I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
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 More like we want a better Christmas film than this.
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I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is a 2003 animated Christmas movie in the Charlie Brown film series, it is the sequel to A Charlie Brown Christmas and is the 42nd installment in the Charlie Brown series.
Summery
Linus and Lucy's younger brother, Rerun wants a dog for Christmas, and Snoopy's brother, Spike may be the answer.
Naughty/"Blockhead" Qualities
- While not terrible, the main problem with this film is that it is more or less a watered-down version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas", but lacks any of the creative and fun charms that the film had.
- This film introduces Snoopy's four brothers, though with the exception of Spike, the three barely contradict the plot and are only seen in flashbacks.
- Misleading Title: While Rerun does get a dog, he ends up having to let him go.
- Much like Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! previously, I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown is infamously mean-spirited, as throughout the entirety of the film, the main protagonist Rerun is consistently mistreated/tortured for no reason, and much like that movie, this treatment is unwarranted to him.
- For no reason what-so-ever, Rerun getting all sorts of bad luck is said to be downright hilarious to the writers, despite that none of the predicaments Rerun gets into are funny or comedic in the slightest but instead are unfunny, cruel, sad, and depressing, and instead also makes the characters that also mistreat Rerun come off as unlikable sadistic jerks with an unjustified hatred of Rerun, here are those statements:
- A few times throughout the film, Rerun is forced to get on the bike with his mother, which from the way he's in sounds very dangerous.
- When Rerun states that he wants Snoopy, Charlie Brown (no joke) demands 10,000 dollars from Rerun if the latter wants Snoopy, which comes across as Rather out-of-character for Charlie Brown (If Only Somewhat) as he's normal not that greedy for money (Though to be fair, given that Snoopy is Charlie Brown's dog/best friend, that could be Charlie Brown's way of saying he does not want to give Snoopy away).
- When Rerun comes over to Charlie Brown's place, he says that if Snoopy comes outside and plays with Rerun, he will give Snoopy Christmas cookies, which is what Rerun does after Snoopy comes outside, though rather than thanking him for his kindness and playing with Rerun, Snoopy out-right snatches the bag of Christmas cookies from Rerun's hands and makes off with it.
- Early on midway in the film, Lucy and Sally (well, Lucy that is.) force Rerun to get off the sandbox because they want to play, and state that it's two of them and one of him. Rerun, however, does fight back by having a jack-in-a-box to give him a partner, only to be called out by his mother to get on the bike with her for "B on the B day" (a.k.a. Back on the Bike Day), much to Rerun's dismay. Not only was that a cheap move to pull off on the mother's part (hinting that she has something against Rerun) given that Lucy was bullying Rerun, but even worse, Lucy is grinning throughout the whole scene.
- Midway in the film during the school segment and in a rather more infamous scene, after Rerun's friend, the Little Pigtailed Girl, states that she's tired of doing kindergarten stuff, Rerun suggests that they run away to Paris, and he meant to say that as a joke, which seems like a cute and interesting idea, and this presides to have the Little Pigtailed Girl tell the teacher as a joke, only for poor Rerun to get called out by the principal, and then get suspended from school by the principal for something he said was a "harassment", this is perhaps one of the worst scenes in the film as not only does this scene feel very shoe-horned as it has no significance in the film and comes right out-of-nowhere for no rhyme-or-reason, but this is made even more infuriating as the way the Little Pigtailed Girl said it to the teacher makes it sound like Rerun only told her to go to Paris, when in truth, Rerun says "THEY" should go to Paris, not just the Little Pigtailed Girl, so if you think about, the Little Pigtailed Girl just framed Rerun and got him in trouble for no-reason.
- It is also very illogical for a principal to utterly suspend someone for the ONE thing that they said was considered an offense. Yes, the way that Rerun said it DID sound very offensive, but he didn't mean to say it like that as it was a joke, and wasn't even aware that it was offense (The fact that Rerun said it in a very shocked (and very irritating)tone "harassment?!?" before getting "fired" is a reference to him being unaware), and given what grade he's in, the Principle could have at the very least gave Rerun a warning instead, which also goes to show how utterly cruel and mean-spirited the teachers are in the world of Charlie Brown.
- Near the scene where Spike comes over to Rerun's place, Rerun deceits to make a snowman for Spike to greet him, only for it to melt due to the sun, and Rerun's reaction to it is just unpleasant.
- Rerun is then forced to go with Mom to get a Christmas tree with Spike, causing the latter to get thin, which terms makes Rerun have to let Spike go.
- Near the end of the film, Rerun gets selected to a play as Lucy's "apologetic" for Rerun having to give Spike away, and as poor Rerun is confused by what to do during the play, Lucy threatens Rerun with violence if he does not come up with a line, which comes across as mean-spirited even for Lucy as in the comic strip, she is way nicer to Rerun.
- For no reason what-so-ever, Rerun getting all sorts of bad luck is said to be downright hilarious to the writers, despite that none of the predicaments Rerun gets into are funny or comedic in the slightest but instead are unfunny, cruel, sad, and depressing, and instead also makes the characters that also mistreat Rerun come off as unlikable sadistic jerks with an unjustified hatred of Rerun, here are those statements:
- Throughout the film, there are some bad morals in some scenes, one example is the aforementioned Rerun, Sally, and Lucy scene as described in the #4 segment, as if this scene is teaching that standing up for yourself is wrong and you will be punished for it, which is a bad moral to teach to kids who have been mistreated/bullied by their older sibling.
- Plot Holes:
- While this is nothing new because it happens in the previous Peanuts specials and the comics, why does Rerun have to ride on the back of the bike?
- How is Snoopy unaware that he has brothers, and why does he not mention any of them? Considering in the past Peanuts specials, he was aware that he had siblings.
- This film never explains why Rerun's, Linus', and Lucy's mother never want a dog.
- What happens to Snoopy's two brothers after they are in Alaska?
- Why couldn't Rerun have told the principal that he didn't know that what he said was considered "harassment"?
- How come the sun doesn't melt all of the snow?
- Why can't Lucy go with the mother to go get a Christmas tree? Why does Rerun have to go with the mother?
- How is Spike thin after the bike ride?
- Also much like Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!, there are many cases in which not only does the mistreatment on Rerun go too much, but they also go far by having him get mistreated for something that's not even Rerun's fault, such as the after mention school scene as describe in the #4 Segment.
- Additionally, the school segments, while enjoyable due to Rerun's relationship with the little pigtailed girl, serve nothing more than filler, and after Rerun gets suspended, it never gets brought up for the rest of the film and the little pigtailed girl also never gets mentioned. You can take out the school segments, and it will still be the same.
- While it did happen in the comics, as stated before, it's just filler and added nothing to the plot.
- All the other mistreating Moments on Poor Rerun are Bland and Annoying.
- This film Could mark one of the only moments in which Charlie Brown acts somewhat unlikable, he demands 10,000 Dollars from Rerun is the latter wants Snoopy as Stated in the #4 Segment
- But to be fair, given that Snoopy is Charlie Brown's Dog/Best Friend, that could be his way of saying he does not want to give Snoopy away.
- In addition to I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown's mean-spirited nature, there are also many mean-spirited scenes throughout the film, such as the after-mention scene in the #4 Segment after Rerun and Snoopy play around a bit, Rerun keeps his promises and offers Snoopy a Christmas cookie, only for Snoopy to immediately take the bag of cookies from Rerun after taking it.
- While decent, its ending is super mediocre, as after Rerun is forced to give up Spike and randomly gets selected to be part of a play, Rerun does get Snoopy to play with him.....only for the latter to make Rerun pull the sled while Snoopy's on it instead.
- The Little Pigtailed Girl, the Principal and Rerun's, Linus' and Lucy's mother (the latter of who puts Rerun through most of the torment) faces no comprehensions of some kind for all the misery they put Rerun through, which makes them Karma Houdinis.
Nice Qualities
- Its animation and voice acting is excellent, just like the previous Charlie Brown movies
- There are some funny moments, such as the scene where Rerun and Spike make the jigsaw puzzle fit by stomping on them.
- This is the first film to star Rerun as a protagonist, which is an interesting premise as previous films starred Charlie Brown as the protagonist.
- This film is one of the very few moments in which Lucy shows some genuine care.
- The scene where Rerun and Spike play is heartwarming.
- With the exception of the Lucy, Sally, and Rerun scene, unlike "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown", the film does send out a good moral that is relatable for Christmas, "You can't always get what you want. You should be happy of what you have.", this also does a much better job justifying that Moral, unlike "Merry Wishmas", The Fairly OddParents Christmas special that was made five years later.
Reception
Although given a mixed-to-positive review by critics and fans alike, I Want a Dog For Christmas Charlie Brown has been given criticism for being too similar to A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rerun unfairly getting mistreated for no reason.
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