In countless Peanuts strips, we see Lucy intently watching
Schroeder as he plays the piano. While his musical ability seems to
impress her, it annoys her that he pours all of his passion into his
instrument and none into her, while he is just irritated by her constant
interruptions. Despite the intensity of Lucy’s crush, there never
seemed to be much of a spark there. But the 2011 Wireless Peanuts Band, a
four-piece set released by Hallmark in the lead-up to Christmas, puts
them on more even footing, and I daresay those two make beautiful music
together. Maybe this seemingly mellower Lucy has cause for an optimistic
outlook in her long-unrequited affections.
The band also
includes Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and ideally, when you press the
button on the front of the brown plastic platform on which Lucy stands,
the other three will join in her song. However, because of their musical
history, Schroeder is the band member whose interaction with Lucy
interests me most, and of all the instruments in the band, I think his
piano and her flute make the most dynamic pair. If I isolate them,
turning off certain band members in order to create the impression of
duets, Saxophonist Charlie Brown and flutist Lucy almost cancel each
other out. Guitarist Snoopy is more defined, but it really is the flute
and the piano that stand out most to me in relation to each other.
Lucy, about four inches tall, stands on a solid rectangular platform
that’s about an inch high, three inches across and three and a half
inches long. It’s dark brown on the bottom with a lighter brown flat top
given the look of a wooden floor. She wears saddle shoes, green pants
and scarf, a red coat and a traditional red Santa hat with white trim
and a white ball at the tip. The expression on her face is one of
intense concentration, as evidenced by the lines on either side of her
eyes. Her black hair is clearly visible under her hat, and her silver
flute is raised to her lips.
Each member of the band plays two
different Christmas songs, so Lucy provides harmonies on six of them.
Her starring role comes in O Christmas Tree and Up on the Housetop.
Press the button on her platform, and one of those two songs will play.
After the first phrase, whatever other band members are activated will
automatically join in. It’s a pretty cool phenomenon, whether you have
them situated next to each other on the piano, as I do right now, or
scattered around the living room, as I did a few weeks ago. To add to
the enjoyment, in addition to the music, each figure moves as well. Lucy
swivels back and forth, a nice complement to the twirling that the much
tinier version of her does in the 2011 Christmastime Is Here! ornament.
Lucy, like the others in this series, is one of those
seasonal promotional figures that is $29.95 at regular price but $14.95
with another purchase. This is a bit silly, since I can’t imagine why
anyone would pay full price, especially since “another purchase” can be
something as simple as a birthday card. In any case, though, to get all
four I had to cough up $60 over the course of four trips, though perhaps
if you manage to find a Hallmark that still carries them now, you will
find them cheaper as they clear out the Christmas clutter. When I think
about the price tag on this series, I feel a tad extravagant buying it,
but we’ve had so much fun with this quartet over the past couple months
that I don’t care. These figures are just extremely fun, and they’re
well-crafted. The three AAA batteries each one came with are still going
strong, and I foresee them bringing Christmas cheer for many Decembers
to come. Who knew that a lass as abrasive as Lucy could be so sweetly
harmonious?
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