Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne (2021)

In October of 2020, Apple purchased the rights to the Peanuts franchise, a move that proved rather controversial amongst both hardcore fans and general viewers alike. Since it gave them exclusive streaming rights to all of the animated specials, it led to those holiday specials that, for decades, people always anticipated seeing on TV each year, now only being available on Apple TV+ (unless, of course, you owned them on home media). I personally didn't care, as I've had all of the holiday specials, and a good number of the others, on DVD for years, but I did understand why this angered so many. Nobody wants to have to buy a subscription to an app just to see something they used to be able to watch for free, especially if they're old, set in their ways, and don't care at all about home media or streaming. (The outcry was strong enough to where Apple allowed the three main specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, to be aired commercial free on PBS for the first couple of years of the acquisition.) But, for me, a silver lining was the original specials and shows produced for the app itself, which, from what I've seen, are awesome, particularly the former. They do often get much more dramatic, emotional, and sentimental, and have more traditional happy endings and warmer character relationships, than the classic specials and movies, which, as I said in my review of The Peanuts Movie, some purists would argue don't feel like classic Peanuts. But, like that movie, I'm more than okay with this approach. Not only do these cartoons look absolutely beautiful, but I like that they dive more into the characters' personal dilemmas, and in some cases, their very psychology, and show a warmer side to their interactions. Case in point, this film, the first of the Apple specials, under the banner of Snoopy Presents. While most definitely funny, and filled with some of the classic Peanuts tropes, it also gets under the skin of Lucy's character and proves something about her that I think a lot of us have long suspected. At the same time, it also features a nice subplot involving Snoopy's rarely seen family, including his brother, Spike, and Charlie Brown's role, while fairly small, does prove to be significant in the end. But, make no mistake, it doesn't get overly schmaltzy, and the characters never come off as too far removed from their classic portrayals.

It's the first weekend of December, and Lucy is already looking forward to Christmas, as her beloved grandmother is coming to visit on Christmas Eve; Linus, however, is less enthused, as their grandmother always tries to make him get rid of his blanket. Meanwhile, as the weeks pass, Charlie Brown is trying to fulfill at least one of his New Year's resolutions from the previous year, as he's accomplished none of them. When he asks Lucy for advice about this, she says his resolutions are unrealistic and he should simplify them. Snoopy's siblings also come to visit for the holidays, and his brother, Spike, intends on getting a photo of him with everyone else; unfortunately, he's constantly thwarted at every opportunity. Christmas Eve arrives and Lucy is elated... until she gets a phone from her grandmother, who breaks the news that she's unable to come. Completely devastated, Lucy, after spending the holiday in a depressed stupor, wonders if her grandmother ever wanted to come in the first place, and if anybody truly loves her. The day after Christmas, she decides to prove that she's lovable by throwing a New Year's Eve party, and ropes Linus into helping her organize it. She also gets Charlie Brown to help with the decorations, telling him it'll fulfill his resolution "to do something remotely creative,"; Franklin, Pig-Pen, and Tapioca Pudding to take care of the refreshments, Lucy telling them to make finger foods; Violent and Patty to get everyone up and dancing; Peppermint Patty and Marcie to create an ice sculpture of her; and Snoopy and his siblings, who make up a band, to play live music. She even goes as far as to rent an old, abandoned theater, which Linus is tasked with fixing up, as the venue for her party (she does so with nickels, as Charlie Brown needed a lot of psychiatric help), and invites all of the other kids. However, come New Year's Eve, Lucy, in her obsession with the party being perfect, makes everyone miserable, and her only being concerned with herself may prove utterly disastrous.

Besides being the first Peanuts special to be produced by Apple TV+ (they'd already begun making the series Snoopy in Space and The Snoopy Show by that point), For Auld Lang Syne is significant in that it's the first special to be made altogether since 2011's Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, and the first holiday special since I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown, way back in 2003. Moreover, it's the first one made since Charles Schulz's death that has an original story all its own. Directing is Clay Kaytis, who'd worked at Disney for a number of years, going as far back as 1995, when he was an "inbetweener" on Pocahontas. He worked as an animator on films such as The Emperor's New Groove, Treasure Planet, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Wreck-It Ralph, and Frozen, and was animation supervisor on Tangled. His first work as director was The Angry Birds Movie, which he co-directed with Fergal Reilly, another former animator for both Disney and Warner Bros. While probably not the best first impression (although that movie was a pretty commercial substantial hit), it did jump-start Kaytis' directing career, as he went on to do The Christmas Chronicles, and was a producer on its sequel. He also had a hand in writing the initial story of For Auld Lang Syne, and would go on to direct the third of the Apple specials, To Mom (and Dad), with Love.

When we first see her, Lucy (voiced by Isabella Leo), instead of her usual crabby, mean-spirited self, is filled with joy, as she decorates her living room for Christmas, despite it only being the start of December. The reason for all this holiday spirit is not only because Christmas will be there soon, but also because her beloved grandmother is coming to visit them, as per usual. She's so happy that, when Charlie Brown comes to her with his usual set of problems, Lucy is a lot nicer in dolling out advice than she typically is; in fact, her advice is actually pretty sensible. She suggests he pull back on his resolutions, reasoning, "You need to adjust your expectations to match your abilities," and while that may sound like her putting him down, as usual, it turns out that some of his resolutions are a bit much. For instance, instead of building "the world's tallest snowman," she suggests he just try to build a snowman, or, rather than "paint a masterpiece," simply do something that's even somewhat creative. Finally, Christmas Eve arrives and Lucy is ecstatic, singing to herself as she heads downstairs and eagerly anticipates her grandmother's arrival. But then, she gets a phone call, and is faced with the devastating news that, for whatever reason (it's never revealed), her grandmother can't make it. Crushed, Lucy spends the holiday in a virtual catatonic state, and as she lies in bed at the end of it, she thinks to herself, "Maybe Grandma didn't want to come. Didn't she wanna see me? Was it... because of me? She does love me, doesn't she?" She then sits up, looks at herself in the mirror, gasps, and asks, "Am I not... lovable? If my own grandma doesn't wanna see me... how do I know anyone really loves me?"

In spite of how much of a jerk she's been in the past, it really is quite affecting to see Lucy, who's usually so confident and sure of herself, in such a vulnerable state. Like I said, she's so happy at the start, humming We Wish You A Merry Christmas as she decorates the living room, with the final touch being a pillow that reads "Grandma Rules The Yule," which she puts on a chair. Later, after she gives Charlie Brown her advice, she looks through a cookbook to see what kind of gingerbread house her grandmother would want to

make. And when Christmas Eve arrives, she gets out of bed, skips to her closet, puts on her classic blue dress, then skips downstairs, all while singing, to the tune of Good King Wenceslas, "Grandma's coming to my house/La, la, la, la, la, la/Grandma's coming to my house/La, la, la, la, la, la/Party games and hugs for me/La, la, la, la, la, la." She lays out the various cookie cutters and puts the finishing touches on the living room decorations, singing, this time to the tune of Jingle Bells, "A cookie here/A cookie there/

Cookies all the way/Oh, what fun it is to laugh/When Grandma comes to stay/Hey!" And finally, she puts a storybook of The Night Before Christmas next to the chair pillow, singing, now to the tune of O Christmas Tree, "Oh, Grandma/Brings comfort and joy." The phone rings and she answers it, joyfully saying, "Hello! Van Pelt's residence. Happy Christmas Eve." She's even happier when it turns out to be her grandmother, excitedly telling her how everything is ready, only to immediately be crushed when she learns her grandmother isn't coming. She forlornly

says, "But, we were going to bake cookies and play games and go caroling... But, I've been planning all month. I thought we were going to... Oh, uh, no. It's fine. I'm... I'm fine. Um, Merry... Merry Christmas, Grandma." She hangs up, and that leads into the montage of how miserable she is during the holidays, which itself leads to her expressing her insecurity over whether or not her grandmother, or anybody, for that matter, loves her. Like I said in the introduction,

this gets to something many longtime fans have likely suspected about Lucy: underneath the bossy, crabby, and vain exterior is a very insecure girl who always needs to be in control, as well as feel that she is wanted and appreciated. (Another of the Apple specials, Lucy's School, would delve into this even further.)

To that end, she decides to throw a big New Year's Eve party, inviting all of the neighborhood kids and proving to herself that she is loved. Intending for it to be an elegant, fancy get together, she dubs it, Lucy's Gala: A New Year's Eve Celebration of Elegant Perfection (if you're thinking, "That's a mouthful," so does everyone else, and she's proud of it), and gets Linus to help her set it up. However, as expected, she goes overboard and comes up with a bunch of obnoxious rules and expectations, saying everybody

has to dress up, be punctual, have good manners, etc. She tasks other people with various duties, but Linus has it the worst, as Lucy rents out an old, abandoned theater as the venue, and tasks him with cleaning it up. Through it all, she repeatedly lets it slip that this soiree is really intended as a celebration of herself, to the point where she first tries to change around the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne to reflect well on her (One thing should never/Be forgot/Lucy's party blew/My mind), and later tries to give it more of a beat, much

to Linus' horror. But, when New Year's Eve arrives and the party begins, Lucy's rules and expectations immediately start tearing it apart. She doesn't let anyone run around because it's not good manners; she's horrified by the "finger foods" that Franklin, Pig-Pen, and this other girl (whose name is Tapioca Pudding and, from what I've read, is a minor character from the comic strip) came up with, which include jellybeans, pudding, and mud pies; she doesn't let them dance to their own music because she hired Snoopy's band; Peppermint Patty and Marcie's

ice sculpture of her turns out to be quite horrifying; and when the band arrives, they're too depressed over something that happened with Spike to play well. Through it all, her insecurity about whether or not anybody's having fun to starts eat away at her, and she continues to boss poor Linus around, making him fix the problems she sees. The breaking point comes when she forces him to wear an embarrassing costume and sing her version of Auld Lang Syne. Finally having had enough after the costume causes 

him to fall off the stage, Linus calls her out on her selfishness and how she's made it all about her. As he storms out, Lucy, unable to accept that it is her fault, goes on to blame everybody else, namely those she tasked with all these jobs. The party then, literally, falls apart, and as Lucy later walks home by herself, she hears a family in a nearby house celebrating the New Year. Hearing them singing Auld Lang Syne, and looking down at Linus' blanket, which she ended up with her after pushing him out onto the stage, she realizes the awful mistake she made.

Though initially happy that their grandmother isn't coming for Christmas because it means he won't have to hide his blanket, Linus (voiced by Wyatt White), after enjoying the holiday, overhears Lucy wondering if their grandmother didn't want to come because she doesn't love her. Feeling bad for his sister, he does agree to help her organize her party (though, he's half-asleep when she makes him promise), but soon finds her overworking him and not appreciating what he does because she's so focused on herself. Besides having to get the theater ready for the party, during the party itself, he has to fix whatever she thinks could potentially ruin it (getting rid of the "finger foods," the ice sculpture, etc.). However, he reaches his limit when, after Snoopy and his siblings fall far below expectations in their playing, Lucy makes him put on a ridiculous, Elton John-like costume and go out onstage to sing For Auld Lang Syne. She literally yanks him out there, and he proceeds to get nervous, trip over his costume, grab the mic stand, and fall off the stage with it. Already embarrassed because people were laughing at how he was dressed, he really turns red when Thibault comments, "So much for elegance." And when Lucy accuses him of ruining the party, Linus decides he's had enough. Using the microphone, he publicly calls her out, telling her, "Lucy, I've done everything I can to make you happy. I worked all night, all week, even. And now, you're saying I'm ruining everything?! Me?! This could've been a fun party, but it's you and your perfect rules that have turned a perfectly good holiday into a perfectly terrible party!... That's right! I said it! This party is terrible! I hereby quit your terrible party committee. You can find someone else to take for granted. I'm done." He does a literal mic drop and storms out of the theater, followed by a number of the guests, as he and Lucy sarcastically tell each other, "Happy New Year!"

After the party falls apart, Linus is joined by Charlie Brown, as he sits atop a hill, looking up at the sky. He tells him about what happened with their grandmother and why Lucy was acting the way she was, before explaining the meaning behind Auld Lang Syne: "As one year turns into the next, Auld Lang Syne is a heartfelt reminder that we should never forget our friends or the good times we've shared. And hopefully, they will do the same for us." He then laments that Lucy could've really used something 

like that, before walking home. When Lucy also arrives back home, depressed and guilty about what she did, Linus is good enough to come to her room and try to comfort her. She apologizes for how she treated him, gives him back his blanket, and laments that she's unlovable. Linus, sitting on the bed beside her, assures her, "That's not true. I love you." She responds, "You're my brother. You have to love me," and he answers, "Actually, that's not true either, but I do, and so do a lot of other people." And both he and Charlie Brown proceed to prove it to her.

Speaking of Charlie Brown (voiced by Etienne Kellici), his role here is mostly comedic, as he's desperate to accomplish at least one of his resolutions for the previous year before it ends. He initially tries to "view a great work of art" by watching Citizen Kane, but that's foiled when he's continuously interrupted by the arrival of Snoopy's siblings. After talking to Lucy, and she suggests he pare down his resolutions, he's next seen attempting to accomplish these easier goals, such as simply building a snowman. However, even that somehow proves to be really difficult, so Lucy then puts him in charge of decorations at her New Year's Eve party, ostensibly so he can accomplish his resolution of doing something creative. He actually proves quite adept at this, and Lucy also tasks him with pulling the rope to drop the balloons once midnight hits, when he hears her say, "Happy New Year to you, too." Intent on not messing up, he actually rehearses his cue, but, as you can guess, he ends up pulling it at the wrong time. Moreover, he pulls the wrong one, causing the four pillars he set up in the room to come crashing down, creating a domino effect that utterly wrecks everything and sends everyone who hasn't already left with Linus running for the hills. Getting splashed by the bowl of punch, Charlie Brown rips up his list, knowing he's failed another resolution. 

Afterward, he finds Linus sitting on a hill, looking up at the sky, and learns what happened with Lucy and their grandmother. Feeling bad for her, Charlie Brown gets an idea when Linus says that Lucy needed someone to make her feel valued so she would understand what Auld Lang Syne means. After Linus tells her that she is indeed loved, Charlie Brown shows up in her bedroom doorway, saying he cares about her, and that he understands what it's like for things to not go the way you'd want. Lucy asks him

how he's able to cope with failing as much as he does and continue moving forward, and he says, "I remember that, no matter how bad things may seem, I can always rely on my friends." And then, Lucy finds that everybody is gathered down in the living room, something Charlie Brown arranged. He also winds the clock back so they can celebrate the New Year properly. As they all sing Auld Lang Syne. Lucy, in turn, helps him accomplish a new New Year's resolution: be a good friend. She has him write it down and then cross it off, saying that should cover him for the upcoming year.

Snoopy's (voiced by Terry McGurrin) actual role in the special is minimal, as his part of the story is really about him and his siblings, who get together for the holidays and often play as a band, with Snoopy handling the maracas. More to the point, this subplot mostly focuses on Spike (voiced by Rob Tinkler), who's the last one to arrive at Charlie Brown's home, bringing his cactus and camera. While they're looking through a photo album, Spike realizes that the only photo of all of them together is from when they were 

puppies and tries to take a new one. But his efforts are constantly ruined. First, he tries to get Woodstock todo it, but he flies around wildly with the heavy camera, taking random shots of only some of their faces or, in one case, a shot of Woodstock himself. Second, while they're playing music in the garage, Spike tries to set up a shot, but either the camera and its tripod won't cooperate, or he's interrupted by having to play his part in the number. By the time he finally gets everything set up, they finish playing and head back into the house. Third, he tries to get Lucy to take the picture and she does... of herself. And finally, he manages to get them all presentable for a photo, but a snowball fight breaks out. The final straw is when Spike's camera gets broken in the roughhousing, as he gives up and storms off, intending to leave altogether. Feeling guilty about how they hurt their brother, the dogs' playing at Lucy's party proves to be as pathetic as everything else. After the party falls apart, they head home, when they see Spike at the bus stop, solemnly playing Auld Lang Syne on his harmonica. They join him on the bench, snuggling up to him as a way of apologizing, and when the bus pulls up, they sadly expect him to leave. But, during the really nice New Year's Eve party at Lucy and Linus' home, you see that Spike did stay and is playing along with his siblings. And thanks to Franklin, he gets the photo that he wanted.

There's not much to say about Snoopy's other siblings, as most of them only stand out because of their physical appearances and the instruments they play in the band. Andy (voiced by Mark Edwards) and Olaf (voiced by Rob Tinkler), the first to arrive, are a shaggier version of Snoopy and a rather heavyset dog, who respectively play the drums and horn, and also help themselves to the kitchen when Charlie Brown lets them in; Marbles (voiced by Corey Doran) has spots, plays the accordion, and 

treats Charlie Brown like a bellhop when he first arrives; and Belle (voiced by Katie Griffin) is basically a female version of Snoopy, plays the trumpet, and seems to be friendlier and more well-mannered than her brothers. All six of them are clearly quite close (Snoopy seems to be especially close to Belle, as he happily greets her at the door when she arrives) and enjoy each other's company. They feel really bad when they unintentionally hurt Spike's feelings and, like I said, sincerely make it up to him when they see him at the bus stop. And when 

Spike is happy when he finally gets the picture he wanted, thanks to Franklin, Snoopy stands next to him and smiles. Even though they don't do much with them aside from Spike, it is still cool to see Snoopy's siblings get a fair amount of screentime, since they usually either very rarely appear or their appearances amount to little more than cameos.

I did mention Woodstock (voiced by Rob Tinkler), but he's really just there, with his only significant moment being when he completely screws up Spike's first attempt at getting his family picture. While Spike is crestfallen at how crappy the pictures turned out, Woodstock picks up the selfie he accidentally took and admires it. Otherwise, he's most just there, either building a snowman in his nest during the opening or sitting around, listening to the band's music. 

All the other Peanuts characters have miscellaneous small roles in the story. Sally (voiced by Hattie Kraglen) shows up during the opening, where she's forcing Charlie Brown to pull her along on a sled. She pops up again when her brother is watching Citizen Kane, and is partly to blame for his missing the whole thing. When Snoopy's relatives start showing up, she makes Charlie Brown answer the door, even though she's standing up while he's sitting in a bean-bag chair, munching on popcorn. By the time he's answered the door and welcomed both Andy and Olaf, Sally has taken both his chair and popcorn. And after he's answered the door for everyone else, he's missed the whole movie, with Sally telling him that Rosebud was the sled. Later, when Charlie Brown finds building a snowman to be difficult, Sally brings him a carrot he was going to use for the nose, but he just munches on it in defeat. When Lucy invites him to her party, Sally asks if she can come too. Lucy asks if she can stay awake until midnight, which Sally takes as a challenge and accepts an invitation. That's her gimmick for the rest of the special, as during the party, she's repeatedly seen trying to keep herself awake, including throwing water in her face. She's also horrified when Linus is humiliated by Lucy, and like everyone who doesn't leave with him, is sent running out of the theater when the venue begins collapsing. And at the end of the special, when everyone celebrates New Year's properly, Sally is shown to have fallen asleep. Linus, however, is good enough to put a party hat on her head. 

Franklin (voiced by Caleb Bellavance), Pig-Pen (voiced by Jacob Soley), and Tapioca Pudding (voiced by Harley Ruznisky) are mostly tasked with bringing the finger foods, only for Lucy not to appreciate it. However, the first two have some notable moments when they're getting ready for the party, with Pig-Pen actually putting on cologne, while Franklin looks at himself in the mirror as he straightens his bow-tie and slicks back his hair, and on his way out, stops and looks at his reflection again,

clearly impressed with himself. Similarly, Peppermint Patty (voiced by Lexi Perri) and Marcie (voiced by Holly Gorski) mostly just create that hideous ice sculpture of Lucy, but as the two of them are getting ready, Marcie is brushing Patty's hair, only for the brush to get snagged. Though Violet (voiced by Charlie Boyle) and Patty (voiced by Natasha Nathan) are tasked with getting everyone up and dancing, Lucy doesn't approve when they bring their own music and start playing it, as she insists that's what

Snoopy's band is for. Much to their dismay, she turns it off and makes everyone stop dancing. While talking with him at his house, Lucy tells Schroeder (voiced by Matthew Mucci) to play something "significant" at the party. But she shoots down the slow, classical piece he proposes and asks him to play something people can dance to. He does, much to his chagrin, and then runs off, yelling that he can't stand it, as Lucy comments, "Musicians are far too temperamental." That's why she goes with Snoopy and his siblings instead. While preparing for the party,

Schroeder puts on the finishing touches in front of his bust of Beethoven, and during the actual party, when Lucy starts to become self-conscious about whether or not her guests are having fun, she asks him if he is. She also asks if the party's "elegance" reminds him of anyone and if the evening is "lovable," and Schroeder, now uncomfortable, backs away, saying, "I'm gonna go check out those... chairs over there." Shermy (voiced by Will Bhaneja) and Frieda (voiced by Maya Misaljevic) are also there as random party guests. 

In addition to Tapioca Pudding, two other minor characters from the comic strip make rare onscreen appearances here. One is Thibault (voiced by Jackson Reid), whom I know mainly because of that hairdo. He makes no attempt to hide his disdain for the party and how boring it is, and when Linus shows up in that ridiculous costume and falls off the stage, he makes a snide comment about it. Another kid, Maynard (also voiced by Reid), is spotted double-dipping on the crudites, prompting Lucy to ban him, and he lets out a frustrated yell at this. And finally, a kid named Jose Peterson (voiced by Jacob Mazeral) can be seen loitering around the party as well.

For Auld Lang Syne marks a major shift for the Peanuts cartoons in terms of art style and animation, as you can tell it had quite a substantial budget. It does retain the classic look and feel of it but, not only is the animation itself much smoother and more fluid, but the characters' facial expressions have more detail and emotion than before. The most significant change, however, is in the settings and backgrounds, which, as in The Peanuts Movie, are much more detailed than in the comic strip and past specials. There's also, for the first time, an emphasis on 

lighting and shading, making the settings and environments not only feel more naturalistic but look downright beautiful. This is, without a doubt, one of the most visually pleasing Peanuts cartoons I've ever seen, giving even the magnificent Peanuts Movie something of a run for its money. It opens on a lovely montage of the neighborhood covered in snow, with shots of the pitcher's mound, a lone snowman sitting across from a house, the closed school, a row of small trees and the shadows they're casting onto the snow, and a frozen birdbath, among others. The 

kids then come out to enjoy the snow day, and we soon see the outside of Lucy and Linus' home, which is all decorated for Christmas. The interiors, both there and at Charlie Brown's house, are where you often get the special's knack for combining bright colors with lovely lighting effects. Examples include when Lucy is decorating the living room, which is dimly lit, save for the sunlight coming through the window; Charlie Brown sitting in his beanbag chair in front of the TV; Lucy getting out of bed and skipping downstairs; her lying in bed late at night, with the 

blue moonlight filling her room, and casting a shadow of the window pane's barred pattern across her; her sitting at the edge of her bed, looking out the window at the night sky; and the light from the hallway slightly spilling across her when Linus walks in. When Lucy and Linus first check it out, the theater's inside looks dark and gloomy, not to mention rundown, but come the night of the party, you see that Linus and Charlie Brown have worked a virtual miracle and turned it into a lovely, elegant, brightly 

lit room, with four pillars that each stand at the corner of the dance floor, ribbons running along the walls, and a big, golden chandelier on the ceiling above. Interestingly, the first time we see the inside of Schroeder's house, it has that feel of the classic Peanuts art style, but when we see him getting ready for the party, it's more detailed. Finally, the scenes set outside, both at both dusk and nighttime, look really great, with the former getting across the feeling of that lovely pink lighting you get from a wintertime 

sunset. The latter, especially the shot of Charlie Brown and Linus sitting on the snowy hill, looking down at the town, as the fireworks are going off in the sky above (a shooting star also goes through), Snoopy and his siblings spotting Spike as he sits a the bus stop, illuminated by a streetlamp, and Lucy walking home amid the houses as everyone celebrates the New Year, each look as though they wouldn't be out of place on a postcard.

After Lucy learns that her grandmother isn't coming for Christmas, there's a well done montage that gets across how much it's affected her. She hangs up the phone, and then stays in the middle of the screen, while the scenes around her transition from one to the other, illustrating how she's literally stuck on this throughout the holiday, while Linus is often seen enjoying himself. You see her standing in her heavy winter coat, as Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock build snowmen around her; sitting at the dinner table on Christmas Eve, glancing at where her grandmother

would be sitting; looking out the window with Linus, as he breathes on the glass and makes a face in the mist, only for Lucy to add a frown to it; standing in front of the fireplace in her pajamas; standing in the middle of the living room as Linus puts out milk and cookies for Santa; lying in bed, and then being woken up by Linus on Christmas morning; sitting glumly on the couch and not reacting when she's given a present; standing in the middle of the frozen pond, while everyone else skates around her; leaning across a chair's arm, looking angry, while Linus plays with a

toy airplane behind her; standing amid carolers, with that same, grumpy look on her face; and finally, back in bed, as she begins to wonder if her grandmother even wanted to see her. All the while, the camera gets closer and closer to her face, which goes from shocked and vacant, to downright angry, and then pained. It's the most noteworthy bit of editing in the whole special, although there are some others. The passage of time through December are illustrated with pages of Lucy's calendar being ripped away, while 

the segue to the montage of the kids preparing for her New Year's Eve party is done with the hands of a clock appearing onscreen and wiping on the next scene. There are also some character-specific transitions during this montage, like a cloud of dust that Pig-Pen kicks up, musical notes appearing after Schroeder heads out, and a black cape wiping across the screen when it transitions from Sally to Spike trying to set up his family photo.

Humor-wise, we've got a lot of what you'd expect with these characters. Starting with Charlie Brown, he's determined to fulfill one of his resolutions before the New Year comes around again, but finds himself foiled in one way or another. He tries to watch Citizen Kane in order to "view a great work of art," but that's ruined when Snoopy's siblings arrive one after the other, and by the time they're all there, the movie's over. As if that weren't enough, Sally ruins the ending revelation for him, and Snoopy and his siblings, who were already taking advantage of his hospitality, have

now taken his beanbag chair, are hogging the TV, and flinging popcorn everywhere. Even when Lucy suggests he go for some more reasonable resolutions than the ones he had planned, he still fails. While trying to build a snowman, the massive snowball he makes for the head is so damn heavy that it takes a lot of effort for him to finally get it up on the body, and when he does, he puts the hat on, only for the "head" to collapse right through the body. He lets out an aggravated yell and kicks it, only to knock himself

onto his back. For the most part, he actually does alright when he's decorating the inside of the theater, but ends up tying himself up in the decorative ribbons, and asks Linus how good he is at untying knots. During the party, he stands by the cords, waiting for his cue to drop the balloons. When Snoopy's band arrives and everyone goes to dance, Charlie Brown opts to join them, but after the music proves to be horrendous and depressing, he walks back to the cords and glumly says, "I'm back." Of 

course, his biggest blunder is when he not only pulls a cord at the wrong time, but it turns out to be the wrong cord and sends the pillars crashing down, while the remaining partygoers run for the hills. Getting soaked with fruit punch as a result, and knowing his goal went down with the venue, he tears up his list of resolutions and walks out of the building.

Initially, Linus' biggest concern is hiding his blanket from his grandmother, but after Christmas comes and goes, he finds himself being worked to death by Lucy. He not only kills himself setting up the theater for her party, but is constantly bossed around by her during it, having to take care of anything that upsets her. The worst part is when she forces him to wear that ridiculous outfit, and it causes him to fall over the mic stand and off the stage. At the same time, you have Lucy, as usual, being self-centered and completely oblivious to how she's affecting others, like when she 

changes the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne to fit with her party, later decides it needs a catchy beat; takes a selfie and gives the picture to Spike when he wanted her to photograph him with his siblings and frets about everyone having a good time, to the point where she either annoys or, in Schroeder's case, freaks them out. There's also humor in how various aspects of the party don't meet her expectations, like the "finger foods," the horrific ice sculpture Peppermint Patty and Marcie make of her, and how utterly pitiful Snoopy's band sounds due to their depression over

Spike. And speaking of Spike, while you do feel bad for him in the end, it is funny how his attempts to get the family picture he wants are thwarted, be it by a panicky Woodstock, Lucy, or even by his own siblings, albeit unintentionally. When they're playing in the garage, Spike tries to set his camera up on the tripod, but not only is he continually interrupted because when has to act as the song's harmonica section, but everything else, particularly the camera, proves uncooperative. The tripod collapses, then 

disconnects from the camera when he stands it back up; he falls through the box he's having to stand on to look through the viewfinder; he has trouble getting the camera reoriented correctly; and when he does, it suddenly goes up into the air much higher than necessary. He climbs up and grabs his hat that caught snagged atop it, only for it to go back down, causing him to fall. He has to threaten the camera with a hammer to make it cooperate but, when he finally does set the shot up, everyone else has finished playing and they've gone back into the house.

When I reviewed The Peanuts Movie, I talked about how many felt that it didn't have the edge or cynicism of classic Peanuts, both in terms of the characters, whose negative qualities were considerably toned down from what was seen in the past, and the more traditional happy ending, where something good finally happens for Charlie Brown (I've since watched a review where it was said that, in classic Peanuts, the ending would've turned out to be a dream). And as I said in that review, while I can understand where those critics and purists are coming from, as someone

who, despite being a fan, is sometimes put off by how mean-spirited and cruel these cartoons could get, I'm more than willing to accept this softer and warmer approach. I won't lie, it was quite shocking and unexpected when I first watched this and got to the part near the end where Lucy talks with Linus and she tells him, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I've ruined everything. I should've been more appreciative of everything you did. Sorry." Seriously, the idea of Lucy, not only apologizing to Linus, but being truly sincere about it felt so alien! The same

goes for when she appreciates how Charlie Brown shows up to be there for her, walks downstairs to find everyone waiting for her, and after they tell her that they do love her, she apologizes for what she did, asking if they'll forgive her, to which Schroeder answers, "In case you hadn't noticed, we already have." You almost never get such empathy and kindness in the classic Peanuts specials and movies, aside from some moments here and there, nor do you typically see Linus stand up to Lucy and call her out

on her crap the way he does here (in fact, the only time he did that before was in the special, Why, Charlie Brown, Why?). And like I said in the introduction the past cartoons also tended not to delve that much into the characters' innermost feelings and insecurities, save for maybe Charlie Brown's tendency to wear them on his sleeve. So, yeah, this approach did initially catch me off-guard, but I think it's a more than welcome way to tell these stories.

Besides making it more palatable, I don't think any of this is that out of character (except for Schroeder being that nice towards Lucy, given how much we know he doesn't like her). Despite how much she's always pushed him around and even threatened him, there's also always been a sense that Lucy does really love her brother, namely in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, where she makes sure to get him some extra candy while trick-or-treating, and also brings him into the house and puts him to bed when he falls asleep out in the pumpkin patch. The same is

also true, and even more so, on Linus' side, so it doesn't surprise me when we see that he's concerned for Lucy after he overhears her wondering if she's lovable. As for Charlie Brown, not only does he, as per usual, have a lot of bad luck, but it's not shocking that he would empathize with Lucy and try to cheer her up because, as we've always known, he's a nice guy (that's why he's often referred to as, "Good ol' Charlie Brown"). Also, while Lucy does appreciate his trying to cheer her up, she can't help but rub his 

bad luck in when she goes to ask him a question, but leads with, "You fail over and over and over and over and over..." (He has to get her back on track by asking what the actual question is, and she chuckles at herself.) And while Snoopy's feelings about Charlie Brown have often come off in the past as disdainful, to say the least, we've known he's always had a soft spot for Woodstock, as well as his siblings. So, his feeling bad over hurting Spike's feelings is not out of place. Plus, how can you not feel all warm and fuzzy 

when you see moments like when Snoopy and the others join Spike on the bench at the bus stop, Lucy finally gets the affirmation that she's loved, not only by her friends but her grandmother in a pre-credits scene, Spike being elated at finally getting the photo, and the kids happily singing Auld Lang Syne together, with Lucy encouraging Charlie Brown to sing alongside her and Linus, before helping him complete a resolution?

There's no actual composer credited for this special, just a music editor and some random other music department credits, but regardless, as with the other Apple TV+ Peanuts projects, the music has that Vince Guaraldi feel but doesn't completely recreate his work or even use any of his actual themes. Much of the score itself is made up of smooth, mellow jazz piano and often simply acts as literal background music, but it is sometimes augmented to fit the mood, like when Lucy is singing Christmas songs to herself, during the montage of her being depressed at Christmas, when the kids are preparing for her party, and when Lucy is feeling sad and guilty during the third act. As you'd expect, the actual song of Auld Lang Syne features a lot in the score, such as in a very soft version when the title appears during the opening sequence, an upbeat, bouncy one that Lucy plays on a boombox, a bluesy harmonica one that Spike plays, and in a full-on, heartwarming version with the kids singing and Schroeder playing the piano, with Snoopy's band taking over during the latter part. Speaking of Schroeder, he tickles the ivories a bit in an early scene, when Lucy is trying to talk him into playing at the party. Initially playing some Beethoven, he goes into a low-key, classical piece, then, with Lucy's urging, a more energetic, ragtime bit, which he hates playing. And you get a couple of nice numbers by Snoopy's band.

In my opinion, For Auld Lang Syne was a great way for Apple TV+ to kick off their own series of Peanuts specials. It's a cartoon that's beautiful to look at, with lovely animation for both the characters and the settings, some good music and songs, a well-told story, and you really get to delve into the characters more and see a warmer, more vulnerable side to them, namely Lucy in this case. The latter may not be something that hardcore fans and purists of classic Peanuts would care for, but I think this cartoon manages to pull it off without getting too mushy, deviating too drastically from their traditional portrayals, or losing the humor. Overall, between this and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, a special that I actually kind of liked, I prefer this one. So, if you have access to the app (even if you don't, there are ways to see this, as you can guess; that's how I saw it) and want to see some Peanuts specials that get a bit more into the characters and aren't quite so cynical, I'd recommend checking this out.