Snoopy Come Home

Snoopy Come Home is a 1972 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Bill Melendez and written by Charles M. Schulz, based on the Peanuts comic strip. Marking the on-screen debut of Woodstock, who had first appeared in the strip in 1967, the main plot was based on a storyline from August 1968. The only Peanuts film during composer Vince Guaraldi’s lifetime without a score composed by him, its music was composed by the Sherman Brothers, who composed the music for various Disney films like Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
Snoopy Come Home was released on August 9, 1972, by National General Corporation, produced by Lee Mendelson Films, Bill Melendez Productions and Cinema Center Films (in the latter's final production). While not a commercial success, it received largely positive reviews, and fared far more successfully on home video.
Snoopy receives a letter and, upon reading it, departs with Woodstock without explanation to Charlie Brown or his friends. Charlie Brown discovers the letter is from a girl named Lila, who has been hospitalized for three weeks and has requested Snoopy’s company. Charlie Brown and his friends are puzzled, unaware of Lila’s identity or connection to Snoopy. They begin to miss Snoopy.
Snoopy and Woodstock encounter multiple obstacles, including repeated “No Dogs Allowed” signs on their journey to Lila. Clara, a young girl whose mother permits her to keep Snoopy, briefly captures and keeps them as pets. Snoopy and Woodstock escape and go camping, play football, and make music while preparing their meals.
When they arrive at the hospital, they find that neither dogs nor birds are permitted. After an initial failed attempt, Snoopy evades security and sneaks into Lila’s room. He provides her companionship and comfort, and she credits his visit with helping her recover.
Linus inquires at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm about Snoopy’s origins and learns that Lila was Snoopy’s original owner before Charlie Brown. Lila’s family had returned Snoopy to the puppy farm while preparing to relocate. Charlie Brown faints upon hearing this.
Lila asks Snoopy to return home with her, but he initially decides to return to Charlie Brown. As he departs, he sees Lila watching tearfully from her hospital window. He rushes back and embraces her, which she interprets as wishing to live with her. Snoopy determines that he must first return to bid farewell to his friends.
Snoopy writes a letter to Charlie Brown to inform him of his impending departure and distributes some of his possessions to his friends. The children organize a farewell party for Snoopy, each presenting him with a parting gift—most of which are bones. Several friends deliver speeches in his honor. Charlie Brown is too emotional to speak and presents Snoopy with a gift. After Snoopy departs, Charlie Brown is too upset to eat or sleep.
At Lila’s apartment complex, Snoopy sees a "No Dogs Allowed" sign and is pleased to have a justification for returning to Charlie Brown. Lila introduces Snoopy to her cat, whom Snoopy regards with reluctance. He points out the “No Dogs” sign to Lila, who concedes that Snoopy cannot stay with her.
Snoopy returns home, where the children erupt in joy and carry him back to his doghouse in celebration, where Snoopy types out formal requests for the return of the gifts he had distributed. The group leaves in irritation. Snoopy instructs Woodstock to type the closing credits.
Patty, Pig-Pen, Violet, Franklin, Shermy, Roy, and 5 appear but had no lines.
Snoopy Come Home marked the first time Snoopy's thoughts are fully communicated to the audience outside of the comic strip. This was achieved by having his typed correspondences appear at the top of the frame, giving the viewer full access to his thoughts. Previously, Schulz had opted to mute Snoopy entirely, except for inflected squealing and growling. Snoopy's thought balloons, though overt in the strip, are not translated in the animated projects.
Snoopy Come Home was the only Peanuts animated project produced during Vince Guaraldi's lifetime (1928–76) that did not contain a musical score by the noted jazz composer. Guaraldi had composed all the previous Peanuts animated television specials as well as the debut film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Music for this film was instead provided by the Sherman Brothers, who had composed some of the music used in various Disney films and theme park attractions. Schulz said this was an experiment, as he had wanted to have more of a commercial "Disney" feel to Snoopy Come Home. "Everybody felt that the first movie had too much the 'feel' of the TV specials," said producer Lee Mendelson in 2011. "We collectively thought that we needed more of a feature film 'look' and score. That's why we went to the Shermans, who at the time were No. 1 in their field for such things."
Schulz later said he had planned on utilizing Guaraldi's services for the third Peanuts feature, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, had the composer not died suddenly in February 1976. A soundtrack was released by Columbia Masterworks, but it is now out of print.
The film was released on August 9, 1972, by National General Pictures, produced by Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Bill Melendez Productions (uncredited in copyright), Sopwith Productions and Cinema Center Films (in the latter's final production). It was first televised on November 5, 1976, as a CBS Special Film Presentation becoming a CBS feature special.
As of September 2020, the film had a 93% rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews with an average score of 7.70/10. The New York Times said: "This sprightly, clever and hilarious treat—all that a comic strip could be on the screen—is even better than A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which began the series."
The film won a CEC Award for Best Children's Film becoming its first recipient.
The film was released on VHS, CED, and LaserDisc in 1984, 1985, February 20, 1992, 1995 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and May 29, 2001, on VHS by Paramount Home Entertainment, and re-released on DVD in anamorphic widescreen in the U.S. on March 28, 2006, by Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS Home Entertainment (CBS owned Cinema Center Films, which co-produced the film). The film was released on Blu-ray in November 2016 along with A Boy Named Charlie Brown.