SnoopyStyle Peppermint Patty calls Charlie Brown to brag about being sent to Europe as a foreign exchange student with Marcie. To her dismay, Charlie Brown and Linus are also going. Snoopy and Woodstock join them. Everybody says "Bon Voyage" and Lucy yells "and Don't Come Back!". Charlie Brown receives a letter from Violette Honfleur inviting him to stay at the Château du Mal Voisin (The House of the Bad Neighbor). They fly to London and take the train to Dover crossing the channel on the boat.This doesn't have the childhood isolation of other Peanuts stuff. The adults talk. The gang is reduced to the six characters. Going to France is going to another world. This is still a nice journey outside of the strictly traditional Peanuts world. It has the great childish wonder. I just wish the whole gang is there with them.

nicholas-vidoni This is by far the best of the Peanuts movies. The artwork is pitch perfect without some of the characteristic sloppiness built into the other movies; the soundtrack, marvelous; and the plot expertly crafted. It's truly a shame that Paramount has failed to release this gem on DVD. It is a classic that far outperforms the Holiday films and still gives us the imaginative exploits of the Peanuts gang. If you haven't seen this one, go out and find some way to watch it. The storyline adds depth to the characters, with Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Marcy, Linus, and (of course) Snoopy all heading to France for a student exchange program. For some purists the absence of the other characters may seem disappointing, but it offers the viewer a sharp focus on the characters who are in the movie. The cultural comparisons provide some of the drive for this movie, but there are also the Gothic overtones with mystery and a "forbidden secret," as well as romance (of course—they're in France!).So in short, see this movie, and tell Paramount to release the DVD. Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/Snoopy/petition.html .

directoroffantasies In addition to dozens of half-hour television specials, Sparky Schultz made a handful of attempts to translate his comic strip to the big screen. "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown" is the most interesting of these because of its departures from the "Peanuts" formula.There is no interaction between adversarial couples Linus and Lucy and Charlie Brown and Lucy in this film, because Lucy van Pelt is present only to wave goodbye to the group of exchange students. (Exchange students at the elementary school level?) A number of adults are portrayed and given voices. (No muted trumpets here). Schroeder the piano man and Pigpen the human dust storm are left behind on American soil.This film was a labor of love for Schultz, who passed through Normandy after D Day and at one point was billetted at a manor house which could have passed for the Chateau of the Bad Neighbor. The geography is completely accurate, down to the villages adjoining the Andelle River.The more successful Peanuts adaptations are those in which the clever storyline outweighs the limitations of kiddie voice-over acting. This is one such, the cast including students at a French-language school in San Francisco. There is also an unusually large quantity of "dialogue" spoken by Snoopy's voice, director Bill Melendez. The beagle's impressions of a British toff and a crabby French driver are priceless.

Coxer99 The magic created by Charles Schultz comes to the screen with the return of the always charming "Peanuts" gang. This time, they're headed for France for culture, but as always, this crowd finds some way to get into trouble. One of the better movies based on the famous comic strip.