The Snoopy Show: Apple TV+ New Series Review
While many fans all over the world have grown up with Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts in one form or another throughout the last few decades, it wasn’t until Blue Sky Studio’s The Peanuts Movie in 2015 that I was introduced and invested in what made Charlie Brown, his dog and group of eccentric friends so iconic and relatable in the first place. Along with the series’ specials making their home on Apple TV+, the streaming service partnered with WildBrain to create Snoopy in Space in 2019.
Both companies have collaborated once again for The Snoopy Show, but how does it compare to its most recent predecessors? And does Apple have another exclusive animated hit title for their audience?
The Snoopy Show
The six episode series sees the creative Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s pet dog, and his child-like bird companion Woodstock as they help each other out and the children that live in the neighbourhood, often seen as imaginative and vibrant fantasies that the beloved beagle comes up with to make the mundane more adventurous and daring. From pushing Rerun’s sleigh up a slope to bringing Charlie Brown’s sister her lunch, they transform into climbing a steep, raggedy mountain and crossing scorching deserts, all the while showing Snoopy’s good intentions leading in these small feats.
But as the title suggests, this is very much a Snoopy and Woodstock show and some may feel a bit disappointed that the child characters, who have taken centre stage in the past, have taken a bit of a back seat. Some do get more attention than others across the short stories in each episode, but the writers have done a good job to try and focus on these relationships from Snoopy’s perspective and is a nice, welcome change compared to previous animated outings.
Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Gang
WildBrain have once again done a great job with their use of flash animation from Snoopy in Space, keeping to the original character designs while also being able to add some extra colour and details. They may not have pushed the characters into a modern setting or tried something radically new with their approach, but they have kept to a formula that has worked for the property.
Instead, there’s more details and depth added to the scenes and sequences consisting of Snoopy’s wild imagination. We see him and Woodstock swimming through the wreckage of a sunken ship; we see him performing a wild and illuminating concert in-front of a huge crowd; and lassoing a cactus as a cowboy in the wild west! These frequent scenes throughout the series stand out and are brilliant contrast to the more simple layouts and direction in the show’s real world. It’s very pleasing to the eye while easy for anyone of all ages to follow and remain engaged.
Snoopy and Woodstock
The Snoopy Show is a lovely, colourful and feel-good series for those looking for a brief visit into Schulz’s creation. Whether you want to see what has made the characters of Peanuts remain so memorable over the years or want to introduce a younger audience to the beloved Snoopy and the gang, this is certainly one of the best ways to do so. I just hope that we get to see Apple and WildBrain continue to create new stories in the near future.