It’s time for the next big Snoopy film, but unfortunately this one ends up being the weakest one of them all. It goes on for too long and generally isn’t all that much fun. It should have been since Snoopy was the main character, but you mostly just end up feeling bad for him. The film forgot to even have Snoopy just show up and start wrecking everyone like he usually would. It goes for a more emotional feel, but it ends up backfiring quite badly.

Snoopy gets a letter from his old owner. She is very sick and has been in the hospital for a few weeks. She believes that having Snoopy by her side will help her get better so he gathers his belongings and sets off. Charlie Brown starts to believe that Snoopy has left because he has grown tired of him. Charlie doesn’t really know how to make amends though so this plot doesn’t go anywhere. We have some cutaways where Charlie ponders the current situation, but that it all. It’s really just filler when you really think about it. Still, his plot is more enjoyable than Snoopy’s even if it’s not much.

The best part of the special is when Snoopy comes home temporarily to have a big send off from the gang. They get him a lot of bones to chew on and show how sad they would be without him. Charlie couldn’t even say anything since it was all just too emotional for him. Everyone did miss Snoopy after all and not having him around anymore would certainly be tough for them to get past. That’s why I would have liked to have had a subplot of them trying a little harder to find Snoopy. Meeting him at the hospital would have been a good move, but instead the friends just stay at home the whole time. Snoopy makes sure to pay them back for that by the end and then the status quo is preserved.

What hurts the Snoopy subplot is the fact that he has to go through many hardships. They are all comic relief of course, but it can get to be a bit much. One such plot like this is when Linus and Snoopy decide to start beating each other up over the blanket that Linus always carries around. It goes on for quite some time and the blows do look quite painful. The scene isn’t particularly flattering to either character. Another example is when Snoopy is adopted by a mean little girl who decides to keep on throwing Snoopy around and doesn’t know how to have a pet. Even when escaping, Snoopy drops the bird that he was helping and gives him a headache.

These plots weren’t funny in the slightest and just made the special a little more irritating. At least Snoopy’s old owner was reasonable. She didn’t try to guilt trip Snoopy quite as much as I had expected. Not knowing that her building didn’t allow dogs was a pretty big mistake though. That seems like something that she should have known beforehand. Still, it gave Snoopy a good “out” and he was able to return home. By now it’s possible that the letter he signed to the mayor will have taken effect so he can use the library and other services again. Hopefully that happens since we just saw him use the library in “It’s Magic Charlie Brown.” Seems odd that they would ban him after that. He was being loud, but the book was just that funny.

The animation is roughly the same as all of the TV specials. It looks fine and holds up well throughout the years. There isn’t much of a soundtrack that I can recall. There are a few songs that are used as narration though. For example, you never see the letter’s contents from the old owner, but the song narrates the letter to an extent with a Grinch sounding voice. The songs aren’t bad, but they’re not really my style either. At least it has some songs/tunes though so this special actually has a bit of a soundtrack.

This special really didn’t need to be over an hour though. It could have easily achieved this plot with a simple half n hour and I believe that it would have been better off if it had done this. Maybe the Peanuts isn’t really meant for full length films, although I certainly think it’s possible to have a good one. The first movie dragged on as well, but it was still fun. The next one just needs to make sure that it has a full plot, which doesn’t need to be artificially extended. If it does need to be extended, then it just shouldn’t do it with harsh trials for Snoopy.

Overall, Snoopy Come Home is a bit of a flop. Cut out the fight against Linus and Snoopy’s other misadventures and this movie would have been a lot better. It doesn’t mean that Snoopy should just vanish either. His fight against Lucy was handled fairly well and felt more like a real Peanuts adventure. The fight was decently long, but it wasn’t as exaggerated as Snoopy’s other battles. If you like the Peanuts a lot then this may be a good film to check out. If not, then I definitely recommend skipping out on this one and you should just watch one of the classics like the Christmas special or It’s Magic Charlie Brown as an example of a Snoopy centered special done right.

Overall 4/10