Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) Unfortunately, for them, pretty much all of it is unrequited in "A Charlie Brown Valentine". This is a 25-minute short film from almost 15 years ago and this was one made in the brief period after Schulz' death while Melendez was still alive. They could basically recycle some of the old stuff here for this one in terms of the story as the romantic preferences of the characters have been show in many films already. Charlie and his little red-haired girl is my personal favorite, but one girl's love for the piano virtuoso and the other one's for her little baboo are fairly entertaining too. All in all, another decent addition to this long-running franchise. We shall see how the topic of love is used are used in the new Peanuts film this year. We will certainly see a bit about these romantic connections in there as well. Until then, I recommend watching this one here. Snoopy's pranks are funny again too.

Woodyanders Valentine's Day with the Peanuts gang: Charlie Brown tries to muster up the courage to ask the little red-haired girl to the school dance, Lucy demands kisses and chocolates from Schroeder, Sally wants to make Linus her sweet baboo, Snoopy writes bad poetry, Marcie grapples with her crush on Charlie Brown, and Peppermint Patty wants Charlie Brown to take her as his date to the dance. Once again, this show offers Charles M. Schulz's trademark engaging blend of sharp humor (Snoopy's terrible stabs at poetry in particular are hilariously awful), well-defined characters, and bittersweet pathos (poor wishy-washy Charlie Brown's continual struggle with his low self-esteem and faltering attempts at getting the little red-haired girl to notice him are both funny and touching). The climactic dance is a total hoot, with Snoopy wooing all the ladies and even stealing the last dance with the little red-haired girl away from Charlie Brown. Linus' obdurate refusal to be Sally's sweet baboo likewise provides some good laughs and it's always a riot to see Lucy hitting on the blithely oblivious Schroeder. David Benoit supplies a nifty and lively revamp of Vince Guaraldi's classic theme music. Worth a watch for Peanuts fans.

strhoads5-1 This is my favorite of the "new" Charlie Brown specials. I liked it better than the Christmas tales and Lucy must be traded. It's also one of all time Charlie Brown specials-I'd say in the top 5 somewhere. I loved the dance part! I think the main reason that I loved it is because I could relate to about 90% of it! (Especially the dance part) Worth watching and even worth owning. It's suppose to come out in Jan, 2004. (PeanutsAnimation website)

Scott Miller Charles Schulz requested (though since he did not hold the copyright to Peanuts he could not demand) that no one create any new Peanuts stories after his death. United Media, on the other hand, did not want to let a cash cow like Peanuts fade into the night. So they compromised with Schulz's family, making the latest Peanuts special, "A Charlie Brown Valentine", from a conglomeration of numerous loosely connected comic strips penned by Schulz. Unfortunately, the special feels like a conglomeration of numerous loosely connected comic strips.Unlike previous Peanuts features, which almost always contained a coherent (although occasionally bad) plot, the only prevailing theme here is that it is Valentine's Day. Actually, it's several Valentine's Days. The time frame jumps around *so* much that we can't keep any supposed story line straight. Early on, we get the impression the special takes place on February 14. Then Lucy announces that Valentine's Day is a week away. Then Charlie Brown tries to work up the courage to give the little red-haired girl a Valentine. Then we learn that V-Day is still a few days away, then Charlie Brown goes to a school dance.While some of the jokes are funny, the special could hardly be called hysterical, and its choppy style is more dizzying that enjoyable. All in all, "A Charlie Brown Valentine" plays more like a love-themed episode of _The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show_ than a legitimate television special. While such a variety show could get away with some unfunny sketches (_Saturday Night Live_ has been getting away with it for decades), a full-blown special has to pull its weight all the way through. Sadly, this one does not.If Peanuts is to survive beyond one more TV special, a new compromise must be reached. We must allow the producers the opportunity to forge existing strips into a workable script--one with a story line--and the possibility of adding some new jokes. Otherwise, the next special may be, "It's the Last Hoorah, Charlie Brown."