In the first Peanuts special in a decade (found on Apple+), Lucy (voiced by Isabella Leo) becomes depressed after her grandma cancels her Christmas visit and decides to lift her spirits by throwing a New Year's Eve party.
Peanuts has already tackled, and sometimes retackled, all the major holidays before (there's three other Christmas specials besides the first one), but it makes sense for them to revisit New Year's. The original special was decent, but doesn't leave that much of an impression (how much of it do you remember?), and is up there with the less memorable and less shown holiday specials alongside Arbor Day and Memorial Day. Heck, the Arbor Day one shines more than the New Year's one. (I also feel guilty now that the Memorial Day one has pretty much been forgotten. Was it a bit dry and the humor a little off? Sure. But, the heart was in the right place, gosh darn it!)
The special is decent. It has one of the most heartfelt endings of all the Peanuts specials. It was also a nice change of pace to make the main focus Lucy. Yes, she's one of the main Peanuts characters, but if you look at ALL the specials, she's rarely ever the lead. She adds to what's going on, but the story is rarely about her. You really do feel her insecurities in this. You also get a subplot about Snoopy's siblings visiting that's a little sweet.
However, not every joke in this lands. The special doesn't quite have that classic Peanuts delivery and pacing. Also, NO RERUN!!! For the unfamiliar, he's Linus and Lucy's younger brother. He hasn't been in that many specials or shows, but during the last five or so years of the strips in the 90's he basically became Schultz's favorite character to write about. (I bothered to keep reading in the 90's for I am a true follow of Peanuts!, unlike you false believers!) He's a fun character, and they totally act like he doesn't exist. You even just see Linus and Lucy's stockings on the mantle. The animation company that created this used Rerun in those two recent Snoopy shows, they know who he is. (Order of the Knights of Rerun we ride at dawn to smite the infidels in the name of our patron saint!) What really makes this frustration is that this special includes the far more ancillary Tapioca Pudding (Harley Ruznisky) who first and last appeared in 1986 and unlike Rerun has never, ever been in a special before.
Really liked the character animation. I don't think that the squiggly line appearance of the characters from the strip have ever been so accurately replicated. I don't know how I feel about the backgrounds. I like how colorful and striking they are, but the lack of solid lines on a lot of thingsfeels a little off.
Kinda recommended; imperfect but touching. It's not one of the the top Peanuts specials, but it's in the upper third or so. (Glory be to Rerun!)
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