Snoopy is arguably Peanut's most popular character, but in the first ten specials, he was largely a supporting character. Certainly, he had his moments in nearly every storyline, but the only one where he was arguably the central figure was 1968's He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown, and even in that one he was, at best, a co-lead with Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown. It's easy to understand why he takes a backseat in the specials. While we can read his thoughts in the comic strip, in the specials, he's mute, other than growls, barks, and yips. That means a lot of storytelling will have to be handled visually in a medium--television animation--that always had limited budgets and relied more on dialogue than visual gags.
By 1974, the continued popularity of the franchise ensured that the budget would be big enough to support a half-hour in which Snoopy, along with Woodstock, is the main character. Indeed, Woodstock gets the first few minutes of It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown to himself, including the entire cold open where we see him build a nest that, unfortunately, turns out not to be sturdy enough to hold his weight. After the show proper begins, we see him rebuilding the nest (to a jazzy instrumental of "Little Birdie"), then taking a bath in a nearby birdbath, during which his imagination proves to be every bit as potent as Snoopy's, as a sudden storm sends him into waves that wouldn't be out of place in The Perfect Storm, at least until Snoopy rescues him from a much calmer-looking bath. Indeed, it's a good five minutes before the first human characters, Charlie Brown and Sally, appear, talking about a seeming non-sequitur, in which she complains about having to bring in something from nature to school. In short order, Snoopy and Woodstock discover that Woodstock's new nest is missing, leading to Snoopy donning a deerstalker hat and cape, as well as a oversized bubble pipe, in order to solve the mystery.
His detecting mostly consists of him knocking on people's doors and trying to interrogate them, with very little success. He puts Charlie Brown under an interrogation light, then proceeds to dust for fingerprints at the Van Pelts, to the point the place looks like Pig-Pen is visiting. He even tries to arrest Lucy, who of course has none of that. They eventually end up at Peppermint Patty's, who thinks Snoopy has arrived to play cops and robbers, to which she plays a very enthusiastic robber, to Snoopy's terror.
Eventually, Snoopy actually does do some actual detective work, and follows a convenient set of footprints to the elementary school, where they discover the nest on display. Their taking it back leads the special full circle to the beginning, when of course it turns out that Sally had taken it, for her school project, and now she needs it back. They all eventually end up at Lucy's psychiatry stand, which also doubles as a court of law (for 7 cents), where she has to decide on the rightful ownership of the nest.
As noted last week, this was the first special directed solo by Phil Roman. As befitting someone who is arguably one of the best television animators of all time, the direction is crisp and fluid, and other than people who read the credits, it was not obvious there had been any change at the top at all. As the special's voice casts are always changing, this would be the first one for the new voice of Lucy (who sounded just fine), Sally, and Peppermint Patty (her voice sounded unusually raspy, which may be why this is the only special this particular actress provided her voice).
The special showed that Snoopy would be able to carry his own special just fine. Even if the central mystery of It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown is easily solvable, this still remains one of the funnier entries in the Peanuts canon, and one well worth seeking out.
Next week: Another holiday special, with the best single gag of the entire series, in It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.
No comments:
Post a Comment