Snoopy is homesick for his puppyhood at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, so he and Charlie Brown organize a reunion of his siblings Spike, Andy, Olaf, Marbles, Belle, Molly and Rover. However, when they arrive at the puppy farm, Charlie Brown is aghast to find that urban sprawl has replaced it with a parking garage. Snoopy and his family however, calmly begin to play musical instruments they’ve each bought, thoroughly satisfied that they are together on the sidewalk in front. Snoopy’s Reunion was a 1991 television special that was unique in three major ways: it provided a rare look at all seven of Snoopy’s siblings, filled in the story of Snoopy’s adoption by Lila and her subsequent return of Snoopy to the puppy farm and his re-adoption by Charlie Brown, and was the only Peanuts show to feature adults speaking in anything other than “wah-wahs.” Once a close beagle family that loved to make music together, Snoopy, Spike, Olaf, Andy, Marbles, Molly, Rover, and Belle were all adopted into different families and, while Snoopy loves his new life with Charlie Brown and the gang, he misses his siblings and has a case of the blues. In hopes of cheering up Snoopy, Charlie Brown arranges a reunion with Snoopy’s brothers and sister and, once they’re all assembled, they board a bus headed for Daisy Hill Puppy Farm where they were born. Urban development has markedly changed the landscape when they arrive, but the bonds of family are strong and the siblings manage to have a jammin’ reunion and help Snoopy trade in the blues for some happier tunes. While music plays an important role in Snoopy’s Reunion, it’s absolutely key in the second feature “It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.” A 1984 parody of Flashdance, the gang tout the benefits of exercise, learn to dance at their own individual paces, and dance the night away at their home dance parties; but it’s Snoopy who proves to have the fanciest footwork of all when he turns out to be the star of the discotheque. A new 10-minute featurette, filmed at Comic-Con 2008, features interview footage from Peanut’s producer Lee Mendelson and lots of the then-child voice artists including Peter Robins (Charlie Brown–1965-1969), Sally Dryer (Lucy and Violet–1965-1969), Chris DeFaria (Peppermint Patty and Pigpen–1969-1973), Hilary Momberger (Sally–1969-1973), and Jason Mendelson (Rerun–1983-1985). The artists reminisce about recording for the show, talk about the then-innovative concept of using real kids as voice artists, reveal the unusual and often nepotistic paths that led to their being cast for the program, and laugh at how their experiences on Peanut’s generally failed to lead to careers in show business. Peanuts is the iconic, timeless cartoon–watch, reminisce, and be sure to share the experience with your children and grandchildren–they’ll love it. –Tami Horiuchi
Rating: 
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October 15, 2010
#1
Review by Rayne Labelle
Rating:
Well, this one has been a long time coming. I found out that this special includes the long-awaited Flashbeagle. I’ve looked everywhere for that one. It’s been hard to find, except perhaps for a download for iPod from iTunes, and it’s always been pricey on VHS. But now, it’s included with this dvd. For those of you who don’t know what the special is about, it’s kind of a take on the Flashdance movie of the 80′s, when that style of music and dance was popular. Lots of music in this one!
Also, Snoopy’s Reunion gives us a rare look at Snoopy’s brothers and his sister, who weren’t really seen too much in the comic strips. Out of all the siblings, Spike was the one mostly shown either writing to Snoopy or visiting him. So it’s nice to see all of his relatives in one place. These two specials were not aired much during their time, perhaps once or twice. I saw them both once, and it’s great that they’ve finally come back on dvd. I think everyone will enjoy these specials, and it could be a first time treat for some of you as well. A must for any Peanuts fan’s dvd collection.
October 15, 2010
#2
Review by tvtv3
Rating:
The Peanut’s DVDs that have been remastered and released so far have mainly focused on Charlie Brown. With SNOOPY’S REUNION, America’s favorite beagle gets a DVD focusing on him. The DVD features two Peanuts specials. The first is SNOOPY’S REUNION. This special first aired on television in 1991. The special begins at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm with the birth of a litter of eight beagles. As the beagles grow a bit, they begin playing instruments and form a family band. Eventually each of the puppies are bought and adopted, but one, Snoopy, has to be returned by the girl who bought him. The farmer places and ad in the paper and Charlie Brown takes Linus with him and buys the dog. Snoopy is the best dog in the world, but there are times that he seems very lonely and Charlie and Sally Brown decide to get all of Snoopy’s brothers and sisters together for a family reunion at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.
I love Snoopy’s siblings. Some of my favorite Peanuts strips were ones when Spike or Olaf came to visit Snoopy. Unfortunately, the family reunion in SNOOPY’S REUNION doesn’t last very long. It would have been nice to see them all playing together longer than they did. It would have also been nice to see how each of the siblings were doing and reveal what each of their lives are like; there’s a montage for Snoopy, but there should have been one for each of his siblings. Also, SNOOPY’S REUNION contradicts events in the movie SNOOPY, COME HOME. For instance, in that movie Charlie Brown tells Linus that when he was younger a kid poured a bucket of sand over his head and the next day his parents took him to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm to get him a dog. In this special, Charlie Brown goes with Linus to buy the dog from the puppy farm himself.
The second special featured on the DVD is IT’S FLASHBEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN. I haven’t seen all the Peanuts specials, but of all the ones I’ve watched, this has to be one of the strangest. There isn’t always an overall plot structure in Peanuts specials and they tend to jump around from one scene to another. That’s the case, here, too but instead of just a funny scene the special jumps from one crazy song to the next. “I’m In Shape”, “Lucy Says”, “Pig Pen Hoedown”, and “Flashbeagle” are the songs featured and the special parodies both SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and FLASHDANCE. Usually, Peanuts specials are timeless and aren’t easy to date. In fact, all of the previous Peanuts specials I’ve seen before have aged quite well. IT’S FLASHBEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN does not.
The only other special on the DVD is the featurette “Together Again: A Peanuts Voice-Cast Reunion”. This featurette is about eight minutes long and brings together the voices of most of the characters from the very first Peanuts tv special and a few other people who played roles later on. These former child voice actors were brought together during the 2008 Comic Con festival in San Diego.
The SNOOPY’S REUNION DVD is kind of a hodge-podge. I enjoyed SNOOPY’S REUNION, but found it too short. IT’S FLASHBEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN was kind of bizarre, but I know there are several Peanuts fans who list this Peanuts oddity as their favorite Peanuts special of all time. If you’re a major Peanuts fan, you’ll probably want to get this DVD, but if you’re more of a minor fan, this is a DVD you will probably want to rent instead.
October 15, 2010
#3
Review by Chris Kit
Rating:
I bought this DVD because I’m more of a Snoopy fan than a Peanuts fan. This DVD has two cartoons: the first feature is “Snoopy’s Reunion” which shows viewers how Snoopy came to live with Charlie Brown as well as get a glimpse of the other beagle’s siblings. A good chunk of the appeal on the first feature is more from seeing Snoopy and his brothers and sisters living on the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm until they are split up at the time of each of their respective adoptions. After seeing Snoopy become melancholy, Charlie Brown decides to contact each dog and arrange a get-together which concludes with bittersweet results.
The second cartoon is “It’s Flash Beagle, Charlie Brown.” I still have this cartoon on an old VHS recorded tape, and as a child of the 80s, this is still one of the most memorable Snoopy cartoons to me. Snoopy lives a double life, sleeping by day and partying by night as a flashdancer. However, this cartoon is not 100% Snoopy centered. Musical numbers sung by the other Peanuts cast are spread throughout the cartoon, from a pro-fitness song by tomboy Peppermint Patty, to a very self-centered variation of “Simon Says” by Lucy. In the meantime, we see Snoopy live it up at a party with the other Peanuts kids (in a very Arthur Fonzarelli jacket) and eventually sneak off to a dance hall in a torn sweatshirt where he dazzles the other club patrons with his “Flash Beagle” dance routine.
This DVD is a decent buy if you’ve got kids of your own, or if you loved these specials as a child yourself and wish to have them on DVD. The second cartoon also serves as a bit of an incentive on the importance (and fun) of physical activity.
October 15, 2010
#4
Review by R. Roberts
Rating:
I have been a long time fan of the peanuts gang, charlie brown, snoopy and everythng and everyone included. But I grew up in a very rural part of the south where tvs were rare and tv stations were even rarer if you can imagine that. So when I saw one of the movies on tv it was like christmas all over again (imagine that seeing something made you so happy even if you didn’t get to keep it). Later on as an adult I realised and even wrote a letter to renowned world famous and I think he should have gotten a medal from congress or the president for all the wonderfulness his characters did in this world, for adults and children alike. Much to my suprise and amazement, the author and creator himself wrote me back a letter I cherish to these days. I am the parent of special needs children and even on their best day its so hard to explain things, but they absolutely adored watching any snoopy or peanuts book or movie I can get my hands on for them. It isn’t filled with tons of unwanted over abused advertised, violent or bad humor and unwanted grief like alot of cartoons are these days. Good wholesome family values they have. They also explain where some dogs and animals we end up with as pets, that there are people out there that care and just don’t give animals to anyone but actually look for good homes for them. Others help others and sometimes you learn by trial and error but that is okay, its absolutely wonderful and it deals with alot of issues basic ones that kids deal with even to this day but it shows that no matter what, Charlie Brown doesn’t give up.. and Snoopy irregardless of how far out his family members are spread out in the world. They always remember and love each other irregardless. so thank you amazon for making more of these avalible to the general public.
October 15, 2010
#5
Review by The Writer
Rating:
Snoopy’s Reunion offers a rare look at almost all of Snoopy’s family, including his five brothers, two sisters, and mother! (And just FYI, Snoopy’s father appeared in a strip). It’s a touching story describing the origins of the world’s strangest beagle, including his time with Lila, the little girl from “Snoopy Come Home”, though admittedly, this also sets up a contradiction with Charlie Brown’s backstory as described in that film. Only two of the siblings never appeared in the strip, and here’s the chance to finally see them all!
Also included is “It’s FlashBeagle, Charlie Brown”, a personal favorite of mine, as I loved dancing when I was young. The picture quality was somewhat better than a VHS copy, but one thing that disappoints me is that they removed the ‘music video’ effects that were in this special when it aired on TV – such as spinning the frame around, freeze-framing Snoopy as he danced in five mini-screens, and pixelating him in the classroom. But aside from that, I’m overjoyed to add this disc to my collection!