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The union between Apple TV+ and the Peanuts has been a successful one, so far. Their animated series “Snoopy in Space” was nominated for a Daytime Emmy, and they’re looking to dive into the world of new animated holiday specials that might just give “A Charlie Brown Christmas” a run for its money. One of the new installments is “The Snoopy Show,” a series aimed at giving audiences more of the beloved beagle and his larger-than-life adventures.

Each episode of “The Snoopy Show” consists of three separate stories involving Snoopy and his close companion Woodstock. We watch the pair build a snowman, write their memoirs, and help Charlie Brown (voiced by Ethan Pugiotto) confess his love for the little red-haired girl.

Compared to other children’s series where the lesson is front and center, “The Snoopy Show” isn’t particularly preachy. As Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts engage in the plot,...

When DC Comics revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s, it was out of step with the audience and struggled to find success. Ever since, the publisher has been trying to find a formula to make the character and his world relevant to the readership. With Carol Danvers’ popularity as Captain Marvel ascendant, DC finally capitulated and began calling Billy Batson’s alter ego Shazam to keep the two from being confused.

With Captain Marvel out in March and Shazam out in April, there’s a good reason to rename the latter. (No one back in the day would ever have imagined either getting a big screen treatment or coming out so closely together.) Warner Home Entertainment has released Shazam in all the usual formats this week and it remains a fun, but not perfect film.

After countless screenwriters tried to crack the light-hearted world created by Bill Parker and Cc Beck,...

Two boys, decades apart, are taken to a magical realm known as The Rock of Eternity to confront its last wizard guardian (Djimon Hounsou) protecting against the seven deadly sins. One (Ethan Pugiotto’s Thad) is revealed unworthy of becoming this magician’s champion because his soul isn’t pure. Too much anger and resentment for a belittling father and brother fills him with a desire for power, this latest rejection the final straw that ignites his devolution towards evil. The other (Asher Angel’s Billy) can’t be tested since the darkness candidates for champion must refuse is gone, the sins free. The wizard must hope this orphan’s search for love despite a me-first attitude is enough to wield the God-like abilities he’s forced to bestow upon him to save the world.

Those abilities are in the name: Shazam! There’s Solomon’s wisdom, Hercules’ strength, Atlas’ stamina,...

From “Watchmen” to “The Incredibles” and most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there have been any number of movies set in a world where the general public knows about the existence of superheroes. The common folk in these films refer to such enhanced (and sartorially flamboyant) individuals as “mutants” or “paranormals” or “Avengers,” but the terminology doesn’t really matter because the basic dynamic is always the same: Regardless of whether they’re thought to be threats, saviors, or something in between, anyone in spandex is fundamentally separate from general society.

Of course, it’s never an even split, because power is an inherently unequal thing. Those who have it look down at the faceless masses they hope to help, rule, or exploit; those who don’t look up and feel as small as they might seem from above. Probably. It’s hard to say. We seldom get to see these stories from their perspective.