Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bill Melendez
Written by	Charles M. Schulz
Based on	Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
Produced by	Bill Melendez Lee Mendelson
Starring	Arrin Skelley Daniel Anderson Patricia Patts Casey Carlson Annalisa Bortolin Laura Planting Bill Melendez
Edited by	Roger Donley Chuck McCann
Music by	Ed Bogas Judy Munsen
Production companies	Paramount Pictures Bill Melendez Productions Lee Mendelson Film Productions United Media Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	May 30, 1980 (1980-05-30)
Running time	76 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2 million

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) is a 1980 American animated mystery comedy film produced by United Feature Syndicate and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman. It was the fourth full-length feature film to be based on the Peanuts comic strip, the last one produced during Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz's lifetime, and the last one until The Peanuts Movie (2015).

Plot

At Charlie Brown's school, Linus Van Pelt introduces to his class two French students, Babette and Jacques, who will be spending two weeks there to get accustomed to the United States. In exchange, Charlie Brown and Linus are chosen to visit France. Charlie Brown heads home and invites Snoopy and Woodstock to go with him. He gets a call from Peppermint Patty, who tells him that she and Marcie were also chosen to go to France as a student exchange. Charlie Brown also gets a letter from France, but cannot read it because it is written in French. He is not very positive about the trip because of the letter he got, but Marcie, who has been studying French, translates the letter, explaining that Charlie Brown has been invited to stay at a fictional French chateau, the Château du Mal Voisin (House of the Bad Neighbor). Charlie Brown cannot understand why someone in France would invite him to their home, let alone know who he is.

The group arrive first in London and travel across the English Channel to France via hovercraft. Upon their arrival, they rent a Citroën 2CV, which is driven by Snoopy as the children are too young to drive. Patty and Marcie go to stay at a farm in Morville-sur-Andelle, where they meet a local boy named Pierre. Marcie and Pierre develop a mutual attraction between them, but Patty convinces herself that Pierre likes her. In Le Héron, Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock camp outside the chateau, which is owned by a reclusive baron. His niece, Violette Honfleur, frequently leaves Charlie Brown and Linus food.

Linus eventually enters the chateau's attic and learns from Violette that Charlie Brown's grandfather, Silas, had served in the United States Army and helped them out during World War II. The baron returns home and Violette tries hiding Linus, but she inadvertently starts a fire in the attic. Charlie Brown runs to get Patty and Marcie and Pierre summons the fire department while Snoopy and Woodstock get an old fashioned fire hose from a shed. The children rescue Linus and Violette while Snoopy uses the hose to keep the fire under control until the fire department arrives.

Thankful for the chateau's rescue, the baron has a change of heart and allows the gang inside, whereupon Charlie Brown learns the truth behind the mysterious letter he received from Violette; one of the villagers toured the United States when he got a haircut from Charlie Brown's father, which led to Violette being able to find Silas' grandson. Charlie Brown later bids Violette and Pierre goodbye as he, Snoopy, Woodstock, Linus, Patty, and Marcie leave to see more of the French countryside.

Cast

• Arrin Skelley as Charlie Brown
• Daniel Anderson as Linus van Pelt
• Patricia Patts as Peppermint Patty
• Casey Carlson as Marcie
• Annalisa Bortolin as Sally Brown
• Laura Planting as Lucy van Pelt
• Bill Melendez as Snoopy, Woodstock
• Pascale De Barolet as Pierre
• Roseline Rubens as Violette Honfleur, Violet, Patty, Frieda and Sophie
• Debbie Muller as Flight Attendant
• Scott Beach as Waiter, Baron, Driver, Tennis Announcer, English Voice and American Male
• Schroeder, Pig-Pen, Babette, and Jacques appear but had no lines.

Production

Schulz stated that he conceived the idea for the story while visiting the Manoir de Malvoisine in Le Héron, a location where he had been briefly stationed as a soldier during World War II. The château serves as a central setting in the film.

This production is among the few instances within the Peanuts media franchise — and the sole theatrical film — in which adult characters are both visible and intelligible.

Reception

The film had a mostly positive reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has two negative reviews and one positive review from three critics.

Home media

Paramount Home Entertainment released this film on VHS and Laserdisc in 1995 in 4:3 format, and released it to DVD (cropped to widescreen) on October 6, 2015.

The film was also released on Blu-ray for the first time on March 15, 2022 in the US.

See also

• What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?
• Peanuts filmography

External links

• Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown at IMDb
• Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown at the TCM Movie Database
• Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown at Rotten Tomatoes