Snoopy Come Home
| Snoopy, Come Home | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Bill Meléndez |
| Written by | Charles M. Schulz |
| Produced by | Bill Meléndez Lee Mendelson Charles M. Schulz |
| Starring | Chad Webber Bill Melendez Robin Kohn Stephen Shea David Carey Hilary Momberger Christopher DeFaria Linda Ercoli Lynda Mendelson |
| Edited by | Chuck McCann |
| Music by | Richard M. Sherman Robert B. Sherman Thurl Ravenscroft Shelby Flint Don Ralke Ray Pohlman Guy Pohlman |
| Distributed by | Theatrical National General Pictures VHS 20th Century Fox DVD Paramount Pictures CBS Home Entertainment Television CBS Television Distribution |
Release date | August 9, 1972 |
Running time | 80 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $245,073 |
Snoopy, Come Home is a 1972 American musical-animated film, produced by Cinema Center Films and Lee Mendelson Films for National General Pictures, directed by Bill Meléndez, and based on the Peanuts comic strip. The songs are by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
The film was released on DVD in anamorphic widescreen in the U.S. on March 28, 2006, by Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS Home Entertainment (CBS owned Cinema Center Films, which co-produced the film).
Plot
Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang go to the beach for the day. Once there, Snoopy promises to go back to the beach the next day to meet up with Peppermint Patty. While Charlie Brown and the others have gone home to play Monopoly, he notices Snoopy is late, but does not take note of it, and he later cuts his thumb when opening Snoopy's can of dog food with a can opener. The next day, Snoopy is thrown off the beach due to a new "No Dogs Allowed" rule, and has Woodstock write a complaint letter about it. Then Snoopy gets into a fight with Linus for his blanket, and later beats Lucy in a boxing match. After which, he kisses her, but as he walks away, she tosses her boxing glove at him.
Later, Snoopy receives a letter from a girl named Lila, who has been in the hospital for three weeks (for reasons unknown) and needs Snoopy to keep her company. Upon receiving the letter, he immediately sets off with Woodstock to go see her, leaving Charlie Brown completely in the dark as to who Lila is. But when Linus decides to do some investigating (Charlie Brown: "Just what I need: A blanket-carrying Sherlock Holmes"), he discovers, to Charlie Brown's horror, that Lila is Snoopy's original owner. He faints upon hearing this.
En route to see Lila, Snoopy (with Woodstock along) is forced to face the challenges of a world full of signs declaring "No Dogs Allowed" (including on a bus, train, library, and more, musically accented by the deep tones of Thurl Ravenscroft, with the exception of one brief line where a female singer adds "...or birds!", when Woodstock is ejected after Snoopy with one means of transport that had that sign as well), and they also face the perils of being the pets of an annoying girl named Clara (who looks like Marcie without her glasses and whose name is only identified in the closed-captioning but not mentioned in the film) before managing to escape. The two best friends even camp out and play football and music while preparing dinner.
Snoopy finally arrives at the hospital but, again, no dogs are allowed in (to add further insult, the hospital does not allow birds to enter either). Snoopy is foiled in his first attempt to sneak into Lila's room, but he is successful the second time. He then keeps Lila company for the rest of the time she is admitted. Lila credits Snoopy with his visit, claiming that it helped her get better. She then mentions that when she gets better, she would like Snoopy to go home with her, but he has doubts about this idea. Lila tries to convince Snoopy to stay with her, but finally the two part ways. However, upon seeing her watching him tearfully from her hospital window, Snoopy grudgingly runs back to her, which she takes as a sign that he wants to live with her. After this moment, he returns home to 'settle his affairs' and say good-bye. Snoopy writes a letter that states that certain items of his will be given away: Linus is given his croquet set and chess set, Schroeder receives Snoopy's record collection).
The kids throw Snoopy a large, tearful going-away party, each one bringing a gift. The kids closest to Snoopy get up to say a few words in his honor. But when it is Charlie Brown's turn to speak, he is overwhelmed to the point of silence. He finally bursts into tears with Snoopy doing likewise. The rest of the gang, even Lucy, eventually follows suit when Schroeder plays "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" on his piano. Snoopy opens his mountain of presents (every single one is a bone).
With Snoopy now gone for good, Charlie Brown is unable to sleep or eat. He later admits to Linus that he even prepared a dinner dish for Snoopy and took it out to his now-abandoned doghouse before remembering that Snoopy was gone.
When Snoopy arrives at Lila's apartment building the next day, he sees a sign next to the door that says "No dogs allowed in this building" before Lila comes to the door. Then he is reluctantly introduced to Lila's pet cat. Snoopy shows Lila the sign. Now released from his personal obligation by this discovery, Snoopy leaves Lila behind and joyfully returns to Charlie Brown and the others.
All seems back to normal until Snoopy, again through Woodstock's typewritten letter, demands back the stuff he gave to the gang before he left (except Charlie Brown; Snoopy gave him nothing, so he owes him nothing). Lucy then angrily yells "That does it, Charlie Brown! He's your dog and you're welcome to him!!" The rest of the gang then walk off leaving Charlie Brown and Snoopy together. The movie ends with end titles being typed out by Woodstock as Snoopy dictates.
Snoopy speaks
Snoopy, Come Home marked the first time Snoopy's thoughts are fully communicated to the audience outside of the comic strip. This was achieved by having his typed correspondences appear at the top of the frame, giving the viewer full access to his thoughts. Previously, Schulz had opted to mute Snoopy entirely, his thought balloons, which feature so prominently in the strip, being removed. Without the benefit of a voice (other than his indecipherable growl-like speaking), Snoopy's signature rants were lost on television and film — until Snoopy, Come Home.
Snoopy's owner
Lila was a minor character in the comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. She was the original owner of Snoopy, before his eventual life with Charlie Brown and friends.[1]
Lila was first mentioned in the strip in the 1960s. It was revealed that she had taken Snoopy home from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm (where he was born and raised), but she was forced to return him after her family moved to an apartment building where dogs were forbidden. Charlie Brown lamented that Snoopy probably wished Lila was still his owner, and Linus replied, "I doubt it, Charlie Brown. He wouldn't have been happy in an apartment." The last panel showed Snoopy sitting on top of his doghouse in his World War I flying ace regalia, proving Linus was correct.
While she was initially an unseen character who was only recollected by Snoopy in the third person, she eventually made an appearance in the strip in 1968. Her first animated appearance was in Snoopy, Come Home, voiced by Johanna Baer. She later appears again in Snoopy's Reunion in a prequel role further explaining Snoopy's genesis.
Notability
Snoopy, Come Home has two important firsts:
- It is the on-screen debut of Woodstock who first appeared in the strip in 1967 and also of Franklin who first appeared in the strip in 1968.
- It is the first Peanuts project to have the characters drawn by Charles M. Schulz
Reception
The film was a box office failure at the time of its original release; it made back only $245,073 of the $1 million budget. However, it has since become a cult classic, due to multiple airings on television in the 1980s and 1990s as well as video and DVD sales. The film also noted as a true tearjerker, its theme of loss made the film unusually sad and wistful: Snoopy and Charlie Brown's parting, Charlie Brown's inability to cope without his friend, and Snoopy's farewell to his former owner Lila are often pointed out as poignant moments in the history of Peanuts.[2]
Music score
Snoopy, Come Home was the only Peanuts animated project produced during Vince Guaraldi's lifetime (1928-1976) that did not contain a musical score by the noted jazz composer. Guaraldi had composed all the previous Peanuts animated television specials as well as the debut feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Music for this film was composed instead by the Sherman Brothers, who were notable for the music used in many Disney films. Schulz said this was an experiment, as he had wanted to have more of a commercial, Disney feel to Snoopy, Come Home.
Schulz later said he would have utilized Guaraldi's services for the third Peanuts feature, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, had the composer not died suddenly in 1976.[citation needed]
A soundtrack was released by Columbia Records, but is now out of print. It is unknown if it will ever be re-released.
Songs
- "Snoopy, Come Home"
- "At the Beach"
- "No Dogs Allowed" sung by Thurl Ravenscroft
- "Do You Remember Me?" (Lila's Theme) sung by Shelby Flint
- "Me and You"
- "Getting It Together"
- "Fundamental Friend Dependability ("Clara's Song")
- "Charlie Brown's Calliope"
- "It Changes"
Censorship
On occasions, when the film aired on TV screenings, some of the parts with Snoopy fighting with Linus and Lucy was cut either being too violent or for time reasons. Also, the part where Sally found a copy of Sambo in the library was also cut for unexplained reasons.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Charles M. Schulz, The Complete Peanuts 1965-1966 (Fantagraphics Books, 2007), Back Matter.
- ^ "Greatest Film Tearjerkers, Moments and Scenes, pt 25".
