What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? (1983 TV Short) User Reviews

The ending to "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown" you didn't know about.

[emasterslake · 9/10 · 8 December 2005]

I remember seeing this TV special a few years back. What's cool about this one is it's told by Charlie Brown who explains to his sister Sally, what he and his friends did after they left that manor from "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown".

As they travel more around France they end up at a Memorial of WW1. And shows some footage of the French, English and Americans fighting against the Germans back in WW1.

This TV special has educational value and some emotional parts to it.

It's been so long since the last time I've seen it. I hope to see it again someday.

It's more of a sequel than an Average Charlie Brown Cartoon.

A more mature Peanuts special makes for a better one.

[ofpsmith · 9/10 · 21 July 2019]

What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown takes place directly after the events of Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and don't come back!!!) where Charlie Brown, Linus Van Pelt, Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt, and Marcie Carlin tour battlefields of France and Belgium to reflect on the sacrifices of brave American, French, British, and Canadian service members who died in both World Wars. While there are a few gags (such as a school of little birds that enjoy following around the gang's Citroen 2CV) this is a more serious episode. Personally, I love it. It treats the subject matter with the respect and reverence that it deserves. The use of stock footage (albeit in filters such as those utilized) also adds to the short. This is also one of the few instances in a Peanuts short where an adult is not only audible but visible as well. I highly recommend this one.

Mandatory viewing!

[Rabbit-7 · 10/10 · 4 June 1999]

Truly an impressive feat, this animated special is quite a departure from the rest of the Charlie Brown series. Featuring rotoscoped footage of Normandy Beach and a reading of the poem "In Flanders Fields" by Linus, it will touch the hearts of adults while not being too gruesome for kids. If it were up to me, I'd require every person in America to watch this each Memorial Day, Veteran's Day and Fourth of July!

An Excellent Title to a Seldom Seen Movie

[sbertolino · 10/10 · 27 September 2001]

This interesting short movie (24 minutes) won a Peabody Award for excellence. In today's cynical, apathetic society where people are not really interested in the sacrifices that were necessary to conquer evil, it's not surprising that this movie is not shown more.

As far as the movie goes, any plot is clearly secondary to the point of the movie which is to educate youngsters about the Allied invasion of France and to a lesser extent the World War I events at Ypres and Flanders. The film is most successful in this respect with, (as usual) Linus as the champion. The images shown during his descriptions of the D-Day invasion are powerful and interestingly very atypical of the usual Peanuts animation style. Actual combat photography is used, although it is transformed into two-tone color images. The use of the red imagery is powerful in the battle scenes (it seems odd discussing battle scenes in a review of a Charlie Brown movie).The film does a solid job of educating and instilling awe, sorrow and compassion for the men who fought the battles discussed.

Seriousness aside, the other parts of the film are typical Peanuts fare: Charlie Brown gets hurt a lot, Snoopy is in charge and gets into trouble, Linus is the scholar, etc. These parts made my 4-year old son laugh. But more important, it made him start asking questions about what the gang was doing, who the bad guys were and if any good guys got killed. These questions mark the beginning of an understanding of magnitude of the effects of World War II and the lives forever altered and ended by that conflict. In this respect, the movie is a resounding success and deserves the ten stars I gave it.

Charles Shultz at his best

[dario87 · 10/10 · 14 December 2000]

This beautiful animated Peanuts Memorial Day Special is a must see for anyone who loves America. This is a sequel to the film Bon Voyage Charlie Brown and takes place right after the gang leaves France. The film is loaded with powerful WWII imagery and also talks about WWI which is also interesting. Linus's speech "In Flander's Fields" is extremely moving. Shultz was a WWII veteran and he delivers an excellent episode that everyone should see.

This film is a deep, moving film that everyone should watch.

[Bilbo-13 · 10/10 · 16 November 1998]

This film is the sequel to "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!)". Charlie Brown and his crew are travelling along across the French countryside, when they come to Omaha Beach, where the allied forces landed on D-Day. Linus tells them about D-Day and WWII. This is an amazing film. I strongly recommend that you watch this video.

Memories stirred from over 20 years ago

[tecknikov · 25 October 2004]

As I watched the recently released on DVD movie "Ike, Countdown to D-Day", starring Tom Selleck, I was reminded of another film. It was just a 20 or 25 minute animated piece starring the Peanuts Gang titled "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?" In such a respectful and poignant way, this film recounted the awesome sacrifices made at the Normandy Invasion and left me with a profound impression that will remain with me the rest of my life. I only saw it once, the night it was first broadcast, but I will never forget it. I notice it is not available on DVD. If anyone out there reading this has any clout in the digital world, could you please see about getting it released on DVD? As one American who owes so much to those gallant men and women for their sacrifice, I sure would appreciate it.

Another excellent, oft-ignored Peanuts special.

[StudentDriver · 10/10 · 10 October 1999]

Like many other Peanuts specials from the 80's, this walks a fine line between educational content and entertainment. However, the special works very well- the education isn't beaten over one's head, while the entertainment isn't frivolous. Unlike many other cartoon specials "celebrating" various things, this one has a message, and it has an emotional impact.

As another poster has commented, this is ostensibly a sequel to the feature film Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back)- a film that Mr. Charles Schulz found to be disappointing. He more than made up for it with this 1/2 hour special... the events in the feature film are truthfully ignored for the most part; it's just used as a springboard to get the Peanuts gang back into France.

I have, over the years, gotten inured to and distrustful of the motives behind most of the glorifying/worshipping films regarding WW2. I'm not much for hero worship, and being beaten over the head with propaganda about how previous generations were better/holier than later generations. However, this special, unlike so many critically acclaimed films, presents the facts and emotions underlying much of WW2- one is left to make one's own judgement. It's one of the most powerful messages about the Allied forces' sacrifices I've ever seen... all presented through the mouths of tiny animated children.

It moved me

[MikeK-7 · 10/10 · 9 January 2003]

I was 9 years old and in the hospital because of respiratory problems and was going through their video library and came across this. It was almost 6 years until I saw it again, I could never find it at any video retailer, and Paramount had just released all the shows remastered on tape. It's a somber and personal look at World War II, it should be required for history afficiados (forgive spelling). Do not miss.

Less fun, more history

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 22 November 2015]

In this 23-minute animated short film from 1983, Melendez and Schulz take on American history the Peanuts way. As usual, it was Emmy-nominated, but I must say I did not really find this a very memorable watch and it was one of the weaker Peanuts films I have recently seen. There is an interesting snippet in here occasionally, but hands down when you want to watch a historic documentary you don't go for Peanuts. I guess they mostly wanted to make this for those who were already Peanuts fans in the 1960s and were grown-up now. This movie starts actually funny with Snoopy's car struggles as the gang travels to France, but the longer it goes the more the fun vanishes and it becomes 100% history information. Maybe you need to be an American citizen to appreciate this one. Certainly, a fairly different Charlie Brown film, but not a good in my opinion. Thumbs down.

Excellent

[trigerhppy · 10/10 · 20 May 2009]

I have seen this special only once, during it's original broadcast. My parents let me stay up to watch it. I had not thought about it until yesterday, passing a field of poppies here in Afghanistan, I thought about Linus reading the poem IN FLANDERS FIELDS. I truly wish more people would see this special and that it would be rebroadcast. Charles Schultz served in the 20th Armored Division in Europe at the end of WWII, seeing a small amount of combat. He later remembered the troops every year by having Snoopy visit Bill Maudlin (the cartonist behind Willie and Joe) for memorial day. Before his death he donated $1 million to the National D Day memorial. What have we learned is what children need. I would love to get a copy on DVD