Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
| Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown | |
| Directed by | Bill Melendez Phil Roman (co-director) |
| Written by | Charles M. Schulz |
| Produced by | Bill Melendez Lee Mendelson |
| Starring | see below |
| Edited by | Roger Donley Chuck McCann |
| Music by | Ed Bogas |
Release date | 24 August 1977 |
Running time | 76 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown is a 1977 animated film produced by United Feature Syndicate for Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Meléndez, and the third in a series of movies based on the Peanuts comic strip.
Plot
The Peanuts gang head off to a summer camp in a mountainous area (somewhere in the western US), where they ultimately compete in a river rafting race; Charlie Brown, true to form, is accidentally left behind by the bus while at a desolate rest stop. He his forced to hitch a ride on Snoopy's motorcycle in order to make the rest of the journey to the camp.
Upon their arrival, the gang meets a trio of ruthless bullies (and their feral cat, Brutus, vicious enough to intimidate even Snoopy) who openly boast of their having won the race every year they have competed. It is revealed that their success has always been through outright cheating, using a raft equipped with an outboard motor, direction finder, radar and sonar, and even resorting to every trick they could think of to hamper or destroy everyone else's chance to even make it to the finish line, much less win the race.
In the movie, and for the race, the main Peanuts characters are broken into three groups: the boys' group (consisting of Charlie Brown, Linus, Schroeder, and Franklin), the girls' group (led by Peppermint Patty who appoints herself the leader, Marcie, Lucy, and Sally), and Snoopy and Woodstock. Charlie Brown is the very reluctant leader of the boys' group, well-meaning but struggling with his insecurities. His foil is Patty, the leader of the girls' group, who is very confident despite her incompetence as a leader (much of it due to her insistence on every decision, no matter how minor, being confirmed by a group vote).
Throughout the movie, the groups run into different obstacles, getting lost, stranded, storms, blizzards, and sabotage from the bullies. Snoopy abandons the race to search tirelessly for Woodstock when a storm separates them; after a long search, they manage to find each other and are joyfully reunited. Charlie Brown starts to grow more into his leadership role, becoming leader of both the boys' and girls' groups when the bullies destroy both of their rafts, forcing them to work together.
Thanks to Charlie Brown's growing self-confidence and leadership, the gang is about to win the race at the climax after overcoming considerable odds. Unforunately, Patty incites the girls to celebrate too soon and they accidentally knock the boys overboard in their excitement; when they attempt to rescue them, the bullies seize the opportunity to knock the entire group out of the race for good.
The bullies gloat their incoming victory only for their craft to sink right before the finish line, leaving Snoopy and Woodstock the only contender left. Brutus sinks Snoopy's inner tube with a claw, but Woodstock promptly builds a raft of twigs and continues toward victory. When Brutus tries to attack Woodstock, Snoopy decks him, and Woodstock wins the race. Conceding defeat, the bullies begin to vow vengeance next year, but their threats are humiliatingly cut short when Snoopy hands Brutus a rough beating after he threatens Woodstock again.
As the gang board the bus to depart for home, Charlie Brown decides aloud to use the experience as a lesson to be more confident and assertive, and to believe in himself. Unfortunately, right after he finishes speaking, the bus leaves without Charlie Brown once again, and as before, he is forced to hitch a ride with Snoopy.
Voice cast
- Duncan Watson - Charlie Brown
- Liam Martin - Linus van Pelt
- Melanie Kohn - Lucy van Pelt
- Gail M. Davis - Sally Brown
- Greg Felton - Schroeder/Camp Announcer
- Stuart Brotman - Peppermint Patty
- James Ahrens - Marcie
- Tom Muller - Franklin/Bully
- Kirk Jue - Bully
- Jordan Warren - Bully
- Fred Van Amburg - radio announcer
- Bill Meléndez - Snoopy & Woodstock
Similar Peanuts Specials and Books
Specials
- The following specials are similar because they have a similar summer camp setting as this special:
- - It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
- - It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown
- - The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show episode "Camp" from "Lucy Loves Schroeder" has a similar summer camp setting as this special.
- - He's a Bully, Charlie Brown
Books
- It's Off to Camp, Charlie Brown[1]
Home release
The film was released on VHS and is currently planned for a DVD release [2]
