Celebrate 75 Years of 'Peanuts': 40 TV Specials on DVD and Blu-ray!

Disclosure: I received a free screener from Waner Bros. Home Entertainment. This post also contains Amazon affiliate links [*]. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Since Charles Schulz first introduced that lovable bald kid in the iconic yellow zigzag shirt, fans of all ages have rallied around the Peanuts gang like a blanket on a chilly Halloween night. This year marks a delightful milestone—the 75th anniversary of our beloved friends from the neighborhood. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is unveiling an enticing treasure trove: a DVD Collection ^[*] (retailing for $64.98) and a Blu-ray set ^[*] (for a slightly higher price of $76.99), both featuring a whopping 40 TV specials. From the unforgettable 1965 classic A Charlie Brown Christmas to Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011), this collection is a heartfelt homage to the charm and humor that have turned Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and their gang into eternal cultural icons.

The collection, aptly named "The Ultimate TV Specials Collection," is an assemblage of classics meticulously divided across five discs. A little "Guide" booklet accompanies the set, neatly laying out each episode and its original air date, with delightful artwork gracing the pages. However, don’t expect any glittering special features or extras—it’s a bare-bones release that doesn’t attempt to glamorize nostalgia; it simply invites you to relive it.

Now to the heart of the matter—the lineup of TV specials is both familiar and surprisingly nostalgic:

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas
2. Charlie Brown's All Stars!
3. It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
4. You're in Love, Charlie Brown
5. He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
6. It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
7. Play It Again, Charlie Brown
8. You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
9. There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown
10. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
11. It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
12. It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!
13. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
14. You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown
15. It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown
16. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown
17. What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown
18. You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown
19. She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
20. Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown
21. It's Magic, Charlie Brown
22. Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown
23. A Charlie Brown Celebration
24. Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?
25. It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown
26. What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?
27. It's a Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
28. Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown
29. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
30. Happy New Year, Charlie Brown
31. Why, Charlie Brown, Why?
32. Snoopy's Reunion
33. It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown
34. It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown!
35. A Charlie Brown Valentine
36. Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
37. Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown
38. I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
39. He's a Bully, Charlie Brown
40. Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown

But hold your horses! It’s called "Ultimate" for a reason—this collection doesn’t have every Peanuts special ever crafted. The recent Apple TV+ specials are unceremoniously absent, along with various quirks like Snoopy! The Musical, It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown, You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown, It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown, It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown and the ambitious “limited series” This is America, Charlie Brown.

You’ll find an intriguing mix, with seven to nine specials per disc for the DVD edition—quite the feat, if I may say so. The episodes range from 18 to 48 minutes each, which does lean into some compression territory that may, at times, leave the picture quality gasping for air. Yet, even while watching on a 4K UHD player, the nostalgia emanated from the screen like warm cocoa on a snowy evening.

As I settled in to watch a handful of these specials last night, a delightful thrill washed over me—many of them were like buried treasures I had completely forgotten or, in some instances, never even encountered before. For anyone familiar with the Peanuts universe, you’ll appreciate that most of these specials have graced our lives in other formats before, but never have they come together in such a monumental bundle. Many of those older releases? Well, they’ve likely vanished into the realm of out-of-print obscurity.

So, if you're a Peanuts fan, whether you’re young or just young at heart, this set is an absolute treasure to have on your shelf. With the holidays lurking just around the corner, gifting either the DVD or Blu-ray set would undoubtedly make you the beloved friend or relative, second only to Santa. Trust me, you’ll earn some serious goodwill by sharing the wisdom and whimsy of Charlie Brown and his friends! ╌★★★★✰

〜B.J. Burgess