Reintroducing a longtime Peanuts character, Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home Franklin is an entertaining, fun, and thoughtful look at celebrating differences, making friends, and rolling with whatever life throws your way.
Welcome Home Franklin Review
Franklin Armstrong is used to moving around a lot, after all his dad is in the military. That means he has never really called anyplace home for long and making new friends is something he constantly has to do. When Franklin's family moves from the big city to the suburbs, he quickly realizes his usual tricks for making friends are not going to work on this particular group of children. One girl thinks she is a psychiatrist, another is obsessed with something called the Great Pumpkin. But one day he meets Charlie Brown and the two quickly become friends. Together they build a derby car for the big race, but when the pressure is on it will put these two new friends to the test.
Welcome Home Franklin acts as an origin story for a longtime Peanuts character– Franklin Armstrong. Franklin made his first appearance back on July 31, 1968 after a school teacher asked Charles Schulz to integrate his comic strip following the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Schulz had Franklin meet Charlie Brown one day at the beach, when Charlie Brown's ball got away from him. In the new Apple TV+ special, this moment is recreated, as Franklin returns Charlie Brown's beach ball and the two end up building a sandcastle as their friendship begins to form. This new Peanuts special is full of good-natured fun and adolescent troubles that all lead to lessons on friendship and overcoming life's obstacles.
Much like the most recent special, Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie, Welcome Home Franklin carries more emotional weight than the classic Peanuts specials but never to the point that it loses the tone established by Schulz. Where Marci was dealing with anxiety, Franklin is facing life as not only the new kid in town, but one that looks very different from the rest of the neighborhood. “One thing was for sure: There was a lack of variety in this place,” Franklin remarked as his family drove to their new home. Fortunately, he meets Charlie Brown after some failed attempts at making friends with a snooty Lucy and pumpkin-crazed Linus. Not only is his meeting with Charlie Brown recreated for this special but the conversations the two had as well. This is fun for longtime fans but is also presented in a way to make it accessible to those tuning in for some wholesome Peanuts shenanigans.
It's endearing to watch Franklin and Charlie Brown develop their friendship in real time and in the organic way that comes naturally to children. They meet, decide to build a derby car together, and as they do they learn a lot about the other. Franklin gets fleshed out during this time, here is a boy who likes baseball, outer space, and building things. He also loves music, introducing Charlie Brown to James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane. It's not all fun and games though for these two, as the pressure mounts they get into disagreements both before and during the race. But it's finding a way forward that helps them strengthen their bonds. “They’re not perfect. I’m not perfect. But we can get through the rough spots together, as friends,” Franklin says.
Similar in artistic style to One-of-a-Kind Marcie, Welcome Home Franklin is a mix of 2D and 3D elements. It's all blended together perfectly to feel connected to the specials of the 60s and 70s while creating richer environments and depth that wasn't possible in those days. The race day sequence is especially thrilling with this animation style. Music also enriches the action with a score by Jeff Morrow and jazz heard playing on the jukebox (yes you read that right, this special is happening in 1968 after all).
Peanuts was never made to be solely for kids. It was meant to be something children and adults alike would enjoy and Welcome Home Franklin is no exception. There are life lessons for all of us packed into this special– how to build solid friendships, managing life when it throws you a curveball, how to be yourself, celebrating differences and even the evergreen notion that winning isn't everything. So whether you are 5 or 99, Welcome Home Franklin is an entertaining, heartfelt show starring our favorite group of kids.
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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