Why, Charlie Brown, Why?

Out of all the Peanuts specials that were produced, few ever came as close as tackling subjects as serious as someone almost losing a loved one to cancer. Inspired by an idea from a children's hospital nurse, Charles Schulz set out to put together a special entitled Why, Charlie Brown, Why? with the help of the American Cancer Society. To this day, the special is often regarded as a cult favorite amongst Peanuts fans, especially due to its impactful influence on children for decades to understand what happens when a loved one is sick. Now that the special is 30 years old, let's look back on it and see how it favors out.

The main storyline revolves around a friend of Linus named Janice who slowly goes through treatments to cure her diagnosed leukemia, much to the grief of the poor kid. Based on the serious subject matter at hand here, one could imagine this would be much darker than most Peanuts specials, and to the featurette's credit, it does handle the topic with a lot of respect. Considering the effects cancer can have on the youth, the special even helps educate young viewers on the complicated procedures patients go through to get the right treatment. In addition, Linus goes through quite the amount of grief through his concern for Janice's well being, which I'm sure many of us have witnessed with a loved one at some point in their lives. While he can get a little heated around others, a lot of it comes from the confusion of not being able to comprehend a serious situation like a near terminal disease. Even Janice herself is surprisingly brave for a young kid trying to beat cancer, which could hopefully send a positive message to the ill youth.

However, perhaps it was my expectations getting the better of my judgement, but the special isn't quite as serious as it could have been. Perhaps the entire special should have focused more on Janice's dilemma or laid off the Snoopy filler, but the tone just isn't strong enough to make much of an impact. Even when the special attempts to get dramatic, it mostly just lets a specific scene play out and not even go back to it to make the story more engaging. Arguably one of the more well known scenes from this special involves a mean kid laughing at Janice's loss of hair, and Linus proceeding to berate him for being such a bully. While the scene shows a more passionately defensive side to Linus, it barely has much of a payoff and is quickly forgotten about after it's over. Also, the special wraps up so quickly and sweetly that it doesn't let the poorer emotions of the characters resonate long enough. No matter how poignant you are with a special on cancer, you must let the drama speak for itself so the viewers will have a better appreciation for the risks you took in the long run.

So in spite of its sincere intentions and moments of stubbornness the Peanuts have been known for, Why, Charlie Brown, Why? falls short in the drama department and plays itself a little too safe to break any new ground whatsoever. It's good to know that this special inspired many children to feel for the sick and understand what someone can go through when they're in love, but there isn't much worth remembering from the special outside of the leukimia subject. That being said, I still recommend giving this special a watch if you want to see Charles Schulz tackling a more personal topic.