FIND Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975) Charles M. Schulz’s beloved characters are back in the Valentine’s Day themed TV special, Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. The special touches on many of the staples of the holiday, including giving others cards, eating sweets such as chocolates, and of course falling in love… or in Brown’s case, unrequited love. All the Peanut characters make appearances: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, Woodstock, Linus, Violet, Sally, and Schroeder. If you’re looking for a safe classic, this is probably the one for you. If you enjoyed this one, consider taking a look at the sequel that was released in 2002, titled A Charlie Brown Valentine, which follows the Peanuts characters around for the week before Valentine’s Day. It is the first special produced since Charles M. Schulz’s passing.

FIND Be My Valentine, Love Barney (2000) For many, Barney is the guy they love to hate. He’s an easy target: big, purple, an extinct species. This holiday special might make those in that boat warm up to him a bit, though. With a full track list of songs, it’s sure to get the little ones in the mood of the holiday, and perhaps give parents a much needed break. For those into songs, this is a strong choice for V-day. In Be my Valentine, Love Barney, viewers join the cast of kids as they make valentine boxes. That’s when a mysterious card arrives in Barney’s valentine box from The Queen of Hearts. Barney and the children head off to visit her castle where they meet the Queen. Here there is a slew of fun activities to behold. There’s even a surprise Valentine’s Day party. The group gets dressed up in their Valentine’s Day best and have lots of fun.

FIND Cat in the Hat: Hurray! It’s Valentine’s Day! (2013) One of the shortest run times on the list at 35 minutes with three episodes, Cat in the Hat: Hurray! It’s Valentine’s Day is move about the beloved character as well as the beloved Author, Dr. Seuss, than anything else. Very little about the set of episodes is directly related about Valentine’s Day, but kids with enjoy it nevertheless. The description offered by the producers says it best: “It’s Valentine’s Day with The Cat in the Hat — a great time to join the Cat as he celebrates the joy of friendship with his closest friends. Spend the whole day with your wonderful friends In a place where adventure and fun never ends. Yes, friendship’s the key on this special day, And the Cat is the one who will lead the way. Join The Cat in the Hat as he celebrates friendship with his closest friends, Nick, Sally, Fish, the Things and…YOU!”

FIND A Chipmunk Valentine (2007) Love and Mischief are in the air with Alvin and the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine. This is another musical adventure, perhaps not as heavily so as the Barney special, but the Chipmunks are famous for their voices. After Brittany rejects his invitation to the Valentine Ball, Alvin develops an alter ego, Captain Chipmunk. Brittany is quickly won over and accepts Captain Chipmunk’s offer to the Valentine Ball. Fun and enjoyable consequences follow when Alvin wakes up at the dance and realizes he’s not the dashing Captain Chipmunk, but rather regular ole Alvin. This episode headlines the following few episodes and this collection is one you’re sure to fall in love with. With imagery perfect for the holiday, and characters that always give viewers a great time, A Chipmunk Valentine is sure to please kids and many parents, too. It is one of Felipe Femur’s top three picks for Valentine’s day. If you enjoy this one, check out the I Love the Chipmunk Valentine’s Special (1984) for a similar experience.

FIND Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

An interesting retelling of Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet using lawn ornaments. Gnomeo & Juliet is a tale about Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet, who are two elderly neighbors who also happen to despise one another. Whenever they leave their respective gardens, their garden gnomes come to life. The Montague garden is filled with blue-hat gnomes and the Capulet garden is populated with red-hatted gnomes and thus the classic feud begins. Like their human gardeners, the gnomes also despise each other, and the 3D animation follows Gnomeo and Juliet as they fall in love. The film is rated G and the ending is quite a bit lighter and happier than the classic telling, so this is a perfect one for all ages and also one of Felipe Femur’s top picks.

FIND Madly Madagascar (2013) Another short one at 22 minutes, Madly Madagascar is good for a quick Valentine’s Day fix. It’s perfect for those who have a hard time sitting still for a long period of time that many of the full length options on this list would demand. If you purchase the DVD you’ll also have access to the Over the Hedge short as well as the short titled First flight. Madly Madagascar is certainly Valentine’s Day themed and has all your favorite characters from the feature length movies, so it is a safe pick for kids. Two main themes run through the short holiday special–one featuring Alex the lion, and the other Marty the Zebra. Valentine’s Day is revealed to be one of Alex’s favorite holidays back in the zoo, as he was showered with Valentines gifts from admirers, but now that he’s stranded in Africa, he’s finding that Valentine’s Day is not what he was used to. Meanwhile, Marty meets a girl who he likes, but she’s not that interested until Marty finds a love potion. Unfortunately, while she does becomes interested, so do most everyone else.

FIND Mickey & Minnie’s Sweetheart Stories (2004) A collection of Disney classics released from 1936 to 1950, released together on DVD in 2004. The collection includes Mickey’s Revival, In Dutch, Donald’s Double Trouble, The Nifty Nineties, and the more love focused Mr. Duck Steps Out, Pluto’s Heart Throb and Mickey’s Delayed Date. Some of these are quite dated, but over all it is a good love themed collection to watch on Valentine’s Day. Follow Mickey as he scrambles to save his relationship with Minnie by making it to a party on time; Pluto as he tries to win over Dinah the Dachshund at the same time as Butch the Bulldog; and Donald Duck as he attempts to go on his first date with Daisy Duck with the competition of his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, to worry about. The beloved characters are all here, and kids are sure to love this love inspired collection of shorts.

FIND Sesame Street – Elmo Loves You! (2009) Arguably the most lovable of the Sesame Street characters, Elmo stars in this direct-to-video compilation. He takes viewers on a Valentine’s Day card learning adventure from crafting the card, to learning about how a kiss expresses love and what to put on his card, to who to give it to. Other characters such as Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Grover make appearances and there are several musical numbers throughout the collection. R.E.M make a guest appearance. Overall, the viewer feel included while viewing. Kids will learn something about love, card making, and Valentine’s Day in general. Generally best for the younger kids, not so much older kids and teens.

FIND Veggie Tales: Lettuce Love One Another (2013) A Veggie Tales trio of episodes that focus on the theme of loving others. While it is not specifically Valentine’s Related, the episodes do capture the important part of the holiday: love. The three episodes included are King George and Ducky, Abe and the Amazing Promise, and Big River Rescue. King George and Ducky is a retelling of David and Bathsheba from the Book of Second Samuel using 3D animated vegetables, as is typical of Veggie Tales. Abe and the Amazing Promise is a retelling of Abraham, and Big River Rescue is also known as Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue, so the source story doesn’t seem to be the Bible like most Veggie Tales but rather Mark Twain.