What A Nightmare, Charlie Brown (1978)

I've lost track of how many times I've said this but, regardless, here's another Peanuts special that I'd never seen or even heard of before I got that Peanuts 1970's Collection, Volume Two DVD set. From what I've read, this one didn't see a lot of re-airings, only occasionally popping up on Nickelodeon in the late 90's and into 2000, and after that set went out of print, it became kind of hard to find (though, it is now included in the Blu-Ray set, Peanuts: 75th Anniversary Ultimate TV Specials Collection). And when you look at it, you can kind of see why, as much of it consists of Snoopy being horribly abused, both by humans and especially other dogs, before he finally suffers a complete breakdown and, having had enough, becomes vicious and mean himself in order to survive. Granted, as the title suggests, this is all a dream, but it's still unsettling to see Snoopy go through this. But I wouldn't advise anybody to skip this one, as troubling as that may be, as it has a lot to recommend it. It's very beautifully drawn and designed, being the first special since A Charlie Brown Christmas to take advantage of the picturesque possibilities of snow, has instances of really great animation, and, while it's definitely an unusually dark Peanuts cartoon, it's not without its light-hearted, funny moments. But what really makes it unique is that it only features two of the main cast (the other being Charlie Brown, of course) and the focus is on Snoopy, so there's very little dialogue, which was unusual for television animation at the time and is where a lot of the franchise's humor comes from. So, they had to be more creative than usual and, for my money, they pulled that little challenge off nicely.

It's a snowy winter day, and Charlie Brown breaks out his sled in order to pretend to be a sled-master, with Snoopy as his sled dog. Snoopy, however, isn't having it, and thwarts both of his consecutive attempts, the second time by actually forcing him to pull the sled, while Snoopy himself rides on it. That night, in the house, Snoopy helps himself to the kitchen, preparing a massive dinner that consists of five pizzas, a milkshake, and various fruits and vegetables, much to Charlie Brown's irritation. He accuses Snoopy of being "overly civilized" and says he hopes he can digest all of that food. Snoopy, naturally, blows off his concerns and, after chowing down, goes to bed atop his doghouse. However, that big dinner does come back around on him, as he dreams that he's in the Arctic, forced to be part of a sled dog. This proves to be absolute hell for him, as the whip-cracking sled-master nearly runs him to death, and the other sled dogs are bigger and act vicious towards him, not allowing him to eat, drink water, or sleep next to them for warmth. His only respite is when the sled-master stops in a small, isolated town and he manages to sneak inside the local saloon; otherwise, he's constantly run ragged and abused, until he's finally pushed to his breaking point. Deciding that enough is enough, he opts to adapt accordingly to this new, tough lifestyle in order to survive.

This is the first Peanuts special since A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving back in 1973 to be co-directed by both Bill Melendez and Phil Roman, as the latter had directed all of the specials made since then himself, and would go on doing so afterward, up to 1983's Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? (although, that said, Melendez is said to have been an uncredited co-director on a number of those as well). What's more, right before this, the two of them had co-directed the feature film, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, and would go on to do the same with Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown a couple of years later. But what I find especially interesting about this special's production is how it's ostensibly an adaptation of Jack London's The Call of the Wild, with Snoopy in place of Buck, the domesticated dog at the center of that story. Charles Schulz is said to have been inspired to write this after he read an article about Arctic sled dogs and wondered what would happen if a pampered house pet like Snoopy was forced to survive in that kind of harsh and unforgiving environment.

Yeah, poor Snoopy (voiced by Bill Melendez) gets put through a lot of physical and mental anguish here. However, at the start, it feels like this is something of a comeuppance. As expected when, at the start, Charlie Brown tries to act as a sled master, with Snoopy pulling the sled, he isn't too thrilled at the prospect. The first time Charlie Brown tries it, Snoopy sends him careening down a hill and crashing into a snowdrift, and the second time, after seemingly being too small and weak to pull the sled, he tricks Charlie Brown into pulling him along. After Snoopy forces him to pull him through a good chunk of the neighborhood, wearing him out, he and Charlie Brown head inside their home. That night, Snoopy heads to the kitchen and fixes himself an enormous dinner consisting of five pizzas, a milkshake, and various fruits and vegetables. He's completely dismissive of Charlie Brown repeatedly telling him that Arctic sled dogs don't have it this good, and that he's overly civilized. Once he's finished eating, he heads back outside to his doghouse, where all that food in his stomach causes him to have a nightmare in which he's in that very type of environment and situation. But, as much as it initially does feel like Snoopy is getting what he deserves after being so spoiled and indignant, the longer it goes on, the more it feels like just plain old abuse. He's worked to near exhaustion as part of the dog sled team, is constantly threatened and bullied by the other dogs, who refuse to let him eat, drink, or get warm by sleeping next to them, and is not even allowed to join them in howling back at a wolf who bays at the moon in the distance. 

Snoopy gets a bit of a respite when they stop in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and he decides to head into the local saloon. He gets tossed out when he first goes in, as he goes right to the bar and demands service, but he promptly sneaks back in, spotting a sandwich left near the piano. Though he initially seems to be caught again when the piano turns out to be self-playing, he merely pretends to be the one playing it and helps himself to the sandwich at the same time. He's also given a big mug of root 

beer, and after he drinks that down, the patrons fill it with coins as reward for his great "rendition" of The Washington Post March. He promptly decides to take advantage of that and try his hand at the poker table. He does quite well at it, but when he lays out a winning hand of five aces, a brawl breaks out and he has to run for it. Ducking through a door with a "KEEP OUT" sign, he ends up in a backstage area, and then finds himself on an actual stage, with a spotlight on him, and an audience waiting for a performance. He nervously dances (fairly well, I 

might add), but gets no applause for it, and when he then does a can-can number, he gets booed and has stuff thrown at him. With that, he's tossed back outside and back with the sled team, continuing to undergo horrible mistreatment. 

It's genuinely distressing seeing the crap that Snoopy is put through for much of this special, especially when he's shivering from the cold, clutching at his throat because he's so desperately thirsty and hungry, and being constantly terrorized by the other dogs. It's really bad when he finally breaks down crying over it one night, having been pushed to his limit. But then, when the other dogs, yet again, greedily scarf down the scraps of meat the sled master throws to them, Snoopy finally decides he's had enough and opts to 

adapt to his new life accordingly. He musses up the fur on the top of his head, bares his fangs, gets down on all fours, and then storms up to the alpha male, who's especially been giving him a hard time. He lets out a ferocious snarl right into his face, and while the alpha male initially calls his bluff, he immediately backs down when Snoopy snarls even more ferociously. Snoopy then takes the piece of fish that he was eating, and when he later goes to take a drink, he snarls at the other dogs, warning them to leave him be. He continues to assert himself, repeatedly taking 

all of the food for himself and challenging the alpha to a fight, which he wins! Now the leader of the team, Snoopy earns his position by proving to still be fit and full of energy after a long day of pulling the sled, while the other dogs are tired. He also keeps them in their place, continuing to take all the food, and just like they did with him, when he howls at the moon that night, receiving an answer from a wolf, he snarls at the others when they try to join in.

But the next day, the team runs across a big lake of cracked ice, which breaks open and pulls all the other dogs and the sled master down into the frigid water. Snoopy desperately grapples with the line, trying to keep from being dragged down with them, but gets pulled all the way to the edge of the ice and into the water, with only his head sticking out. That's when the nightmare finally ends, as it turns out that he's hanging from the edge of his doghouse's roof in his sleep, before falling to the ground and waking up. 

He's relieved to see that it was just a dream, but since it's still the middle of the night and really cold (not that he had an issue with sleeping out there earlier), he runs to the front door and "knocks" by kicking it. When Charlie Brown answers, Snoopy acts out his entire dream in pantomime and he's allowed to spend the night inside. As soon as he's inside, he heads to the kitchen again, prepares a large ice cream sundae, which he gulps down all at once. He then heads to Charlie Brown's bedroom (he leaves the ice cream out on the counter, by the way) and gets into bed with

him. He doesn't really seem to have learned anything, like appreciating what he has not being so dismissive of the plight of Arctic sled dogs, or even not to stuff himself before bedtime. But, regardless, it's nice simply to see how relieved he is over how it was just a nightmare. 

Charlie Brown's (voiced by Liam Martin) role here is very minimal, only serving to criticize Snoopy for his spoiled personality and overly comfortable, laid back lifestyle. Twice at the beginning, he tries to get him to pull his sled, only for Snoopy to outwit him both times. When he does manage to get the harness on him, only for Snoopy to struggle to budge the sled even an inch, he exclaims, "What in the world is the matter with you?! Dogs in the Arctic don't behave like you do. In the Arctic, dogs are workers. They don't lead prima donna lives. They've got a chain from their collar that extends about eight feet. And unlike you, they're tied to a post or tree unless they're going to pull a sled." He decides to show Snoopy how it's supposed to be done and puts the harness on himself, then tells Snoopy to get in the sled. And that's when Snoopy takes the chance to act as a sled master himself, forcing Charlie Brown to pull him throughout much of the neighborhood. By the time they get back to their house, he's worn out, asking Snoopy if he now understands, then, panting heavily, says, "I think that'll be enough for today." They go inside, and when he sees the large amount of food Snoopy fixes for himself, he tells him, "And furthermore, Arctic dogs are only fed once a day, like raw meat or fish or..." Snoopy lets out a disgusted "bleh" at that, and Charlie Brown groans, "Oh, brother!", before telling him that he's "overly civilized." Watching him use a toothpick while he has a big grin is on his face, he then grumbles, "Good grief! What a dog! I hope that you can digest all that food." 

Charlie Brown only shows up again at the end, after Snoopy has woken up from his nightmare and banged on the front door with his foot. After Snoopy acts out what he dreamed, Charlie Brown lets him back inside the house, remarking that the dream must've been really bad for him to be acting like this. (Despite his minuscule role here, I like that this special features Liam Martin, who voiced Charlie Brown in Race for Your Life, as I think he had one of the best voices for the character. Unfortunately, this was the only other time he did voice him.)

It's amazing to think that it took the Peanuts cartoons thirteen years to get back to a winter aesthetic (that is, if you don't count the snowy section of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown), as it makes for some really lovely imagery. Like in A Charlie Brown Christmas, the shots of the snow-covered neighborhood and surrounding countryside are nicely picturesque, especially when the snow is continuing to fall, but the the Arctic setting in Snoopy's nightmare is even lovelier, be it during broad daylight, at dusk, with the orange and purple colors from the setting sun, and at

night, with the full moon up in the sky. There are also some memorable landmarks, like some sort of formation that's shaped like a human figure, which the dog sled team passes by while heading towards the small town in the middle of nowhere, as well as the various mountains in the background and the frozen lake that the team falls into at the end of the dream. Although we don't get to see much of the aforementioned town, what we do see has that old-timey, western kind of feel to it, with a general store 

right next to the saloon that Snoopy sneaks into. The saloon's interiors may not be extremely detailed, as per usual with the Peanuts, but they get across that same vibe, with the wallpaper, some of the portraits you see on the wall, and the overall wooden aesthetic of everything. My personal favorite part of this location is the stage with the painted backdrop of Paris that Snoopy stumbles onto. What's more, unlike most Peanuts animations, you can see a little bit of the adult patrons in the saloon, if only from the waist

down, and if you listen closely, you hear actual human voices conversing with each other. Getting back to the real world, while the interiors of Charlie Brown's house are nothing that spectacular either, they, inexplicably, have a fairly large dining room (much bigger than what you typically get), with a pane glass window in the background that has a great view of the snowy yard outside.

Unlike most adult characters in the Peanuts franchise, the sled master in Snoopy's dream does have an onscreen presence, but is only seen in either shadow or silhouette, including when he first attaches the harness to Snoopy (in fact, it looks as though his shadow is what does it), and speaks in a deeper, more threatening version of that familiar "waa-waa" sound. The other sled dogs are, fittingly, drawn in a more realistic style, and really made to look mean and nasty, depicting how out of his depth Snoopy is in this scenario. But, when he finally decides that he's had 

enough and becomes quite feral and ferocious in his own right, they manage to make Snoopy both look and sound the part. Fittingly, as Snoopy asserts himself, they begin drawing the other dogs' facial expressions in a more classically cartoonish manner, showing how they're now scared of him and he's truly become the new alpha male.

Given how there's so little dialogue, the animation was particularly key here, and there are some real standouts, for sure. Even before we get into the nightmare, the sequence at the beginning, where Snoopy forces Charlie Brown to pull him along in the sled, has some really fast, energetic animation in both the way the characters are moving and in how the backgrounds whip by. The same also goes for when Snoopy whips himself up and then eats that big dinner, especially when he's mixing the dough for the pizza crusts. Once the nightmare starts, there's great

animation to be found in numerous moments, like when Snoopy is being dragged around as part of the dog sled team, the work done on the other dogs to make them come off as really mean and ferocious towards him, and the mischief he gets up to in the saloon, like when's pretending to play the piano, when his winning hand at the poker table causes a fight to break out, and when he tries to dance when he ends up on that stage. Some of these moments of action, like Snoopy getting dragged by the other dogs and his

panting after a long day, do tend to be repeated a bit throughout the cartoon, a la Hanna-Barbera, but it actually helps to get across just how he's being put through the wringer. Where the animation really excels, though, is depicting the exhaustion, discomfort, and frayed nerves that Snoopy goes through, like when he's desperately clutching at his throat and moaning from thirst and hunger, continually threatened and barked at by the other dogs, shivering from the cold, and finally breaks down crying. When combined with the pitiable noises that Bill Melendez was able to make, it makes you feel all the worse for him. 

Of course, that's before Snoopy decides he's not going to take it anymore and becomes a vicious sled dog as well, which is another highlight, animation-wise. In fact, it's about as distressing to see Snoopy acting like this as it is to see him being mistreated, with how feral he looks, and the truly ferocious growls and barks he lets out. But it's well-realized, with his walking on all fours, snarling facial expressions, and his howling at the moon (the sound of that howl is recycled from Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown). Probably the best instance of animation in the entire

special, and one of the best out of any of the entire franchise, is when Snoopy and the alpha male fight for dominance. It's a pretty brutal fight, too, with the two of them first roaring at each other, followed by the alpha grabbing Snoopy by the back of his neck and shaking him, only for Snoopy to turn the tables and bite his right front leg. They then roll on the ground, with Snoopy's nose ending up in the alpha's open mouth, but he pulls out, uses his back feet to push him away, then grabs his harness with his teeth, flings him to the ground, and pins him. The alpha 

doesn't take that as a loss, though, and the two of them suddenly become a rolling cloud of fury, before they stop to catch their breaths. Snoopy then promptly trounces the alpha by grabbing his harness again, shaking him back and forth, and lifting him up and slamming him hard on the ground! Snoopy snarls at him as he walks away, knowing when he's been beaten, and takes his place as the team's new leader. There's a lot of great detail in the very fast action of this fight that merits you watching it in slow motion.

Also, as you can see, both of them have both of them have instances of cartoonish facial expressions, Snoopy temporarily reverts back to anthropomorphism, like when he pushes on the alpha's chin, and, as is often the case in cartoons, they become a whirling blur of fighting, all of which keep it from feeling a little too much like an actual dog fight. And after Snoopy wakes up, his telling Charlie Brown about the dream by acting it out is another great bit of animation work.

As I said in the introduction, despite the plot, this cartoon isn't all doom and gloom. It opens with some funny antics, as Snoopy sends Charlie Brown careening down the hill in his sled, which ends with him crashing into a snowbank, and then forces him to pull him along through much of the neighborhood, as Snoopy cracks the whip, laughs, and yells his own version of, "Mush!", leaving Charlie Brown completely exhausted by the time they come back around to their house. Of course, you got to love the sight of Snoopy making himself a big dinner and

eating it all. Of course, this causes him to have the nightmare, and the first sign of it is his stomach grumbling while he's lying atop his doghouse. Again, the scene at the saloon makes for a breather from his mistreatment, as he not only pretends to play the piano and gets a lot of coins for it (which he, at first, unintentionally pours into his mouth, as he's not paying attention when the patrons put them in his empty root beer mug), but also gets into some gambling. He does manage to hold his poker face, 

until he receives the winning hand of five aces, and when he lays it on the table he, the person he's playing slams his fist down, sending Snoopy hurling through the air and causing everyone else in the saloon to run off in a panic. His attempts at dancing don't win him any new friends either, as he goes from getting no applause to having fruits, vegetables, and boots tossed at him, after which he's literally thrown out of the saloon. After he wakes up from the nightmare, he tells Charlie Brown about it by acting 

out nearly every major moment (his pantomime skills are great, but they've got nothing on those of Courage the Cowardly Dog), and upon being allowed in, he makes himself another pre-bedtime meal and joins Charlie Brown in his bed. But, for the most part, this isn't one of the funnier Peanuts specials, so you shouldn't come to it for a load of laughs.

As with many of the Peanuts animations from the late 70's to the 90's, the music was composed by Ed Bogas. While he opens this up with a new rendition of Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy theme (the last time it would be heard in one of these specials for a long while), he mostly does his own thing. Notably, he comes up with a song called Overly-Civilized, Underly-Dogified Dog, sung by Larry Finlayson, which is heard in its entirety when Snoopy fixes his dinner and at the end, when he fixes his sundae. It basically just reiterates what Charlie Brown says about him, and becomes a leitmotif for him throughout the cartoon, playing in a bluesy, harmonica version when he's being dragged around by the dog sled team, and a distant, dramatic horn version when he acts out the nightmare. That bluesy motif, composed along with some notable synthesizer sounds, is used for many of the dog sled team scenes, while the sequence inside the saloon is scored with some old-fashioned, player piano tickling of the ivories (its rendition of The Washington Post March, which Snoopy pretends to play, also plays out the ending credits).

If you want a slightly darker Peanuts story, What A Nightmare, Charlie Brown will definitely fit the bill, though you better prepared to watch Snoopy get put through the wringer, both physically and mentally, and without as much humor as you would expect or hope for (though, it's not completely grim). Still, this one does have a lot going for it: lovely visuals and backgrounds thanks to the snowy settings, some moments of really good animation, memorable music, and it's a noteworthy attempt at doing one of these cartoons with so few characters (it's the first one that focuses almost entirely on Snoopy) and without much dialogue. It may not be everyone's favorite Peanuts special, and I can understand why some parents may not want their kids to see it, but for me, I think it has plenty of merit.