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When I was a kid, every holiday meant another Peanuts special on TV. The commercials would run for weeks, and my mom and I would eagerly anticipate the show’s airing. The Christmas and Halloween specials were my favorites—but I always looked forward to the Easter special, too.
First aired in 1974, It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown follows along as Charlie Brown (Todd Barbee) and his friends prepare for Easter. Charlie’s little sister, Sally (Lynn Mortensen), heads to the store to shop for new shoes for the occasion, and Peppermint Patty (Linda Ercoli) attempts (unsuccessfully) to teach Marcie (Jimmy Ahrens) how to color Easter eggs. Meanwhile, Linus (Stephen Shea) teaches the whole gang about the Easter Beagle, who comes on Easter Sunday morning to bring colored eggs to all the good boys and girls.
It might not be quite as endearing as the Peanuts Christmas special, and it might not be quite as memorable as the Great Pumpkin rising from the pumpkin patch, but It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown is another classic holiday special featuring Charles M. Schulz’s lovable Peanuts characters. As is always the case with Peanuts specials, the music is fun and jazzy, the humor is simple, and, of course, Snoopy does his trademark happy dance. Unlike some other specials, though, the Easter special’s style is more sketch-based than story-based. There are plenty of short clips—like a bunch of comic strips put together. The story wanders around a bit—and it’s a bit random at times—but it all comes together in the end, as the kids all wait for the Easter Beagle to appear.
The Easter Beagle DVD also includes another spring holiday special: It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. In this special focusing on the lesser-known springtime holiday, Charlie Brown prepares for the beginning of baseball season while Sally does a report on Arbor Day and decides to get the gang together to plant some trees. This eco-friendly episode has a cute story and plenty of tree-hugging laughs. In fact, this one’s even better than the main feature—mostly because the story’s more cohesive.
Both newly remastered specials are clearer and brighter than ever—and, together, they make for a fun way to celebrate the coming of spring with the whole family. And if you pick up these classic Peanuts specials on DVD, there’s no need to wait those agonizing weeks to see them on TV. You’ll be able to plant trees with Sally and dance along with Snoopy whenever you want.
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