User reviews

Unlike the rest of the Peanuts specials, this one is mostly a live action film, with animation mostly limited to Spike and some cameo appearances by the regular Peanuts cast. Mostly I see it as father Charles' affectionate gift of a starring film role to his daughter Jill. It was also a great way to showcase the ice rink Charles owned.

During the course of the comic strip Peanuts, my least favorite character would have to have been Spike, Snoopy's desert-dwelling brother. He was in many (too many) strips in the 1980s...as if Charles Schulz desperately wanted to make the world love this doggy. And, since "It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown" came out in 1988, it features this bland character...and Charlie Brown only makes a brief cameo. It's a shame, as Charlie and the other characters might have helped make the film work...but instead Spike is paired with Jenny, played by Charles Schulz's very own daughter. Now considering her acting and charisma, I can only assume nepotism was involved.

Spike falls for a girl in an old red truck. Day after day, he waits in the same place in the desert to catch a glimpse of her. This is disturbing, as through much of the show, it seems as if Spike wants to date her, not be her pet! Much of this is evident when a boyfriend shows up...and Spike sure acts like his rival. Then, out of the blue, they go to a roller skating rink and Jill shows off her considerable skating skills (so, she is talented...at least when it comes to skating). What's next? See the film...or don't.

To say the plot is bizarre and unlikable is pretty much the perfect way to describe this show. Add to that poor animation mixed with live action and you've got a real dog here...especially when you realize this came out about the same time as the exquisite "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"...also combining (seemingly effortlessly) live action and animation. Overall, my verdict is that unless you want to see one of the worst Peanuts specials, then you might just want to skip this one...though I did kind of enjoy the 80s vibe as it brought back some memories. For my daughters, if they'd watched, it would have held no such appeal.

My family watched this so often that the tape broke many times and was repaired many times. Would like to see "FULL SCREEN DVD" version made in the near future.. The filming location was great also. Made us want to travel. The acting was good. The music was good. The animation was good also. My kids were 5-9 years of age. They all enjoyed it for mutual reasons but individual reasons as well.. Story plot was good for children...because of how to handle a strong desire in life to come to fruition and not hurting others around you in getting there I guess. I also enjoyed this movie and that I was cute. If it ever was remade onto DVD format I would but it for each of my kids now that they are adults, one married with 3 children. She can share the memories with her children.....

I got to thinking about this movie the other day and how much i loved it when i was little. I just couldn't remember the name though so I searched on here until I found it. I was surprised no one had commented on it. I think this was a good movie for little kids. It features Snoopy's cousin Spike living in the desert. He meets the girl in the Red Truck and they have much fun together. I don't remember much else about it though, but I do know any one who is a fan of the Peanuts will probably enjoy it!

This is NOT, I repeat your typical Peanuts cartoon, there are tons of those and they air on TV every year on Valentine's Day, Halloween, and Christmas. This one is more about Snoopy's desert dwelling brother, Spike and a young woman he befriends (who happens to be a live-action person). This special was made in 1988, around the same time "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" came out, which was cutting edge in new ways of combining 2-d animation and live-action footage. Charlie Brown and Snoopy are the only "regular" Peanuts characters who appear in this special, but only at the beginning and the end, reading the letter Spike had sent them about his experience.