announced and no preorder listings have appeared. But keep your fingers crossed!

The website ToonZone has an interview with producer Lee Mendelson about Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown in honor of the new DVD release.

In related news, at the 42nd "Annie Awards" ceremony on January 31st, the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood) awarded Lee Mendelson the Winsor McCay Award for career contributions at to the art of animation, in particular, his work on the Peanuts specials.  A justly deserved award, and you can watch the presentation and Mr. Mendelson's acceptance speech on YouTube.

Finally, don't forget that Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown together with A Charlie Brown Valentine air at 8 PM (Eastern/Pacific) on ABC on Friday, February 13th, 2015!

Warner adds "Peanuts Holiday Classics" in high-definition to iTunes offerings

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment announced that they are now offering a package of six Peanuts television specials in HD (high definition) video on iTunes. Titled "Peanuts Holiday Classic," the six shows are: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965); It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966); A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973); It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (1974); Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986); and This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (1988).

The six shows can only be purchased together $29.99; or $24.99 for the six in standard definition (SD) video. They can be found using this link.

The high definition versions cannot be purchased individually, they are only available when you buy the "Peanuts Holiday Classics" bundle; however, most of the shows are available separately in standard definition. For a complete list of Peanuts releases on iTunes, see the iTunes releases section of the Peanuts Animation & Video Page.

A Charlie Brown Christmas; It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; and This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers have been previously released in high-definition on Blu-ray discs (and those discs remain available), and air in high-definition on television. It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown are not available on Blu-ray, so this is the first high-definition release of them. (Conversely, the Blu-ray discs include two shows that are not available in HD on iTunes.)

Peanuts television specials on Netflix Instant streaming

UPDATE: As of January 2014, these shows are no longer available for streaming on Netflix.

The online streaming and DVD rental service Netflix now has a small selection of Peanuts television specials available via the Instant streaming feature. They include:

A Charlie Brown Valentine

A Charlie Brown Celebration

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown

It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown

This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Note that the best known specials, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, are not available on Netflix Instant streaming.  However, they and many other Peanuts specials are (and have been) available from Netflix as DVDs.

This is the first time that A Charlie Brown Celebration and It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown have been made available in a digital format as far as I know; they haven't been released on DVD in the United States or on other online services.

Many Peanuts TV specials are also available as digital downloads from iTunes or Amazon Instant Video, although they are only available to buy, not as cheaper short-term rentals.

Thanks to Jeremi Smith for the tip!