Much to his surprise, Charlie Brown learns in class one day that he and Linus have been chosen to take part in a student exchange program, where they're to travel to France and spend two weeks there. Upon hearing the news, he heads home and invites Snoopy along as well. He's also shocked when he checks the mailbox and finds he's actually received a letter meant for him, only to look at it and see it's written in a language he can't read. And then, on top of everything else, he gets a call from Peppermint Patty, who tells him her school is taking part in the same student exchange program and she and Marcie are going over to France as well. The next day, the group heads off to the airport and board their plane, with Snoopy, somehow, managing to travel first class, and with Woodstock sneaking aboard as well. En route, Charlie Brown shows Patty and Marcie the letter, which is written in French. Marcie, who's been studying the language, translates it and tells Charlie Brown it was written by a girl named Violette Honfleur, whom he's never heard of but who has known of him all her life and has invited him to stay with her at the Chateau du Mal Voisin in the town of Le Heron. The group lands in England, and after some misadventures, such as Snoopy having a slight difference of opinion with a referee at Wimbledon and the kids being unsure of what it is they're ordering at a London cafe, they head over to France via hovercraft. Renting a car, which Snoopy drives, they travel to Morville, where Patty and Marcie are to stay with a family who live on a farm. But, after Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock head to the chateau, Pierre, the boy who greets the girls at the farm, tells them they can't possibly be going to the Chateau du Mal Voisin, as its owner is a reclusive baron who despises outsiders, especially foreigners. Sure enough, when they arrive at the chateau, and get caught up in a rainstorm, no one appears to be home and they're forced to spend the night in the stables. Though they make it through the night and attend school the next day, Pierre continues to insist they're in danger from the Baron and that Violette invited them without his knowledge. Little does Charlie Brown also know that Violette invited him because of a decades-old connection between their two families.
The revelation is that Silas Brown, Charlie Brown's grandfather, who was a soldier in the U.S. Army, was stationed at the chateau during World War II. He and Violette's grandmother became very friendly and kept in contact in letters long after the war ended and he returned to America. Eventually, the letters stopped, but Violette's grandmother always remembered Silas, whom she saw as a charming and handsome man. Having grown up with stories about Silas, Violette had heard about Charlie Brown through a friend who was in America and had his hair cut by a barber who just so happened to be Charlie Brown's father, prompting her to invite him over. This is interesting and unique among Peanuts material, since we never, ever see Charlie Brown's parents, to the point where it's almost like they don't even exist (although, his father being a barber is an established part of the franchise), so it's nice to get some kind of family history on him, and when he leaves at the end of the movie, he receives Silas' satchel, which Violette has kept with her. It's also worth noting that Charles Schulz is said to have based some aspects of this story on his own military experiences of being stationed in France in World War II, specifically in that he was stationed at a castle called Chateau Malvoisin, very much like the chateau featured here.
In England and France, the group meet a number of different characters, including two kids who are quite significant. One of them is Pierre (voiced by Pascale De Barolet), a French farm-boy whose family is the one Peppermint Patty and Marcie stay with. A friendly and welcoming kid, especially towards Marcie, given how she's made an effort to study French, Pierre is the one who warns them of the danger Charlie Brown and Linus could be in while staying at the Chateau du Mal Voisin because of the reclusive and cruel baron who owns the place. He continually frets for their safety during their time there, adding that Violette Honfleur likely invited them there without the Baron's knowledge, and, at one point, remembers Violette speaking about an American friend of her grandmother's. As mentioned before, there's a definite connection between Pierre and Marcie, despite what Peppermint Patty convinces herself of, and when they're saying goodbye at the end of the movie, it's clear Pierre wishes Patty would stop droning on about something she's totally wrong about. Violette Honfleur (voiced by Roseline Rubens) is in the film for very little but is actually an important character, as she writes the letter that invites Charlie Brown to stay at the chateau. Little did she know that the Baron, her uncle and legal guardian, would be very unhappy with this and forbid the kids from entering the chateau. During the time Charlie Brown and Linus stay there, Violette brings them blankets and fresh food while they're sleeping out in the stables, and tries to get her uncle to invite them in, but he refuses and warns her to get rid of them by the next day, or else. That second night, Violette is shocked when Linus sneaks into the chateau and demands she explain everything, leading her to tell the story of how her grandmother met Silas Brown during World War II. But, while she's talking with him, she hears the Baron return and, in a panic, knocks over a candle, setting the chateau's attic on fire. Thanks to everyone else, particularly Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Pierre, who calls the fire department, she and Linus are saved. She later tells the whole story to everyone, noting that she learned about Charlie Brown through a friend who had their hair cut by his father while on a trip to America. Because the chateau is saved, the Baron allows the boys to stay there for the rest of their time in France and they leave on very good terms, Violette giving Charlie Brown his grandfather's army satchel as a keepsake.
From a technical and visual standpoint, Bon Voyage is one of the most sophisticated Peanuts cartoons ever produced. The animation is the most fluid and bouncy it's ever been, showing that the franchise had come a long way since its low-budget beginnings with A Charlie Brown Christmas, and the design of the movie is much more detailed than you normally get. While it starts off in the traditionally simple style before the kids leave for Europe, once they arrive, it becomes much more true to life to what you would see in London and the French countryside. Granted, I've never left the United States at all in my life (I do hope to travel abroad some day, though), but given that the film's design was based on what Charles Schulz saw while he was over in Europe, I would assume it is very accurate, and from everything I've heard, it is. London does come off as very authentic, with the look of the streets, the double-decker buses, the inclusion of Wimbledon, and the train station and airports, but the loveliest visuals are the many panning shots of the various countrysides and small hamlets they come across, such as when the kids take the train to Dover to catch the hovercraft (here, you see a transition from the city to the countryside), and when they're driving through France in the rental car, which has a number of first-person views through the windshield. These shots show that the movie had something of a budget behind it, and likely employed the revolutionary panning techniques Walt Disney developed on his first few animated features back in the late 30's and early 40's. You can tell they were proud with what they had accomplished, as these sequences are very plentiful and are a bit lengthy at one points, which some people may have an issue with but I never do.
More than likely, you wouldn't expect Bon Voyage, or any Peanuts cartoon, to have instances of a spooky atmosphere. Some may feel that It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has such instances but, while that special can be wonderfully atmospheric, I never found it to be particularly creepy at points; the latter parts of this film, however, are a different story. What makes it effective is that it's all light-hearted fun, until Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock drop Peppermint Patty and Marcie off at Pierre's farm and head on to the town of Le Heron. They get caught up in a bad rainstorm and the panning shots of their surroundings become much more ominous as a result, with the pounding rain and thunder, and an occasional lightning bolt far off in the distance. It effectively captures the uncomfortable feeling of being lost in bad weather in a strange place, and it only gets worse when they get off the main road and head down a dirt one that takes them to the Chateau du Mal Voisin. The chateau itself as an unwelcoming a place as you can get, looking very gloomy and creepy, especially since they find that it doesn't look like there's anyone there to greet them. After getting separated for a minute on the grounds, and then futilely attempting to get someone to let them inside the actual building, they're forced to sleep in the stables. Even after the storm quiets down, things are still eerie, and to add to it, when Charlie Brown and Linus wake up the next morning, they find that someone had put blankets on them and brought them food while they were sleeping. On top of that, when they return the next afternoon after their first day at school, they find their beds have been made and there's more food laid out for them, even though there's still no sign of anyone around. Though this is eventually revealed to be the work of Violette, it is surprisingly creepy for a little bit.
The use of lighting and shadows is also quite novel and effective for the Peanuts. The film's opening features a brief first glimpse inside the chateau, with Violette looking at the satchel that is later revealed to have belonged to Silas Brown up in the attic, which is lit only by the light of her candle, giving off a melancholic vibe, and when you later see more of the place's interior when Linus sneaks inside, it's just as dark, spooky, and mysterious, not to mention enormous, as it is on the outside. Speaking of Violette, when you later see her when she's standing on the chateau's doorstep, talking with the Baron, she's enveloped in a halo of light from the candle, making her stand out from the gloominess of the rest of the shot and almost making her come off as angelic when contrasted with her uncle, who's always a dark, shadowy figure. The approach of never seeing the Baron up close and having him always be nothing more than a silhouette not only helps give him a sinister and threatening vibe that goes well with his voice and threats of violence against Charlie Brown and Linus but also nicely ties him in with the place he lives in, which only becomes brighter and more welcoming after he's had a change of heart following the fire. I also like how, after the storm stops when they first arrive at the chateau and Snoopy and Woodstock sneak off to the diner, the film captures the atmosphere of a quiet night, with no music, and just the sounds of croaking frogs and Snoopy casually whistling as he and Woodstock cross over the small bridge and head back down the road. The interior of the diner has a very warm, mellow, and welcoming feeling, coming off as fairly dim, with certain parts of the room highlighted within large halos of light, usually from a candle, and the background when Snoopy and Woodstock first walk in has painted, static images of people, meant to represent a patron and the bartender, making it feel expressionistic. And Snoopy's getup, consisting of an army hat and scarf, combined with his setting at those small tables with burning candles on them, give off a feeling of it taking place in the period during and around World War II.
But what truly makes Bon Voyage such an enjoyable movie, besides the many, many instances of humor and fun, is that it actually has an interesting and well-told story, one that unfolds like a mystery. When the movie begins, the first thing you see is the French diner in the midst of a rainstorm, and you watch the Baron drive off and head back to the chateau. It then cuts to the inside of the attic, where you see Violette looking at the satchel, and you're likely wondering how this connects with the Peanuts gang, as it's far unlike the opening to any of the other cartoons and animated features that have been produced. And when we finally get into the familiar characters, you have the question of who wrote the letter to Charlie Brown, inviting him to stay at the chateau during his time in France, why no one is there to greet them when he and Linus arrive, and who exactly Violette Honfleur is and why she would invite them when the Baron despises strangers. As I've said, it also becomes rather suspenseful when the Baron is threatening to get rid of the boys with potentially deadly force, and it's interesting to hear some information on Charlie Brown's family history.
Following that opening, and after Charlie Brown learns he and Linus are going over to France, he walks home from school and tells Snoopy about it, inviting him along and telling him to get together whatever he wants to bring. He then finds the letter in his mailbox and is excited he finally got one directly addressed to him, only to be taken aback when he sees it's written in a language he can't read. Walking into the house and telling Sally about it, he gets a call from Peppermint Patty, who tells him that she and Marcie have been selected to take part in the same kind of foreign exchange program (in a weird goof, she can actually be seen in the classroom when Linus announces he and Charlie Brown are going over to France). The film cuts to Snoopy's doghouse, in front of which he's gathered a big mass of luggage that includes not only suitcases but also a baseball bat, a tennis racket, and a bowling ball, the latter of which he rolls out of his house. He puts his thumb in the one hole, only to yank it back out when Woodstock, who got in there after following him into the doghouse and was likely then rolled over by it, protests. Snoopy brings out his golf-bag, takes out an iron, and practices his game using Woodstock as a makeshift golf-ball, though Woodstock gives him an unfair advantage by merely walking towards and falling into the hole after Snoopy taps him with the club. The movie then cuts to Patty, who's packing her suitcase and tells Marcie her motto is to pack lightly... and then, when she closes her suitcase, which requires her to sit and bounce on top of it, it's so heavy that she has to drag it across the floor. She manages to get it out the door, but trips on the steps to her house and falls flat on her front, the case landing on top of her. Marcie comments, "Now I know why you travel light, sir: in case your luggage falls on top of you," which Patty merely frowns at.
Woodstock, who's watching this from nearby, runs back to Charlie Brown's house, where he steps out on the front step with his suitcase and is met by Linus. The two of them exchange pleasantries, such as, "Good morning, fellow exchange student," and, "Hello, fellow exchange student," when Sally, who's standing in the doorway, remarks, "If I had my way, I'd exchange both of you." Woodstock then flies over towards Snoopy's doghouse, where he stands with his enormous pile of luggage, wearing a beret and a pair of dark glasses. Seeing this, Charlie Brown tells him he's going to have to leave some of it behind, and Snoopy, after looking the baggage over, removes one golf club from his bag and tosses it aside. Charlie Brown facepalms and grumbles, "Why can't I have a normal dog, like everyone else?" Woodstock is shown standing by the doghouse, a look of some concern on his face. The next scene shows why he looks that way, as the group heads to the airport while he watches from beside a trashcan, sighing and obviously feeling left behind. Inside, the group of travelers say their goodbyes, with Sally telling her brother not to embarrass them over in Europe, as well as letting him know that his baseball team does a lot better whenever he's away.
Woodstock watches from behind the wheel of a luggage cart as the group heads towards the metal detector (when they do, Lucy is among them, instead of Marcie), which Snoopy, who's out in front, sets off. He then sheepishly removes his dog collar and puts it on the conveyor belt, picking it back up after he walks through the metal detector. The kids walk through the detector, not having any problems, and that's when the other kids yell, "Bon voyage, Charlie Brown!", with Lucy adding, "And don't come back!" They ride on a moving walkway, unaware that Woodstock is following them. He becomes skiddish about riding on the walkway himself and, instead, opts to ride on the moving handrail. Snoopy drives up beside them in a cart as they head towards the departing area and they get inside, when he suddenly speeds off towards the escalator that goes up. They get flung onto it, are thrown off when they reach the top, and wobble dizzily over to where they present their tickets, Charlie Brown commenting, "What a trip. We haven't even left the airport, and I'm already sick." Again out in front, Snoopy presents his ticket, which turns out to be first class, much to Charlie Brown's bewilderment, and when he's allowed to head over to the VIP lounge, he wonders how Snoopy manages to get such a ticket. Linus' answer? "He's your dog, Charlie Brown." As with the moving walkway, Woodstock is unwilling to ride on the actual escalator and instead opts to go up on the handrails.
The plane takes off and, inside, Snoopy is looking at the first class menu and chitters excitedly at the delicious meals that are available. He makes his selection, actually smooching his lips at the stewardess when she asks him as much, and blushes as he gives her back the menu. While Patty and Marcie get their own lunches in the back, Snoopy is shown receiving his, and gets an added surprise when he takes the lid off the dish and sees that Woodstock managed to stow away. He's overjoyed to have his friend along, but then the stewardess comes by and he has to quickly hide Woodstock, shoving him into one of the built-in ashtrays in the seat's arms. Once she's gone, he takes him back out and the two of them share the meal: a large roast. They scarf it down in just a few seconds, both of them being stuffed once they're through, and after the stewardess takes the dishes away, Snoopy puts a set of headphones on and starts listening to some music. Woodstock, however, is not happy about this and protests, indicating he wants to listen too. To solve the problem, Snoopy picks him up and lets him share the left earphone. Meanwhile, Patty and Marcie visit Charlie Brown and Linus in their seats, where Charlie Brown shows them the letter he got. Marcie translates it for him, telling him it's from a girl named Violette Honfleur and that it's an invitation to stay with her at the Chateau du Mal Voisin (the Chateau of the Bad Neighbor). Charlie Brown is totally dumbfounded by this, as he doesn't know anyone named Violette Honfleur, and begins to think he should've stayed home. The girls go back to their seats as the in-flight movies starts. The woman over the intercom mentions that a film called Laughing Bunnies will play in the front and rear, while one called Naughty Mariette will be in the center (isn't that latter title kind of eyebrow-raising?). Snoopy and Woodstock are then shown laughing their asses off at Laughing Bunnies (some of which seems suspiciously like reused animation from It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown), when a mean kid sitting in the seat behind Snoopy leans over and whacks him in the head with a rolled up paper, causing his noggin to pulsate wildly.
Later, Charlie Brown looks out the window and excitedly tells Linus that he sees land. Linus looks out the window as well and, pointing out several notable regions, like Inverness and Glasgow, deduces that they're flying over Scotland and should land in London within the hour. At that moment, many rows up ahead of them, Peppermint Patty annoyingly calls to Charlie Brown as if he's five years old, telling him she'll take care of everything for him once they touch down. Another dissolve, and the announcement is made that they'll soon be landing at London's Heathrow Airport. Hearing this, Snoopy, who's been reading the Wall Street Journal, puts it aside, on top of Woodstock, and fastens his seat-belt. He then hits the button that leans the back of his seat onto the girl who whacked him with the paper earlier. He whistles innocently, but she promptly throws it back and it smacks on him. Once he gets over that headache, he removes the paper from atop the protesting Woodstock. The plane then lands and the group disembarks and meets up on their way to customs. While walking together, Patty notes how Snoopy is wearing dark glasses, a bowler hat, and using an umbrella like a cane. Remarking that he must think he's the prime minister, she gets bopped on the head with the umbrella, before they head to Passport Control. Snoopy presents his and Woodstock's passports to the man in charge, who notes they're staying on holiday. After letting them pass, he asks for Charlie Brown's passport, and after he gives it to him, Charlie Brown gets nervous and makes an embarrassing spectacle of himself with his, "I have nothing to declare, sir," speech, getting down on his knees when he says he throws himself to the mercy of the court. Linus totally cringes at this. Next, they go to baggage claim, and Patty has a time getting her bag off the twisting conveyor belt, as she gets caught on and is pulled around by it, all while protesting (much of her protesting is recycled from Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown). Snoopy yanks her off with his umbrella, laughing at her misfortune, and goes to get his baggage, when the same thing happens to him. He goes around a couple of times, caught up in the massive heap of baggage he has with him, until it gets thrown off by the machine itself. Marcie walks over to the heap and, after unzipping a bag, which Snoopy climbs out of, she sees Woodstock wobble out, with one of the golf-club coverings on his head. Snoopy heads back over to the baggage claim, grabbing his hat, umbrella, and glasses, and retrieving his beloved food dish from the conveyor belt.
The group departs the airport in a cab and admire the scenery as they head into London, when they come up on a sign that notes that Wimbledon is up ahead. Snoopy motions for the driver to stop and he and Woodstock disembark, trading in his glasses, bowler hat, and umbrella for a tennis hat and a set of rackets. Charlie Brown asks him where he's going and he hands him a card that states he's apparently a member in good standing of the Wimbledon Tennis Club. With no other recourse, he allows him to go, reminding him to be at Victoria Station at 5:30. The cab drives off and Snoopy and Woodstock walk over to the gates of Wimbledon, which they slip through easily. They enter the tennis field through the South-East Hall and, after passing by and bowing to the royal crest up on the wall, Snoopy selects his racket and heads onto the field, again bowing to the crest. The referee announces, "Play, please," and Snoopy serves the ball, which gets batted back to him and whacks him right in the face: "Love 15." Irked, Snoopy gets over his dizziness and serves the ball again, only to get it smacked right in his mouth when he rushes to catch the return: "Love 30." Pulling the ball out of his mouth, spitting, and grumbling at the taste of it, Snoopy, now really agitated, serves again, and this time, when he rushes to hit the return, the ball hits the boundary line. Snoopy thinks this means good news for him, but is not happy when the referee gives his opponent the point. He argues about it and the referee declares, "The ball was in! Love 40! Play please!" That's when Snoopy emulates John McEnroe's poor sportsmanship, yelling angrily, smacking his racket on the ground, jumping up into the air and letting out an enraged screech, and tossing up his racket and kicking it. He then stomps over to the referee's stand and takes the plug out of one of the wheels, causing it to deflate. The referee yells, "Mr. Snoopy!", in shock at his audacity, while Snoopy just laughs hysterically. His laughing is cut short when the stand starts to shake (I used to think it was threatening to fall over but I now think it's meant to be the referee climbing down, ready to put his foot up Snoopy's back-end) and Snoopy, realizing he's in deep trouble, quickly blows the wheel back up and puts the plug in. He then runs for the gate in a panic, but is literally kicked through it before he reaches it, along with his tennis equipment. He collects his balls and puts them back in their container, only to dump them back out when it turns out Woodstock ended up at the bottom of the container. The bird sticks his head out and rants at Snoopy for putting the balls on him (if you haven't noticed yet, this is something of a running gag with him here).
Elsewhere, the kids are attempting to have lunch at a diner, but have a problem with the menu. The waiter doesn't help, as he tells them, in a very thick, Cockney accent, "For the gentlemen, I recommend the beef & kidney pie. The shepherds pie's rather nice for the ladies. A cheddar & pickle sandwich is rather toppo. What'll be your pleasure, mate?", and Charlie Brown can only ask Marcie what he said, to which she says, "Perhaps I should have studied English, not French." Meanwhile, Snoopy flags down a taxi. Once inside, the driver asks him where he wants to go, and Snoopy grumbles in an incomprehensible manner. The driver intones, "Blimey, it's a bit dicey understanding these Yanks," and asks Snoopy to repeat what he said, only to say it more slowly... but he pretty much makes the same noises as he did before. The driver must decide just to guess and drives off regardless. After the kids finish their lunch (though Charlie Brown admits he doesn't know what they ate), they take a bus to Victoria Station, wherein they meet up with Snoopy and Woodstock before boarding a train. They then embark for Dover and we get a montage of panning shots that transition from the city of London to the English countryside, set to a soft song called I Want To Remember This. A couple of hours later and they reach Dover, where they board a hovercraft to cross the sea and reach France. After they've made the crossing and disembark, Snoopy and Woodstock make the mistake of standing right next to the hovercraft when it takes off again and heads back across, ending up as disoriented fluff-balls.
They next head to a rental car agency, where Snoopy elects to drive the car, signing the contract with his paw-print. Receiving the keys, Snoopy and the kids head over to the car, which is a blue-colored one, and place all their belongings inside. Snoopy, using a suitcase to give him an extra bit of height with which to see over the steering wheel, starts the car, which immediately proves to have a tendency to backfire, and its gears groan and grind loudly. They head onto the main highway and are about to make a turn, per what the map says, when a car suddenly rear-ends them, and another car rear-ends it, followed by another. Marcie sticks her head out of the open sunroof and angrily admonishes the drivers in French: "Qu'est-ce que tu as dans la crâne? Oooh, les cornes! Qu'est-ce que tu veux que je fasse? Que dalle! Le pied de nez! Tu veux nous frotter?" (If anyone knows what she's saying, please let me know. Also, I'm sure it's a different person other than Casey Carlson doing this, as Marcie now sounds like an adult woman.) All the while Snoopy makes various aggravated gestures, like smacking the sides of his head, wagging his fingers at them while keeping his hands on the sides of his head, acting like he's flicking his thumbnail at them, flapping his chin towards them, and making several hand gestures at them, which are all basically different ways of saying, "Up yours." (What you could get away with in children and family movies back in the 80's.) The other motorists become thoroughly enraged at this and start ranting at them, while Snoopy puts the car back into gear and drives away, laughing at how angry they are. Marcie seems pretty satisfied with herself as well.
After a lot of driving, they approach the town of Morville, where Peppermint Patty and Marcie are to get off. Charlie Brown tries to figure out where exactly he and Linus are to go on, when they come to the sign that states that Morville is up ahead. Driving into the middle of the town, and turning right on the first intersection, they head on, searching for a farm that's supposed to come up on the right, when the car suddenly gives out and stops. Patty, for whatever reason, decides to blame this on Charlie Brown, complaining that she was just starting to get hungry as well. As Snoopy gets out of the car and fiddles with the engine, Patty spots a bakery and sends Charlie Brown inside to get them some bread so they can make sandwiches. He walks in, asks for one loaf of bread, and receives it (he doesn't pay for it, oddly), but when he tries to go back out the door, he makes the mistake of carrying the bread horizontally, causing the ends of it to snap off in the doorway. Sheepishly, he picks up both ends and puts them back on, holding the loaf vertically, when he gets a sniffle. This causes him to nearly lose his balance and fall over with it (he lets out the classic, "Augh!", yell), but he manages to right himself. Just as he walks back to the doorway, he sneezes and sends the pieces of bread flying up... and they never come back down. With no other recourse, he asks the man for another loaf and gets it (once again, he doesn't have to pay for it, either). This time, he tries to work out how to get through the door with the bread, and finds it's best to just hold it up vertically as he walks out. But, when he gets outside, he turns the loaf horizontally again, and Snoopy ends up slamming the car's hood down on it, ripping off a big chunk of one end. Charlie Brown lets out a yell of frustration, while Snoopy looks at him like, "What?" Back on the road, everybody's eating sandwiches, save for poor Charlie Brown, and Patty decides to pour salt in his wound by noting, "Boy, Chuck, this is great. That was real generous of you to feed your share to the car. Notice how well the car is running since you gave it some bread?" Everybody then laughs at him.
They come upon the farm on the right, where a young boy is waving for them. Learning that they're at the right place, Patty and Marcie disembark and are introduced to the boy, Pierre, who's especially happy to meet Marcie, since she's made an effort to learn French. Since they need to get going, Charlie Brown and Linus tell them that they'll see them at school the next day and drive off. However, when Pierre hits on the fact that Charlie Brown mentioned a chateau, he's horrified when he learns they're going to the Chateau du Mal Voisin. He tells the girls that the boys could be in serious danger, as the Baron would never allow them to stay there, and has them follow him into the house to see if they can do something. Back with the rental car, night has fallen as they continue down the road, searching for the town of Le Heron. A rainstorm suddenly breaks out and Snoopy flips on the windshield wipers... only for Woodstock to flip the switch back without his knowing. Thinking the wipers are stuck, Snoopy stops, gets out of the car, jumps on the hood, and bangs on the wiper with his fist and tries to shove it. Woodstock, realizing what's going on, flips the switch again, only for Snoopy to get his paw caught in the one wiper and get wiped from side to side. He gets thrown off the hood and climbs back inside the car in a daze and drives on, glaring at Woodstock, who whistles innocently. The town of Le Heron comes into view and they pass by the school they're to attend, while Snoopy becomes excited when he spots a cafe up ahead. Charlie Brown sees that they're getting close to where they're to turn off, passing by a nursery and greenhouse, and then find a dirt road that goes off to the left. They stop, and Linus says he doesn't see any sign of a chateau, as well as notes that it's kind of dark and spooky out, right before there's a loud crash of thunder. With no other choice, they drive on down the road, until they come to a small bridge. Snoopy gets out, looks around, and spots the chateau. Charlie Brown and Linus get out to have a look at it, too, but a sudden flash of lightning and thunder sends them all running back to the car and they drive across the bridge.
At Pierre's farm, he's made some calls but they haven't proven useful, and he tells the girls that all they can do is wait until morning; Marcie tells Patty, "I don't think I like this, sir. Chuck didn't fly all the way over here to get mugged." Back with the boys, they pull up to the chateau's main gate, which is anything but inviting. Charlie Brown knocks on the door, while Snoopy walks along the long, stone wall surrounding the place and finds a spot where he walk onto the grounds. He walks into a small tower and up a flight of stairs, towards a very narrow, vertical window. Trying to get a better look, he sticks his nose through it, and Woodstock flies on and lands on it. Snoopy then finds that his nose is stuck and tries to pull it off, when lightning strikes it, causing him to yank it through and hop up and down, yelling in pain and patting at it; Woodstock is quite shaken by what happened as well. Having heard Snoopy's yell, Charlie Brown and Linus run to the opening in the wall he went through. Out in the yard, Snoopy's umbrella is struck by lightning, sending him and Woodstock running off in a panic, and the boys rush inside, looking for them. They sneak around a corner, and are horrified when a frightening shadow appears on the wall, but it turns out to merely be Snoopy. The gates are then blown shut by the wind, scaring them even further, and they all rush to the chateau's main door. Wet, cold, and thoroughly frightened, Charlie Brown knocks on the door but it seems as though there's nobody home, which dumbfounds him. They spot a dry place, an old stable, and camp there with their things, using their shirts as makeshift blankets. Charlie Brown tells Snoopy, who's now wearing an army cap and red scarf, that they need him to be their watchdog and let them know if anyone comes around. As it's stopped raining by this point, Snoopy walks out into the yard and marches back and forth like a proper guard. But, when Charlie Brown and Linus lie down and fall asleep, Snoopy and Woodstock sneak off.
The two of them walk back across the bridge, down the road, and to the cafe they saw when they came in. When they walk inside, Snoopy puts a coin in the jukebox, sits down at a table, and orders a root beer. Guzzling it down and licking the foam off his lips, he starts busting a move to the upbeat, jaunty tune that starts playing, and when it ends, he goes back to the jukebox, puts in another coin, and pushes a lot of buttons. He sits back down, guzzles another root beer, and starts listening to a mellow tune called Gonna Take a Sentimental Journey, which Woodstock provides a violin backup to. Snoopy's mood seems to sour a little bit, and when the song turns more sentimental, he starts to tear up, and motions for another root beer. After it drinking down, he starts crying and pounding the table, only to change his tune back to happy when the music does the same. He gets yet another root beer while listening to this song, but then it's back to sobbing, much worse than before, and another root beer when a sad song starts playing again. That's when the music that first played starts up again and he drinks his sixth root beer and starts dancing on the table. It's clear he danced and drank the whole night away, as the scene transitions to morning back at the chateau. Charlie Brown wakes up and is shocked when he realizes he has a blanket on him, as does Linus. He wakes Linus up, showing him the blankets, and points out a tray of food nearby. Charlie Brown then wonders what happened to Snoopy, when he and Woodstock wander back to the chateau. He admonishes him for sneaking off, saying, "We could have been mugged, for all you care!", but Snoopy simply yawns and he and Woodstock crawl underneath Linus' blanket. Linus looks at his watch and realizes they're going to be late for school, though Charlie Brown is more worried about what's going on. Linus says they'll have to figure that out later and he and Charlie Brown leave the grounds, the latter saying, "It's sure spooky, Linus. I hope it all works out soon."
At Pierre's farm, he and the girls are pitching hay, wondering if Charlie Brown and Linus are okay, when it's time for breakfast and they head back to the house. While they do, Peppermint Patty tells Marcie she thinks Pierre, whom she's mistakenly referring to as "Pete," has fallen for her, but Marcie just tells her, "Don't worry about it, sir." After breakfast, which Patty is taken aback by, as it consists of cheese, sausages, and soup, the girls get dressed. Patty, who's given a satchel to carry her books in, comments that she's never once carried books to school, to which Marcie says, "That's why you get all those C's and D's, sir." At school, they meet up with Charlie Brown and Linus, the former of whom tells them of the awful night they had. Pierre then tells them about how reclusive and antisocial the Baron is, and when Charlie Brown shows him the letter he got from Violette Honfleur, he says she must have sent it without the Baron's knowledge. Linus wonders why Violette specifically invited Charlie Brown, when the bell rings and they head inside. In the classroom, Pierre introduces the four of them, with Patty, of course, having to make a spectacle of herself, declaring, "As someone once said, 'Lafayette, we are here!'", confusing two French students, as one asks the other who Lafayette is. When she sits back down, she, once again, tells Marcie that she thinks "Pete" has fallen for her, saying that he spoke so nicely of her, and is a bit disappointed when the teacher has her sit with Charlie Brown, while Marcie is to sit with Pierre. Taking her seat beside Charlie Brown, and telling him not to sit too close to her, as Pierre may get jealous, she then tells him they might as well help each other, saying, "If you know an answer, Chuck, and I don't, you tell me what it is. If I know an answer and you don't, I'll tell you what it is." That leads to this exchange: "What happens if neither of us knows the answer?" "We'll punt!" The teacher then asks, "What was the significance of 1066?", and Patty answers, "Well, it all depends. Is it a date or an address?", giving off a dumb smile, while Charlie Brown has a look of, "Oh, God," on his face.
The two of them are next seen doing some work, when Patty looks over at Charlie Brown's paper and annoyingly tells him, "False! Why did you put down false, Chuck? The answer is true, Chuck! What's true is true! Put down true, Chuck, or I'll never speak to you again." The teacher, overhearing this, asks Charlie Brown if Patty is giving him the answers and he answers, "Oh no, ma'am. She's not giving me the answers. Forcing, maybe, but not giving." Patty becomes miffed at this but they go on working, until Patty dozes off. The teacher then asks, "How many times does 25 go into 75?", and when Charlie Brown doesn't respond, he says he didn't hear her because, "I guess there was an airplane flying over or something," i.e., Patty's snoring. The teacher addresses Patty directly, asking her the same question, and she snaps awake and blurts out twelve. When that, of course, is wrong, she then yells out six, when Charlie Brown gives the correct answer of three. Patty is not happy that he contradicted her and "made a fool" out of her, grumbling, "You don't like me, do you, Chuck?" Now comes the moment when she starts criticizing every single thing he does: telling him to move his elbow, telling him to stop wiggling around, and telling him, "Sighs can start arguments, too, Chuck." She shoves him over, telling him he's in her way, and pushes him right out of his seat. The teacher sees this and Patty simply says that Charlie Brown isn't very coordinated. Charlie Brown climbs back into his seat and is hit with a barrage of criticisms: "Don't chew on your eraser, Chuck. It bugs me. Stop drumming your fingers on the desk, Chuck. That grosses me out. And don't hassle me with your sighs, Chuck. Don't breathe through your mouth, Chuck. Don't lick your fingers when you turn the pages, Chuck. And don't scrape your feet on the desk." Finally, Charlie Brown loses his patience and yells at the top of his lungs, "WILL YOU STOP CRITICIZING ME?!", sending Patty falling out of her seat. The next shot shows them sitting outside the principal's, or directeur's, office, with Patty grumbling, "Another fine mess you've got me into, Chuck." (This whole bit was taken straight from the comic strip and was later redone in an episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.)
Once school is out, the kids head off together, with Charlie Brown now dreading going back to the chateau, after hearing what Pierre said about the Baron. Patty tells Charlie Brown that they'd invite him and Linus to stay with them and Pierre, but she's afraid Pierre may get jealous and advises him not to walk so close... even though Pierre is obviously holding hands with Marcie. When Charlie Brown and Linus head back to the chateau come twilight, they cautiously enter the grounds and walk to the stable, where they're surprised to see Snoopy and Woodstock eating food from a recently set table, and that their beds are made. Snoopy makes no attempt to answer Charlie Brown's questions about who did it, as he puts on the same getup he wore the night before and he and Woodstock head straight for the cafe again, not even bothering with the pretense of being on guard duty. Linus figures they may as well keep watch themselves, electing to take the first watch himself, though Charlie Brown tells him, "I'm worried about the Baron. Pierre said that he was a very mean man." Over at Pierre's house, he and the girls are gathered around the fireplace, as Patty continues worrying about Charlie Brown and Linus, while Pierre says he remembers how Violette often talked of her grandmother and an American friend she had during World War II.
Late that night, at the chateau, Linus, who's really tired, wakes up Charlie Brown so he can take over the watch. Though he doesn't wake up fully, he agrees to take over, as Linus lies down to get some sleep. But, as he sits there, with his head resting on his hand, it doesn't take long for him to doze back off, and as his back is facing the chateau, he doesn't see a light travel through the building, past the windows, and down to the door. The dark figure of the Baron walks out the door and off-camera, then pulls up in his car, as Violette stands in the doorway with a candle. He tells he's going to be at the cafe for a couple of hours and that she is not to let Charlie Brown and Linus inside, ranting about her having invited them to begin with. He also refuses to listen to her when she talks about how much her mother liked Americans and that they must be hospitable, telling her that she must get rid of the boys by the next day. After he drives off, Violette brings some fresh food out to the boys, and drapes the blanket around Charlie Brown, who's slept through the whole thing, before heading back inside. Linus then awakens and is absolutely enraged when he sees that Charlie Brown fell asleep while on his watch, grunting angrily when he slumps back over onto his side. The scene transitions to the cafe, where Snoopy and Woodstock are, again, having a fun time drinking down root beer and listening to music. The two of them play a game of foosball and, even though Woodstock is so tiny and unable to turn two levers at once, he manages to give Snoopy some nice competition, especially when he jumps down amidst everything, blocks the ball from going into the goal, and carries it through the fake players and tosses it into the opposite goal. Woodstock laughs happily at his victory, and strolls back and forth on the rim of the table, carrying a sign that reads, WE'RE #1, when he and Snoopy overhear the Baron ranting to Francois, the bartender, about how he wants Charlie Brown and Linus out of the chateau. He goes on about how he will have to take drastic measures if they're not gone by the next day, and even chuckles evilly, but does Snoopy care? Nope. He puts another coin in the jukebox and selects a bunch of different songs.
Back at the chateau, Linus decides to sneak inside and find out what's going on. Walking through the front door, he heads up a long flight of stairs and down a long hallway that leads to another, smaller flight of stairs. Going up, he finds he's in the chateau's attic and sees a door close across the way from him. Tip-toing over to the door, he looks through the keyhole and sees Violette standing by a desk, looking at a satchel, which has the writing, "B-3029, S. BROWN," on it. Linus walks through the door, startling Violette and causing her to scream. She's horrified that he's inside, fearing what her uncle may do should he find him and says that it was a mistake to invite him and Charlie Brown, but Linus demands to know what's going. Violette proceeds to tell him the story of her grandmother and how she became friends with Silas Brown, Charlie Brown's grandfather and owner of the satchel, while he was stationed at the chateau during World War II. She shows Linus a picture of Silas and he remarks on how much he looks like Charlie Brown. Violette then talks about how Silas and her grandmother kept in touch for a while after he returned to America and that she never forgot him, even after she married and had a family of her own. The film then cuts to the cafe, where the Baron is continuing to rant about the boys and says that he will have to get rid of them his way should they still be there the next day, pounding the bar hard enough to shake Snoopy's table nearby. He then leaves to return to the chateau.
When the Baron arrives back at the chateau, Violette panics upon hearing his car pull up and, when she swings around with the satchel, she knocks over the candle, setting the floor aflame, the fire quickly spreading to the whole room. Linus grabs Violette and pulls her to the window. He throws it open and yells frantically for Charlie Brown, who wakes up and quickly realizes what's going on. At this point, the Baron is panicking in the yard down below, while Charlie Brown runs off the grounds and across the dirt road to the main one, repeatedly yelling about the fire. He runs to the cafe, getting the attention of Snoopy and Woodstock, who remove an old-fashioned water-pump from a shed and start rolling it up towards the chateau. Charlie Brown then runs on to Pierre's farm, waking up him and the girls, and Pierre calls the fire department, while the girls join Charlie Brown in rushing back to the chateau. In getting the water pump there, Snoopy and Woodstock run into a bit of a snag when they hit a rock and get flung into the stream, but they manage to get there and use the stream as a water source for the pump. The kids also arrive back at the chateau, where they tell Linus to jump down from the window, but rather than do that, he uses his blanket to snag onto a part of the roof and swing over to another window to escape the fire. A fire engine is shown departing and Pierre arrives to tell everyone that the fire department is on the way. The kids continue yelling for Linus to jump and he tosses down his blanket, having them use it as a makeshift net to catch Violette. When Snoopy finally arrives with the water pump, Charlie Brown and Pierre start working it, while Snoopy pushes a big basin of water underneath Linus for him to jump down into (as I said before, I don't why they didn't use the blanket to catch him as well). With that done, Snoopy grabs the hose and points it up at the fire, becoming aggravated when nothing happens. As expected, when the water does come through, the pressure is more than Snoopy can handle, and it whips around wildly, soaking Charlie Brown and forcing Linus to take over helping Pierre pump. Woodstock randomly pops out of the hose's nozzle (and starts playing a violin to match the actual piece of score during this sequence), followed by a stream of water that Snoopy manages to aim at the fire, keeping it under control until the fire engine arrives and they're able to put it out completely.
After that, the movie starts to wrap up, with the Baron changing his ways out of gratitude for their saving the chateau, Charlie Brown learning all about his grandfather and Violette's grandmother, and everyone saying their goodbyes when their time in France is up. Violette gives Charlie Brown his grandfather's satchel, as well as kisses him on the cheeks, which he chuckles sheepishly about, his cheeks turning bright red. Peppermint Patty expects the same from Pierre, but when she closes her eyes and puckers up, Snoopy kisses her in his stead. She compliments Pierre on his "kissing," though talks about how she's not into summertime romances, and says that Marcie had fun as well but is too bashful to say anything. She's then surprised when Marcie hugs Pierre, thinking it's a shame, given how Pierre has "fallen for her," and tells him he'll have to get over her. She breaks up their hugging fest, making Marcie get into the car, while Linus says goodbye to Pierre, inviting him to America some day, and does the same with Violette. Violette says goodbye to Snoopy, who kisses her hand, and with that, everyone piles into the rental car and Snoopy drives off. He goes through the stream and heads up to the main road, where he, again, gets rear-ended, this time by a big truck and two cars behind it. Marcie admonishes the drivers in the same manner as she did before, right down to the dialogue, and Snoopy makes the same gestures at them as well. Like before, the drivers are very irked at this as they drive away, and Snoopy, again, laughs at what happened, the movie ending with them driving off down the road.
None of the original four Peanuts feature films used any of Vince Guaraldi's classic themes, even the first two, the very first of which he was involved with, meaning that they feel very different in that respect. In the case of Bon Voyage, the music score was composed by Ed Bogas, who would go on to work with Desiree Goyette on the music for the Garfield specials and Garfield and Friends, and Judy Munsen, both of whom took advantage of the film's foreign setting. The title theme is an elegant and classy string piece accompanied by bells that has an old-fashioned and somewhat melancholy feel to it, hinting at the history and memories associated with the chateau and the story that's about to unfold. That theme is heard a number of times throughout the score, but what's interesting is how, when Charlie Brown and the gang first arrive at the chateau, it's played in a creepy, sinister manner, alluding to how the place is so dark and looks as if it could be haunted. The music for the climax where the chateau catches on fire is also done with strings, this time fast-paced and very dramatic, like what you would hear played against a silent movie. In fact, a lot of the music is done on strings, making the score feel very classical and old-fashioned, though there are some more modern-sounding pieces, like Charlie Brown's own leitmotif, which plays when he walks home from school at the beginning and over the ending credits. It has a memorable accompanied by a guitar, which fits somewhat with his down in the mouth attitude but is not as depressing as some of his past motifs. Another example is the scene where Charlie Brown and Linus try to keep watch at the chateau, and when Linus sneaks into the chateau, which has a distinctive "waaah" sound that's accompanied by another beat. But, far and away, my two favorite parts of the score are Snoopy's theme, which is this really laid back, somewhat mischievous piece that's mainly played on the piano but is accompanied by a motif that's played on a horn. It's the part of the score that reminds me the most of Guaraldi's work and I wish it had been used again. And I love the really energetic, jaunty music that plays at the cafe a few times and which Snoopy really likes listening to.
There are some songs in the film, most of which are heard at the cafe, like Gonna Take a Sentimental Journey, If You Ever Gone Down Trinidad, and I'll Be Seeing You, which are really just brief melodies rather than full songs, with the first being a laid back, mellow song, the second very upbeat and chipper, and the third being an overly dramatic tearjerker (at least, Snoopy thinks it is). I don't know who the singers of these songs are but the woman who often does them is the same one who sings I Want To Remember This, which you hear when the gang takes the train to Dover. A very soft, peaceful tune, it's all about keeping the memories and feelings of your travels with you for the rest of your life, something I do try to do whenever I go on long trips. The song is nothing amazing but it works well for what it's put to.
Great review COdy. I saw this in a theater whenever it came out.
ReplyDelete