Flashbeagle has to be one of the funniest specials - at least as good as the holiday specials, and about a million times better than Bon Voyage.

It's basically a bunch of shorts linked together with the common thread of Snoopy sneaking out at night to a disco and returning tired in the morning. The shorts are hilarious - some great ones with Peppermint Patty and Marcy in class, and a few with Sally as well.

Snoopy's killer dance moves were based on a real person dancing - the animators pretty much drew over the frames of the dancer. The making-of special I saw said that this is one of the first times this method had been employed. Just a bit of trivia. :) The music is catchy, the show is funny - it's all-around Peanuts goodness. You really can't go wrong with Flashbeagle.

Now, I love the Peanuts specials. Like most of today's adults, I grew up on them and cherish them. But this one, well... this is just one man's opinion, and feel free to disagree if you wish, but it's arguably the worst of the bunch. The whole Flashdance stuff REALLY dates it (most of today's kids wouldn't understand it),and Peppermint Patty's whole "I'm in shape!" routine tends to get really annoying after a while. Plus, the whole story is kinda weak by the past shows' usually high standards. Stick with the holiday shows, or if you really want a good non-holiday Peanuts show, track down Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown.

As an interesting side note, if you do watch this episode, listen closely to the voice of Sally... it's none other than Stacy Ferguson, a.k.a. Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas.

I was a huge Peanuts fan as a kid, and ended up video-taping every special as they came on CBS. I was also a member of the Snoopy Fan Club at the time, and its newsletter, the "Beagle Bugle" would always give advance notice of upcoming Peanuts specials. So I heard about Flashbeagle, and set the VCR, and waited... ...and got the worst Peanuts special I have ever seen. Apologies to Mr. Schulz, but this take-off of Flashdance was a bad parody, a bad use of the Peanuts characters, and not entertaining in the least.

Flashdance was already out-dated when this show came out, and the music doesn't even come up to the standards set by the movie. Seeing Snoopy in torn up sweats and wearing a headband also seemed terribly anachronistic.

Another blow to the show is the fact that the Peanuts gang is typically seen as being wholesome family entertainment, while Flashdance was a movie that was definitely not for kids; with many people, Flashdance honestly had the same reputation as Showgirls does, and basing a show with a beloved family icon around adult fare is not a good idea.

The show doesn't seem to belong to the pantheon of Peanuts specials, with their edifying morals and (occasional) religious values... it seems to be more of a cash-in, possibly to fulfill a commitment to CBS.