On the first week of December, Lucy begins Christmas preparations for the arrival of her grandmother, whom she loves dearly. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown tries to finish his New Year's resolutions, which in typical fashion, he fails to do any of. Lucy compacts them to two specific ones: build a snowman (which he immediately fails at) and do something "remotely" creative. Elsewhere, Snoopy celebrates the arrival of his siblings. Spike, only having a childhood photo of him and the others, tries to take a new current photo, but is constantly stymied by bad luck.
On Christmas Eve, Lucy is distraught to learn that her grandmother is not coming this year (her reason is unknown) and solemnly worries that she is unloved. In an effort to feel better, she decides to throw a New Year's Eve party at an old abandoned theater, which she manages to rent with the numerous nickels Charlie Brown has paid her over the years. She invites everyone and has Charlie Brown be in charge of decorations with the other kids also helping out. Snoopy's family gets invited to play at the party; however, when Spike's camera is accidentally destroyed, Spike decides to leave, saddening the dogs.
The party does not go the way Lucy wants, as everyone finds her rules boring. Soon everyone becomes miserable as Lucy tries to get Linus to save the party, but he instead snaps back at Lucy for trying to make it about herself instead of her friends. As everyone leaves, Charlie Brown accidentally knocks down the decorations, essentially failing his second resolution. Snoopy and his siblings find Spike at the bus stop afterwards and apologize for what happened before. As Lucy misses the New Year hour, Charlie Brown meets with Linus and learns why Lucy was upset to begin with, empathizing with her.
Linus finds Lucy in her bedroom and reminds her that he loves her no matter what. Charlie Brown arrives to give words of encouragement and reveals that he brought everyone from the party after explaining the situation. Everyone pretends to restart the countdown as Lucy finally has a party that satisfies everyone, Franklin takes a good photo of Snoopy and his siblings together and Lucy helps Charlie Brown with another New Year's resolution by immediately crossing it off: Being a good friend. Sometime later, Lucy talks to her grandmother on the phone about her plans to come and visit them for her birthday, which she is looking forward to.
Cast
Etienne Kellici as Charlie Brown.This is Kellici’s first performance as Charlie Brown. He wouldn’t voice Charlie Brown again until 2022.[1]
On October 19, 2020, Apple had signed a deal to acquire the streaming rights to the Peanuts holiday specials for Apple TV+, including orders for new specials to be produced for the service.[2] On October 4, 2021, Apple had announced the release date and title for the special, with the trailer following on November 29.[3][4]
Reception
The special was well received by critics and fans.[5]Common Sense Media rated the film 4 out of 5, adding: "Peanuts New Year's movie is cute but not iconic."[6] Joel Keller from Decider.com also rated it highly, saying, "Shifting the perspective to the usually confident Lucy, and showing a moment where she has a lack of confidence, is refreshing and welcome."[7] Chuck Wilson from The Village Voice also praised the special, saying, "Kaytis and co-writers Alex Galatis and Scott Montgomery transform Lucy from a character of nostalgia into a girl as self-reflective and searching as any young person watching the special might be. Her crisis of self is sure to resonate, and that’s a triumph not only for Kaytis and company but for the late Charles Schulz, who gave his characters the gifts of grace and intelligence but also melancholy and doubt."[8]
