YMMV / What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown!

• Bizarro Episode: This is one of the only Peanuts specials to feature a Minimalist Cast, with nobody except for Charlie Brown and Snoopy being present. And that's without the entire special being an absurdist nightmare that serves to put Snoopy through hell.
• Nightmare Fuel: Snoopy is abused and starved, becomes feral, and then dies getting pulled into a frozen lake (alongside the other sled dogs and the cruel master), screaming and clawing for his life. Granted, the special establishes from the start that it's All Just a Dream and none of it is really happening, and there is some comfort in the happy ending with Snoopy eating ice cream and being allowed to sleep in Charlie Brown's bed for the night, but still... one could argue that this was inappropriate for the Peanuts specials' target audience.
  • Especially the part where Snoopy viciously growls at that husky and later challenges him to a brutal fight for leadership of the husky pack, both of which are deeply unexpected and out-of-character for the normally lethargic and humanoid Snoopy.
  • The cruel master's voice in most Charlie Brown cartoons the adults' voices sound funny with those silly sounds but the master's voice sounds deep and Satanic like he came out from the darkest depths from Hell! Thank God, he only appears in the dream! Also his silhouette when he, the dogs, and Snoopy get pulled under the ice is also scary he looked like a shadow monster from Hell!
• Tear Jerker: For anyone who loves Snoopy, the whole special. We're forced to watch the beloved beagle subjected to horrific abuse, break down in despair, regress to a feral state, and ultimately drown in frozen water. All because he enjoyed the comforts of home too much (...well that and the abusive whippings he gave to Charlie Brown at the beginning).
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: While this special does feature good ol' Charlie Brown and Snoopy, it's not an ordinary Peanuts special: Snoopy's dream features a brutal clade of realistic sled huskies, their harsh and unsympathetic musher who's only seen in shadow, multiple scenes of Snoopy being tormented and deprived of basic necessities and, above all, the third-act plot turn of Snoopy breaking down and transforming from a cute, universally beloved cartoon icon into a savage, feral animal who proceeds to defeat the alpha husky in a violent fight and deprive the other sled dogs of food and water as their 'leader' before leading his team to a horrific death through drowning before waking up. Viewers will possibly wonder: "Is this Charlie Brown, or is this something else?".

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