The Peanuts gang goes to summer camp, and they participate in a river-raft race against some cheating bullies.
The Peanuts gang, including Snoopy and Woodstock, have gone off to summer camp. After a few days of the usual summer-camp activities, they all take part in a rafting race. Battling treacherous rapids, wild animals, and bullies from a rival camp, the teams make their way downriver to the finish line.—Jean-Marc Rocher <[email protected]>
The Peanuts gang heads off to Camp Remote somewhere in the mountains. Accidentally left behind by the bus while at a desolate rest stop, Charlie Brown is forced to hitch a harrowing ride on Snoopy's motorcycle in order to make the rest of the journey to the camp, accompanied by rock guitar type riffs while protesting Snoopy's wild driving.
Upon arrival, the kids are immediately exposed to the regimentation and squalor of camp life which completely differs from their comfortable residences back home. They struggle with the concept that the camp schedule is in the 24-hour clock (Franklin asks if "oh-five-hundred" [5:00 AM] is noon, and Sally thinks "eighteen-hundred" [6:00 PM] is a year). Although they attempt to adjust to camp life, Snoopy, in his own tent, enjoys an ice cream sundae while watching a Western film on his portable TV set.
The gang must contend with a trio of ruthless bullies (and their "cat", Brutus, vicious enough to intimidate even Snoopy and Woodstock) who openly boast of having won a raft race every year they have competed, but are only repelled when Linus uses his security blanket as a whip (which also gets him unwanted attention from Sally, who praises the courage of her self-proclaimed "Sweet Babboo"). It is revealed that they have only "won" through outright cheating - using a raft equipped with an outboard motor, direction finder, radar and sonar, along with utilizing every trick available to thwart everyone else's chance to even make it to the finish line, much less win the race.
The kids are broken into three groups: the boys' group (consisting of Charlie Brown, Linus, Schroeder, and Franklin), the girls' group (consisting of Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sally, and Lucy), and Snoopy and Woodstock. Charlie Brown reluctantly leads the boys' group, struggling with insecurity but doing anything possible to work things out and implement his decisions. His antithesis is Peppermint Patty, the very confident but inept leader of the girls' group who does little more than stand around and give orders. Moreover, she insists that every decision, regardless of inconsequentiality, be confirmed by a vote of secret ballots. Predictably, when the voting is tied or she disagrees with the outcome, she often overrules the decision, angering the other girls. The overconfident bullies use their cheating to burst ahead, but while boasting they fail to watch where they are going and crash into a dock, costing them substantial time and effort to dislodge their boat while the others sail past.
The groups see many unique sights along the river race, such as mountains, forests, and a riparian logging community of houses built on docks. However, they also run into different obstacles: getting lost, stranded, storms, blizzards, and sabotage from the bullies. Snoopy abandons the race to search tirelessly for Woodstock when a storm separates them; after a long search, they manage to find each other and are joyfully reunited, later reuniting with the gang at an abandoned cabin. Charlie Brown grows increasingly into his leadership role; ultimately, after the bullies sabotage everyone else's rafts, the boys' and girls' teams merge. Although blamed for problems, Charlie Brown handles them well; for instance, when the team is trapped on a water wheel, he decides, as the leader, to remove the obstacle.
Thanks to Charlie Brown's growing self-confidence and leadership, the gang has a good chance of winning the race at its climax, after overcoming considerable odds. Unfortunately, Peppermint Patty incites the girls to celebrate prematurely; after accidentally knocking the boys overboard, the girls attempt to rescue them, only to fall overboard themselves.
Seizing the opportunity to pull ahead, the bullies gloat about their apparently imminent victory; however, their brash over-confidence, infighting, and constant carelessness during the race has seen them become involved in numerous mishaps, substantially damaging their raft. Just shy of the finish line, their raft finally gives out and sinks, leaving Snoopy and Woodstock as the only contenders left. Brutus slashes Snoopy's inner tube with a claw, but Woodstock promptly builds a raft of twigs (with a leaf for a sail) and continues toward victory. When Brutus is about to attack Woodstock, Snoopy punches him, and Woodstock wins the race. Conceding defeat, the bullies vow vengeance next year, but their threats are humiliatingly stopped when Snoopy clobbers Brutus for threatening Woodstock again, sending a terrified Brutus scampering away.
As the gang boards the bus to depart for home, Charlie Brown decides aloud to use the experience as a lesson to be more confident and assertive, and to believe in himself. Unfortunately, right after he finishes speaking, the bus leaves without him again, forcing him to hitch another ride with Snoopy.
