Good Grief, It’s a Musical! The Peanuts Gang Returns Aug 15
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Apple is about to take the Peanuts gang to another level with Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, an animated special in a format that hasn’t been seen in 35 years.
The new special was initially expected to debut on July 18, but Apple quietly updated the premiere date to August 15. We’re not sure why, but the May 20 press release was quietly updated sometime between June 29 and July 11 to reflect the new date.
Regardless of the reasons, the new date should be final, as Apple released an official trailer this week to give us a hint of what we can expect.
Summer camp is calling. Featuring original songs by Ben Folds and Jeff Morrow, sing and dance with Snoopy and friends in their first musical in over three decades.
In the new musical, Charlie Brown spends another year at his beloved summer camp, but this time he’s joined by his little sister, Sally, who’s on her first visit. However, the Peanuts gang gets some sad news when they learn that the camp is shutting down due to a lack of interest, so they rally together and host a concert to save it.
From 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas to 2010’s Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, there were dozens of specials over the years that brought Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the gang into our homes. Among those were two musicals, 1967’s classic You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and 1975’s Snoopy: The Musical, that began as live stage productions on and off Broadway but were later adapted into TV specials in 1985 and 1988, joining the pantheon of Peanuts classics.
However, things began to slow down in the new millennium. The 2010 special, which aired in 2011, was followed by nearly a decade of silence, broken only by 2015’s The Peanuts Movie until Apple signed a deal to become the modern custodian of the Peanuts franchise, beginning with the STEM-focused Snoopy in Space and expanding in 2020 to make Apple TV+ the home for “all things Peanuts.”
Since then, Apple has done a fantastic job of continuing the tradition, with new Peanuts specials under the “Snoopy Presents” banner that have delivered heartwarming stories that are more character-driven. This began with Auld Lang Syne, which was retconned to add the “Snoopy Presents” tagline, and focused on Lucy’s struggles to plan the perfect New Year’s Eve party.
Following that debut, Earth Day’s It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown gave us a look at Sally Brown, Charlie Brown’s sister, To Mom (And Dad) With Love featured a new side of Peppermint Patty, One of a Kind Marcie gave us a deeper look at the gang’s most thoughtful and caring introvert (and my personal favorite of the Peanuts gang), and Welcome Home, Franklin featured an origin story for the history-making first African-American to be featured in the comic strip in 1968 — an era when such things were sadly far more controversial than they should have been.
With Auld Lang Syne, Apple gave us the first new Charlie Brown holiday special in over 20 years. So, it’s only fitting that A Summer Musical follows in a similar vein for Snoopy’s 75th Anniversary. However, this one has a new twist as it’s coming directly to the small screen rather than being adapted from a stage play.
Apple also has a feature-length film in the works that will see Charlie Brown and the gang embark on an epic adventure to the “Big City.” This marks the second time the characters have appeared on the big screen and the first major project since Apple took over. Unfortunately, while you can stream nearly every historic Charlie Brown special on Apple TV+, The Peanuts Movie is the conspicuous exception, due to rights issues. However, it is available for purchase on iTunes in many countries.
