Yeah, it's been 40+ years since this was released, but it has a soft spot for me, because they would show this around autumn to Christmas time, so a lot of nostalgia to be mined.
I got a chance to watch it kids during a kiddie matinee (actual film print) so I wanted to gauge their reactions.
Overall, the theme of Charlie Brown attempting to learn leadership tends to fall on their deaf ears. They are there to see Snoopy and Woodstock and their physical shenanigans. Which makes the deeper ideas of learning to work together in adverse conditions much more poignant to a slightly older crowd, who aren't that cynical.
Here Charlie Brown and Company decide to go on a camping trip. There he is asked what his purpose of going to camp was. And his answer is to learn to be more of a leader. It speaks more about creator Charles Schulz's send of insecurities and self-esteem. In the flick, Charlie Brown is confronted by a bully gang who challenges him and his friends to the rafting competition (well, really, it's the camp). Through many side adventures, they eventually conclude that Charlie learns that he has the goods when it comes to making decisions when adversity occurs.
This has always been the core of these movies. Pushing through when life gets tough and having faith everything will work out.
The landscape of the camp doesn't have any logical sense (they are in the desert and then in the forest. How long were they on the school bus (?). Things you never think about when (at the time I was 6) you are young. To adults that seems a bit distracting. Or, obviously the rules of the camp contests. Or how some characters pop in and out. The expanded universe of Peppermint Patty, for instance, has only three other girls in it who actually have voting status.
I digress, this movie is for young kids who like to see colors and some loud noises.
As I do get older, I find Snoopy to be a distracting. Not sure why I always hated the humanizing of animals. Snoopy seems to be more human than the humans that own him. He rarely acts like a dog. So it does get puzzling as to some logic flaws with him, as well. It could be frustrating to a lot of older people who discover it later in life.
Either way, it does have a background noise quality to it. It's not like you need to pay close attention to the plot. They kept it simple.
And we should be grateful for that.
