It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
Encyclopedia
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown is the 27th prime-time animated
television special
based upon the comic strip
Peanuts
, by Charles M. Schulz
. The show is presented as an original music
al which features parodies of the early 1980s breakdancing craze, the movies Saturday Night Fever
and Flashdance
, and a number of popular top 40 hit songs of the early 1980s. It has been released to DVD by Warner Home Video as a bonus feature to Snoopy's Reunion
.
wins a game from Peppermint Patty
's team. That night, Snoopy gets out a radio and becomes Flashbeagle.
That next day, Peppermint Patty gets in a lot of mix-ups in class, including getting her hair caught in her binder (with her report trapped inside). When Patty falls asleep, Marcie
drags her up to the front of the room to serve as a visual aid in the class's study of the human head. Later, during gym class, Patty leads the other kids in a workout routine to her song "I'm In Shape." The song contains references to the cheerleader chants in the 1982 Toni Basil
hit song "Mickey
"; Patty spontaneously breaks into a chant to inspire a visibly exhausted Charlie Brown to keep up the pace: "Hey Chuck, you know how, get in shape and do it now, hey Chuck!"
Charlie Brown and his sister Sally host a party for all the neighborhood kids at the Brown household that night. The kids play a game of Simon Says
, which soon turns into "Lucy Says" ("Lucy's the Boss, so listen to Lucy, and here's what Lucy says"). Snoopy wins the final round. Sally is fixated on getting Linus, her "Sweet Babboo", to dance with her, but Linus (as usual) resists.
Meanwhile, Snoopy helps serve fruit punch to the guests, but Charlie Brown discovers to his horror that Snoopy (as well as Woodstock) has been randomly sipping some of the punch glasses through their straws. To make matters worse, Lucy comes by for a drink and takes one of the cups that contain Snoopy's Dog Germs
. Lucy, who is totally unsuspecting of what Snoopy did to her drink, reprimands a grossed-out Charlie Brown for making such strange faces, until finally Charlie Brown can't take it any more and walks away. Finally, Pig-Pen
leads the kids in the square dance
-like "Pig Pen Hoedown".
The next day, Charlie Brown reprimands Snoopy, calling him useless and lazy and informing him that there are other dogs who do a lot more than he does, like herd sheep. That evening, Snoopy dresses up in an outfit inspired by Olivia Newton-John
's "Physical
" look: headband, sweats, and so on; for the big moment, the dance hall performance. After strutting around the neighborhood, he and Franklin
go into the dance hall and find a group of people dancing and dances for them to wild applause, accompanied by the title song "Flashbeagle".
Three days later, Sally takes Snoopy to one of her "Show and Tell" sessions at school. Inside the classroom, everything is fine until 555 95472 turns on a boom box and "Flashbeagle" begins to play, and the classroom becomes an impromptu disco. Sally is mortified at first, but eventually joins in the fun. After school, Charlie Brown insists he should change Snoopy's behavior but Sally says, "You just leave him alone. That's the first time I've ever got an A in Show and Tell."
explained that the dancing Snoopy in the club scene was done by a process called rotoscoping where the character is drawn over live action pictures. The dancing model Marine Jahan
was chosen to do scenes were Snoopy was dancing in the special. The animators rotoscoped live action pictures of Jahan to Snoopy in order to make these scenes. It wasn't the first time Jahan had substituted for another performer as a dancer—she doubled for Jennifer Beals
in Flashdance
as well.
Charles Schulz's 12-year old daughter Jill was said to have inspired the "She's In Shape" sequence when Schulz drew images.
under the "Charlie Brown Records" banner (just like the earlier "Read-Along" records Disney issued for Peanuts) featuring songs from this special. Half of the other songs later appeared on the TV documentary called It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown
which aired in 1985. Songs were written by Ed Bogas
and Desirée Goyette
; Goyette also sings on the album, along with Joey Scarbury
of "Believe It or Not
" fame. It was produced by Bogas, Goyette, the special's producer Lee Mendelson
, and Jymn Magon. Track list is as follows:
Side One:
Side Two:
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
based upon the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
, by Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
. The show is presented as an original music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al which features parodies of the early 1980s breakdancing craze, the movies Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
and Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
, and a number of popular top 40 hit songs of the early 1980s. It has been released to DVD by Warner Home Video as a bonus feature to Snoopy's Reunion
Snoopy's Reunion
Snoopy's Reunion is the 34th prime-time animated TV special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on the CBS network on May 1, 1991 as part of the animated anthology series Toon Nite.-Plot:...
.
Plot
The story begins at a big football game where SnoopySnoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
wins a game from Peppermint Patty
Peppermint Patty
Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. A freckle-faced auburn/brunette, she is one of a small group in the strip who lives across town from Charlie Brown and his school friends...
's team. That night, Snoopy gets out a radio and becomes Flashbeagle.
That next day, Peppermint Patty gets in a lot of mix-ups in class, including getting her hair caught in her binder (with her report trapped inside). When Patty falls asleep, Marcie
Marcie (Peanuts)
Marcie is a bespectacled fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. She serves as comedic foil and best friend to tomboy Peppermint Patty, plays a supporting role in some of Snoopy's heroic fantasies, and displays a romantic interest in Charlie Brown, who seems to love...
drags her up to the front of the room to serve as a visual aid in the class's study of the human head. Later, during gym class, Patty leads the other kids in a workout routine to her song "I'm In Shape." The song contains references to the cheerleader chants in the 1982 Toni Basil
Toni Basil
Antonia Christina Basilotta , better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born Antonia Christina...
hit song "Mickey
Mickey (song)
"Mickey" is a 1982 U.S. new wave song recorded by singer and choreographer Toni Basil. Written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn as "Kitty", it was first recorded by UK popular music group Racey during 1979...
"; Patty spontaneously breaks into a chant to inspire a visibly exhausted Charlie Brown to keep up the pace: "Hey Chuck, you know how, get in shape and do it now, hey Chuck!"
Charlie Brown and his sister Sally host a party for all the neighborhood kids at the Brown household that night. The kids play a game of Simon Says
Simon says
Simon says is a children's game for three or more players where one player takes the role of 'Simon' and issues instructions, to the other players, which should only be followed if prefaced with the phrase 'Simon says', for example 'Simon says jump in the air'...
, which soon turns into "Lucy Says" ("Lucy's the Boss, so listen to Lucy, and here's what Lucy says"). Snoopy wins the final round. Sally is fixated on getting Linus, her "Sweet Babboo", to dance with her, but Linus (as usual) resists.
Meanwhile, Snoopy helps serve fruit punch to the guests, but Charlie Brown discovers to his horror that Snoopy (as well as Woodstock) has been randomly sipping some of the punch glasses through their straws. To make matters worse, Lucy comes by for a drink and takes one of the cups that contain Snoopy's Dog Germs
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
. Lucy, who is totally unsuspecting of what Snoopy did to her drink, reprimands a grossed-out Charlie Brown for making such strange faces, until finally Charlie Brown can't take it any more and walks away. Finally, Pig-Pen
Pig-Pen
"Pig-Pen" is a character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. He is a young boy who is, except on very rare occasions, very dirty.-History:"Pig-Pen" is a nickname, invariably written in quotation marks in the strip...
leads the kids in the square dance
Square dance
Square dance is a folk dance with four couples arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, beginning with Couple 1 facing away from the music and going counter-clockwise until getting to Couple 4. Couples 1 and 3 are known as the head couples, while Couples 2 and 4 are the side couples...
-like "Pig Pen Hoedown".
The next day, Charlie Brown reprimands Snoopy, calling him useless and lazy and informing him that there are other dogs who do a lot more than he does, like herd sheep. That evening, Snoopy dresses up in an outfit inspired by Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
's "Physical
Physical (Olivia Newton-John song)
"Physical" is a song by Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John, released in September 1981. The song was an immediate success, shipping 2 million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum, and spending 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately becoming Newton-John's...
" look: headband, sweats, and so on; for the big moment, the dance hall performance. After strutting around the neighborhood, he and Franklin
Franklin (Peanuts)
Franklin is a character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first African-American character in the strip. He goes to school with Peppermint Patty and Marcie. In his first story arc, he met Charlie Brown when they were...
go into the dance hall and find a group of people dancing and dances for them to wild applause, accompanied by the title song "Flashbeagle".
Three days later, Sally takes Snoopy to one of her "Show and Tell" sessions at school. Inside the classroom, everything is fine until 555 95472 turns on a boom box and "Flashbeagle" begins to play, and the classroom becomes an impromptu disco. Sally is mortified at first, but eventually joins in the fun. After school, Charlie Brown insists he should change Snoopy's behavior but Sally says, "You just leave him alone. That's the first time I've ever got an A in Show and Tell."
Production
Bill MelendezBill Melendez
José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
explained that the dancing Snoopy in the club scene was done by a process called rotoscoping where the character is drawn over live action pictures. The dancing model Marine Jahan
Marine Jahan
Marine Jahan is a French actress most widely known for having doubled for Jennifer Beals in the 1983 movie Flashdance. At the time of its release, Jahan's role in the movie was controversial for several reasons...
was chosen to do scenes were Snoopy was dancing in the special. The animators rotoscoped live action pictures of Jahan to Snoopy in order to make these scenes. It wasn't the first time Jahan had substituted for another performer as a dancer—she doubled for Jennifer Beals
Jennifer Beals
Jennifer Beals is an American actress and a former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance, and as Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word. She earned an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for the former...
in Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
as well.
Charles Schulz's 12-year old daughter Jill was said to have inspired the "She's In Shape" sequence when Schulz drew images.
Voice credits
- Brett JohnsonBrett JohnsonBrett Johnson is an Australian rules footballer, and is currently the captain of the Williamstown Football Club in the Victorian Football League....
as Charlie Brown, 5, and The Light Brown Haired Boy - Stacy Ferguson as Sally Brown
- Jeremy SchoenbergJeremy SchoenbergJeremy Schoenberg , born in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Jeremy started out as a child star on both film and television. He played on Days of our Lives from 1980 to 1982 as Johnny, Marlena's foster child. Jeremy was nominated for this role in the category of Best Young Actor -...
as Linus Van Pelt - Heather Stoneman as Lucy Van Pelt
- Gary Goren as Schroeder and Tommy
- Gini Holtzman as Peppermint Patty
- Keri Houlihan as Marcie
- Bill MelendezBill MelendezJosé Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
as Snoopy and Woodstock
Vocalists
- Kevin Brando as Charlie Brown, 5, and The Light Brown Haired Boy for vocal solos and as Schroeder for group vocals
- Brad Kesten as Charlie Brown for group vocals
- David T. Wagner as Linus Van Pelt (credited as David Wagner)
- Jessica Lee Smith as Lucy Van Pelt (credited as Jessie Lee Smith)
- Joeseph Chemay as Additional vocalist
- Desirée GoyetteDesirée GoyetteDesirée Goyette is a singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pig, Honey Bunny and numerous others for radio, television and toys...
as duet vocalist in "Snoopy" and "Flashbeagle" - Joey ScarburyJoey ScarburyJoey Scarbury is an adult contemporary singer best known for his hit song, "Theme from The Greatest American Hero ", in 1981.-Childhood and early music career:...
as duet vocalist in "Snoopy" and "Flashbeagle"
Soundtrack
A soundtrack was issued on Disneyland RecordsDisneyland Records
Disneyland Records is the original name of the Walt Disney Company's record company.After long associations with primarily RCA Victor Records, with a few select titles on Capitol, Disneyland Records was established by the Disney studio in 1956 with its first release entitled A Child's Garden of...
under the "Charlie Brown Records" banner (just like the earlier "Read-Along" records Disney issued for Peanuts) featuring songs from this special. Half of the other songs later appeared on the TV documentary called It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown
It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown
It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown is an animated documentary television special based on characters from the Peanuts comic strip....
which aired in 1985. Songs were written by Ed Bogas
Ed Bogas
Ed Bogas, born Edgar Noel Bogas, and sometimes credited as Edward Bogas, is an American rock musician and composer and whose work has been featured in films, animations, and video games.-Career:...
and Desirée Goyette
Desirée Goyette
Desirée Goyette is a singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pig, Honey Bunny and numerous others for radio, television and toys...
; Goyette also sings on the album, along with Joey Scarbury
Joey Scarbury
Joey Scarbury is an adult contemporary singer best known for his hit song, "Theme from The Greatest American Hero ", in 1981.-Childhood and early music career:...
of "Believe It or Not
Believe It or Not (song)
"Believe It or Not" is a song composed by Mike Post and Stephen Geyer and sung by American singer Joey Scarbury. It serves as the theme song for the television series The Greatest American Hero...
" fame. It was produced by Bogas, Goyette, the special's producer Lee Mendelson
Lee Mendelson
Lee Mendelson is an American television producer. He is best known as the executive producer of the many Peanuts animated specials....
, and Jymn Magon. Track list is as follows:
Side One:
- Flashbeagle*
- Pigpen Hoedown*
- Don't Give Up, Charlie Brown**
- Peppermint Patty's P.E. Program (I'm In Shape)*
- Snoopy*
Side Two:
- Someday, Charlie Brown**
- Let's Have A Party^
- Lucy Says*
- Woodstock**
- Snoopy's Big Debut**
- (*-From It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown)
- (**-From It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown)
- (^-Theme from The Charlie Brown and Snoopy ShowThe Charlie Brown and Snoopy ShowThe Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show is an animated television series featuring characters and storylines from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It aired Saturday mornings on the CBS network from 1983 to 1985. It re-aired on The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon in the 1990s...
; this version was later used for the second season in 1985)