Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne (2021)
Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne Review
Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne is a 2021 animated television special and the 46th entry in the Peanuts series. It is a pretty good special.
After finding out her grandmother won’t be visiting for Christmas, Lucy decides to cheer herself up by throwing the ultimate New Year’s Eve party. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown tries to fulfill one of his resolutions before midnight. This was the first Peanuts special in ten years and the very first to premiere on a streaming service – Apple TV+. It’s a very good one.
This special fails to make proper use of most of its characters with Peppermint Patty being particularly sidelined. There is also the subplot of Snoopy that was only passable as he did not get much to do with Spike and his gang getting the most screen time.
But the main characters got terrific arcs here. Charlie Brown learning from Lucy not to set himself up for failure by dreaming too big was a terrific message. It was a hilarious scene for sure, but it is actually very much true as we would all be better off having realistic instead of surmounting expectations. Linus was also quite endearing here as his dynamic with his sister was well explored.
But this is above all else Lucy’s story as she suffers badly from the absence of her grandma during the holiday. The series exploring her insecurities was a breath of fresh air and she was quite humanized here. The special also works in terms of a solid, charming score and fantastic visuals as the animation perfectly mixed the more polished 3D backgrounds with the simpler and more timeless 2D characters.
