A Charlie Brown Christmas

"Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown, maybe painted pink."

Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer...
Christmas is right around the corner for the Peanuts gang and everyone is getting ready for the big day.  Everyone is excited, except for Charlie Brown (Robbins):

"Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel.  I just don't understand Christmas, I guess....I always end up feeling depressed."

Everyone around him is consumed by the holiday, and how much stuff they can get.  Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy, enters his doghouse in a house decorating contest... and his baby sister Sally (Steinberg) sends a letter to Santa asking for lots of money.  Still confused, he turns to Lucy (Stratford), as a therapist.

Lucy thinks the best way to get Charlie Brown in the holiday spirit is to make him the director of the school Christmas play.  But no one else takes him seriously, choosing to ignore his directions and dance (see picture above).  Will Charlie Brown ever find a way to enjoy Christmas?


A holiday classic!!  It isn't Christmas until I watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.  My all-time favorite Peanuts film and favorite Christmas film, everything works with here.  Charles Schulz was ahead of his time... if he thought consumerism was bad then, how would he react now?  His straight forward depiction of American consumerism (we want so much stuff) and how we typically miss the mark at this time of year (check out Straight No Chaser's song "The Christmas Can-Can" which is a funny take on this same topic).  It is a powerful film, especially Linus' speech on the stage (Luke 2:8-14).  But it isn't all serious: there is plenty of humor and quotable / memorable moments.

According to IMDb.com, this film changed the rules for Animated Christmas Specials: no laugh track and children provided the voices for children.  I'm glad Schulz and producers Bill Melendez (the director) and Lee Mendelson decided to break these rules: I can't imagine any Peanuts special any other way.

The score is amazing.  Vince Guaraldi's music is the perfect addition... what would the Peanuts be without their theme song "Linus and Lucy"?  "Linus and Lucy" was introduced in this film, with all the characters dancing their hearts out (pictured above... check out YouTube to see this scene set to Outkast's "Hey Ya").  That scene is one that everyone remembers and tries to replicate.  All the songs enhance the film and make you nostalgic for your childhood.

As close to perfection as possible.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) 25 minutes
Director: Bill Melendez
Starring: Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown
Chris Shea as Linus van Pelt
Tracy Stratford as Lucy van Pelt
Cathy Steinberg as Sally Brown
Chris Doran as Schroeder & Shermy
Geoffrey Ornstein as Pig-Pen
Karen Mendelson as Patty
Sally Dryer as Violet
Ann Altieri as Frieda