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Snoopy, Come Home is a 1972 animated film directed by Bill Meléndez. The second of the five feature-length films based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz; whereas the previous film, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, focused on Charlie Brown, this one focuses almost entirely on Snoopy.

On one hand, this is the most Disney-influenced Peanuts animated project, complete with songs by The Sherman Brothers. But it's also, unquestionably, the most depressing and heart-wrenching entity in the Peanuts franchise. If there was a trope called "Crowning Moment of Tear Jerking", this film would win fairly easily. (This was possibly due to Schulz having just gone through a depressing divorce, and deciding to take it out here.)

To summarize: The plot begins with Snoopy experiencing dissatisfaction with his life amongst the other characters, as numerous "NO DOGS ALLOOOOOOOOOOWED" signs have recently been put up around the town, resulting in Snoopy being kicked out of most public places. After this, Snoopy attempts to get the attention of Charlie Brown and the other kids, only to be rejected or shrugged off in one way or another.

Snoopy then receives a letter from his original owner, Lila, with whom he only spent two months as a puppy before being sent back to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm because Lila's family moved. The letter informs Snoopy that Lila is in the hospital and wishes to see Snoopy again. Snoopy and Woodstock immediately leave town to visit her without explaining. They go on a somewhat surreal journey across the country and engage in silent shenanigans, including briefly getting captured and held by a rambunctious girl named Clara who has odd notions about how pets are supposed to be treated.

Meanwhile, Charlie Brown spirals into a extreme depression (even for him) at Snoopy running away, and any attempts at his friends to cheer him up fail. If anything, he in the Charliest of Browniest fashions manages to simply make everyone depressed as they all blame themselves for Snoopy running away.

Snoopy and Woodstock eventually make it to Lila's side where they help her recover, only to have Lila ask if Snoopy wants to stay with her permanently. Feeling obligated, Snoopy returns home to inform everyone that he is leaving to live with Lila permanently, essentially massacring what little self-esteem Charlie Brown has in the process. This culminates in a going-away party in which the entire Peanuts cast (and possibly the audience as well) ends up crying hysterically the entire time while Snoopy gives away all of his possessions. Charlie Brown sinks even deeper into depression afterwards.

Upon arriving at Lila's home, however, Snoopy finds out that not only does Lila already have a pet of her own in the form of a beloved cat, but that her apartment has a "No Dogs Allowed" policy. Freed of his obligations, Snoopy joyfully runs back home and into the arms of Charlie Brown and company who welcome him back joyfully. The happiness lasts for a few minutes until he gets a swelled head and demand that they give back all the things he gave them before moving or he'll sue them, upon which everyone but Charlie Brown leaves Snoopy in disgust^note Lucy: "That does it, Charlie Brown! He's your dog and you're welcome to him!!" (though he does leave a few moments later in disgust as well when Snoopy has let Woodstock type in the ending credits).

A 1991 animated TV special, Snoopy's Reunion, provides a prequel story about Snoopy and Lila, while contradicting some details from Snoopy, Come Home.

Snoopy, Come Home contains examples of:

• Adaptation Expansion:
  • The main storyline is adapted from a series of strips done in 1968 where Snoopy went missing to visit Lila in hospital. The strips did have the angst of Charlie Brown losing Snoopy and discovering he wasn't Snoopy's original owner, but there was never any question of whether Snoopy would stay with Lila or return to Charlie; that was added by the film.
  • A November 1970 strip series where Snoopy helps Woodstock walk south for the winter, after Woodstock's attempt to fly south fails, is the basis of the traveling scenes and the Clara sequence—she (still unnamed) grabs Snoopy and ties him up, but Charlie Brown comes along to rescue him and reveals that Snoopy and Woodstock only made it two blocks from home. Everything else Clara-related was invented for the movie.
• Advertising by Association: From a TV spot:
  Child #1: Did you know the movie has eight new songs by The Sherman Brothers?
  Child #2: Who are The Sherman Brothers?
  Child #1: They did the music for Mary Poppins.
• All There in the Manual: The name of the girl who captures Snoopy and Woodstock isn't listed in the credits because the characters' faces are shown in place of the names. We only know her name because the official poster identifies her as Clara. The DVD subtitles also name her as such.
• And Call Him "George": Along the way, Snoopy and Woodstock are captured by a little girl named Clara, an insane, pet-obsessed little girl that makes Elmyra Duff look sane in comparison. She starts calling Snoopy "Rex".
• And Starring: The opening credits list the film's characters, ending with "And Introducing Woodstock". This was the character's first animated appearance.
• Animal Jingoism: If Snoopy had any residual regrets about not being able to move into Lila's apartment, they're put to rest when she opens the door and reveals to his horror that she owns a cat! The cat, for its part, seems to barely notice him.
• Animation Bump: The boxing match between Snoopy and Lucy, done by veteran animator Bill Littlejohn, definitely counts.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • Despite Charlie Brown being a depressive blockhead and their sometimes indifferent interactions, Snoopy still chooses him over an angelic little girl in the end. To underscore this moment, this is the only time in the movie where the sight of the "NO DOGS ALLOWED" sign is accompanied by a cheerful, triumphant version of the Leitmotif instead of its usual sinister-sounding one, as Snoopy dances for joy at the sight of it.
  • Despite Lucy’s relationship with Snoopy most of the time, she was crying at his going-away party and clearly cared about him/missed him.
• Award-Bait Song: "Lila's Theme (Do You Remember Me?)", a lush, heartbreaking ballad sung by Shelby Flint, was obviously intended by The Sherman Brothers as the big attention-seeking musical moment.
• Beach Episode: The film opens with the gang on a beach outing, including making sandcastles and Snoopy surfing, set to the lilting song "At the Beach".
  Douse your gloomies, dunk your troubles
  In a day of breakers and bubbles
  And it’s all at your reach at the balmy and breezy-ful
  Making life easy-ful beach.
• Bittersweet Ending: In classic Peanuts style, still played for laughs: Snoopy returns to Charlie Brown, which livens up the poor old blockhead after suffering a brutal depression for a few days, but that means Snoopy won't ever see his old owner again — and the moment he returns, Snoopy demands for everything that he gave away at his farewell party to be returned to him immediately and acts like a complete jackass to everybody.
• Break the Cutie: ALL of the characters in this movie, especially the title character and you know who.
• Breaking Bad News Gently: Linus does his best.
  Linus: Are you ready for a shock?
  (Charlie Brown faints)
  Linus: He wasn't ready for a shock.
• Call-Back: "Gettin' It Together" uses the same melody as "Snoopy, Come Home".
• The Cameo: Thurl Ravenscroft provides his singing voice for "NO DOGS ALLOWED!"
• Can't You Read the Sign?: Used as a Running Gag. Snoopy is constantly booted from places with "No Dogs Allowed!" signs.
• Chekhov's Gag: Snoopy is usually upset at all the "NO DOGS ALLOWED!" rules, until such a rule settles his decision.
• Comedic Spanking: Clara punishes Snoopy for getting his dress stained at her tea party (even though she's the one who overfilled his cup).
• Continuity Nod:
  • Snoopy plays the mouth harp, just as he did in A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
  • Snoopy's love of Bunny Wunny books is recalled in the library scene.
  • Schroeder plays "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" at Snoopy's farewell party, which he previously played at the Halloween party in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, with Snoopy (in his WW1 flying ace attire) dancing to it.
• Creative Closing Credits: Snoopy "dictates" the end credits to Woodstock, who types them up. In addition, instead of listing actors with their roles, the heads of the characters appear with Snoopy typing up the actors' names next to the character he or she plays, with Snoopy and Woodstock's actors' names appearing physically next to them as Snoopy types. Embellished cut-outs of the crew members (all wearing funny hats) also appear as their names are typed alongside.
• Creator Thumbprint: Since the film's advertising touted that the music was done by the team that "did the music for Mary Poppins," it's probably not a coincidence that The Sherman Brothers contributed songs that were reminiscent of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" ("Fundamental-Friend-Dependability") and "Let's Go Fly a Kite" ("At the Beach").
• Damned by Faint Praise: When Snoopy types up his will, he leaves Charlie Brown with nothing but his best wishes. Later, when Snoopy rescinds his will, he writes Charlie Brown a letter stating that since he left nothing to Charlie Brown, he expects nothing in exchange. Everyone else who had to return their gifts disgustedly states that Snoopy is Charlie Brown's dog, and he's welcome to him.
• Dark Reprise: The kids all blaming themselves for making Snoopy want to leave is underscored by a slower, more melancholy version of the "Snoopy, Come Home" theme song, labeled as a "sad reprise" on the soundtrack album.
• Death by Newbery Medal: One could argue that the film's Charlie Brown arc is a deconstruction: losing a pet doesn't make Charlie Brown an adult. It just makes him chronically depressed and worsens his abandonment issues. If anything, it causes him to emotionally regress.
• Didn't Think This Through: Lila inviting Snoopy to come back and live with her again. She doesn't realize her apartment building doesn't allow dogs until Snoopy points out the sign.
• Dramatic Irony: Snoopy gets kicked off the beach thanks to a new rule forbidding dogs. Peppermint Patty is in the next shot, thinking that she's been stood up.
• The Dreaded Pretend Tea-Party: Clara, as the ultimate annoying child, naturally holds one of these, and forces Snoopy (or Rex as she calls him) to put on a dress and participate. Then she pours too much tea into Snoopy's cup, and it ends up staining the dress. She blames him for what happened and violently lashes out at him over it.
• Escalating War: Snoopy and Linus get into one of these over Linus's blanket, complete with yanking, foot-stomping, nose-tweaking, head-butting, collar-snapping, shin-kicking, and shoe-throwing. By the end, it's not even about the blanket anymore, Snoopy doing the aforementioned shin-kicking because he's that angry, and Linus doing the shoe-throwing at the end of it for the same reason.
• Everybody Cries: Snoopy's going-away party involves plenty of tears from everyone (except Schroeder, who's too busy playing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" on his piano to even cry). Even Lucy is bawling her eyes out.
• Everything Is an Instrument: The first time Woodstock whistles 'The Best of Buddies', Snoopy accompanies him by banging spoons against his dog bowl. He even pulls out his jew's harp from A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
• Exact Words: Subverted. After Snoopy is kicked out because of the "No Dogs Allowed" policy, Woodstock tries to enter. He gets kicked out too, showing it's an "no animals at all, period" policy.
  "No Dogs Allowed" Leitmotif Singer: That goes for biiiirrrrdddssss!
• Expository Theme Tune: "Snoopy, Come Home" is a lament fretting Snoopy's disappearance, given an oddly bouncy arrangement in the opening credits, then a depressing reprise later on, with all of the Peanuts gang walking around upset and Charlie Brown in a visibly increasing despair.
  You split the scene, now nothing is right
  Good grief! Why did you get so uptight?
  Why did you go? We're in a fog
  Don't you know you're our favorite dog?
• Face Palm: Lila, when Snoopy shows her the "No Dogs Allowed" sign on her building.
• Funny X-Ray: During the first attempt to sneak into the hospital, Snoopy and Woodstock run past an X-Ray machine, with Woodstock's body being depicted as a cooked chicken leg.
• Hammerspace: That little suitcase that Snoopy uses on his journey fits everything needed for a camping trip. The only thing he didn't include was a tent. And his packed suitcase doesn't even seem at all heavy to carry.
• Hate Sink: Clara's treatment of Snoopy and Woodstock could put Elmyra to shame, especially her tying up Snoopy with a rope and then later spanking him.
• Heroic BSoD: After Snoopy is forced to leave him for Lila, Charlie Brown ends up being depressed even by the standards of Charlie Brown. That's saying something.
• It's All My Fault: Peppermint Patty, Lucy, Linus, and Charlie Brown blame themselves for Snoopy leaving.
• Karma Houdini: Clara gets away with the Elmyra-esque antics scot-free (save for getting a fishbowl on her head for her trouble). Justified in that Snoopy and Woodstock use that distraction to skedaddle before she can recover.
• Kick the Dog: A literal example; in the beginning credits, Schroeder kicks Snoopy away when he finds him playing on his piano.
• Laser-Guided Karma: While the gang plays Monopoly, Lucy taunts Charlie Brown because she owns Boardwalk and Park Place. She rolls doubles, boasts that she has another turn, and promptly lands on Schroeder's Pacific Avenue with a hotel. Their background chatter while Charlie Brown contemplates where Snoopy is explicitly states that this move bankrupts her out of the game. Played for laughs, of course.
• Leitmotif: The four note "No Dogs Allowed" motif, complete with deep-voiced singer (the great Thurl Ravenscroft).
• Literal Ass-Kicking: Snoopy gives one to Charlie Brown, and gets one from Schroeder, in the opening credits.
• Littlest Cancer Patient: Lila, although she gets well by the end, and she's portrayed much less sympathetically in the last scene. Her actual illness is also kept vague and unspecified.
• Luminescent Blush: Snoopy sports one when Woodstock points out that he accidentally claimed to be a taxpayer in his letter to the Editor.
• Minor Character, Major Song: invokedOne-Scene Wonder Clara performs the soundtrack's most elaborate number, "Fundamental-Friend-Dependability".
• Mistaken Species: Clara thinks that Snoopy (a beagle) and Woodstock (a canary) are a sheepdog and a parrot.
• Never My Fault: Clara blames Snoopy for getting his dress dirty, but she poured too much tea in his cup.
• New Sound Album: Charles Schulz, Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez thought A Boy Named Charlie Brown ended up a little too much like an extended TV special. To make this seem more like a big-screen presentation, there was a complete change of musical style. While Vince Guaraldi kept his job as the TV music director, The Sherman Brothers were brought in to do the music, resulting in a score more in line with what Disney was doing at the time.
• No Animals Allowed: Signs saying "NO DOGS ALLOWED" (with accompanying vocals by Thurl Ravenscroft) pop up repeatedly as a Running Gag (it even currently provides the page image for the trope), and finally pay off as the excuse Snoopy needs to go back to his friends instead of moving in with Lila.
• NO INDOOR VOICE: It's the least of her issues, but Clara easily qualifies.
  HEY MA! I GOT TWO PETS! A SHEEPDOG AND A PARROT!
• Novelization: There was one, with stills from the film. It was just as tearjerking.
• Ocular Gushers: All the kids sans Schroeder cry this way during the going away party.
• Oddball in the Series: This is the only Peanuts Animated Adaptation not to feature a Vince Guaraldi score in his lifetime. The music was instead provided by The Sherman Brothers, who Schulz hired because he thought Guaraldi's score for the previous film A Boy Named Charlie Brown made the film feel more like an extended TV special. Schulz stated that he would have hired Guaraldi for Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown if not for the composer's sudden 1976 death. It also marked one of the few animated projects where Snoopy's thoughts are fully communicated to the audience outside of the comic strip.
• Odd Name Out: This is the only one of the five Peanuts theatrical films with Snoopy's name in the title.
• Oh, Crap!: Snoopy with Clara, after she tells him she's going to spank him.
• OOC Is Serious Business: You'll never see Snoopy get as angry or as frightened as he does with Clara. She's just that bonkers.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Subverted. The first time Snoopy attempts to sneak into the hospital Lila is staying in he dons a set of medical scrubs, but the unseen staff easily see through it and kick him out. During his second attempt, he doesn't even bother with a disguise. Woodstock is completely undisguised both times.
• Pet Dress-Up: Clara's idea of a play date with Snoopy, complete with putting him in a girly dress. It's definitely not his idea of "fundamental friend dependability", then to make matters worse she gets mad at him for getting tea on the dress (tea that she'd spilled herself in the first place).
• Pawprint Stamping: Snoopy endorses a letter protesting a new "No Dogs Allowed" policy at the beach by stamping it with his pawprint.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Snoopy and Woodstock's adventures and the "No Dogs Allowed!" Running Gag act as breather scenes between the Peanuts gang's depression and angst.
• Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!: Snoopy does this to a really loud alarm clock at one point on his journey, and then to Woodstock when he's chirping in his sleep.
• Road Trip Plot: A good third deals with Snoopy and Woodstock traveling to the hospital to see Lila. Their trip back home isn't shown, except for a shot of them traveling through the night, with the next scene showing Snoopy back at Charlie Brown's house.
• Running Gag: "NO DOGS ALLOWED!" Seriously, pretty much anywhere he goes, Snoopy will encounter a sign like this.
  THAT GOES FOR BIIIIIIIIRDS!
• Scenery Porn: The carnival that Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty go to is drawn very appealingly, down to its lighting capturing the essence of the night life.
• Scooby-Dooby Doors: A scene like this occurs at one point when Clara chases Snoopy and Woodstock through her house.
• Shown Their Work:
  • Schroeder asks for $1,275 when Lucy lands on his Pacific Avenue, which is the actual rent for that property with a hotel.
  • Monopoly strategy books have shown that owning the Dark Green monopoly is far more profitable than the Boardwalk/Park Place monopoly.
• Silly Song: "Fundamental-Friend-Dependability" is an inspired bit of lunacy, written by the Sherman Brothers. They also wrote "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", and it shows.
• Snowclone Title: To Lassie Come Home.
• Soundtrack Dissonance:
  • Schroeder plays the sprightly music hall tune "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" as the entire gang cry their eyes out at Snoopy's going-away party.
  • Even the background music played during the carnival scene falls under this trope. It goes from being upbeat and lively to slow and romantic to downright depressing and heartbreaking later on when the audience finds out it's the same tune as the song "It Changes" that Charlie Brown sings after Snoopy bids him farewell to be with Lila for good.
• Status Quo Is God: Snoopy ends up coming back to Charlie Brown, ensuring that his antics will keep occurring.
• Stock Femur Bone: Snoopy shows up as three of them when he walks behind the x-ray machine. At the going-away party later, he is given farewell gifts from the kids that all turn out to be these when he opens them.
• Strongly Worded Letter:
  • After being kicked off the Beach the following day, Snoopy and Woodstock writes one of these to "The Editor" in protest of the No Dogs Allowed policy.
  • At the end, Snoopy issues one of these to each of the Peanuts gang, demanding the things that he gave to them at his goodbye party to be returned to him within five days or the matter will be handled by Snoopy's attorney.
• "Take That!" Kiss: After beating Lucy in a boxing match, Snoopy decides to rub it in by giving her a kiss, much to her disgust.
• Title Drop: While despairing over Snoopy being gone, Charlie Brown cries out the movie title.
• Triumphant Reprise: The very last incarnation of the "NO DOGS ALLOWED" tune, along with the "Best of Buddies" song combined with "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" near the end when Snoopy comes home.
• Tropey, Come Home: It's right there in the title, and one of the songs, and poor Charlie Brown screams it in despair at one point.
• Unsuccessful Pet Adoption: Zig-zagged, considering Snoopy was adopted by Lila's family then returned after they moved and decided not to keep him (though it's possible that they moved into the same dog-unfriendly apartment they had in present-day). Naturally, Snoopy was subsequently adopted by Charlie Brown, but then Lila talked Snoopy into coming to live with her permanently. He agrees, only to discover she owns a cat and her apartment's "No Dogs Allowed" policy. Free of his obligations to her, he joyfully returns to Charlie Brown.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Granted, Clara doesn't come off as terribly bright, but she still ought to find it curious and remarkable that Snoopy/"Rex" knows how to dial a telephone.
• Wacky Wayside Tribe: The section with Clara is basically its own self-contained story.
• Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma: While the promotional artwork and most of its releases in various forms of media put a comma after "Snoopy" in the title, the film itself shows the title as Snoopy Come Home in the opening credits, largely because the comma would mess up the animation involving the words (including placing them in the shape of a doghouse at one point).
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: Snoopy is a Jerkass to everyone, but they all cry when he leaves. When he eventually returns, they're so happy to have him back but are somehow shocked when his jerkiness continues when he demands them to have the stuff that he gave to them at his goodbye party to be returned to him immediately.
• Wham Line: "You are not Snoopy's original owner." And the more blunt, "You got a used dog, Charlie Brown."
• What Happened to the Mouse?: For some reason, after the deep thought sequence, Peppermint Patty disappears for the remainder. Although she appears briefly at Snoopy's going-away party in a three-second shot, she isn't seen again unless you count the credits. Then again, she does live on the other side of town.