A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) (TV)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Bill Melendez

Writer:

Charles M. Schulz (written by)

Release Date:

9 December 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown! (2008 DVD re-release)

Plot:

Repelled by the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Commercialism | Christmas Tree | Tree | Nativity

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ann Altieri	...	Freida (voice) (uncredited)
Chris Doran	...	Schroeder / Shermy (voice) (uncredited)
Sally Dryer	...	Violet (voice) (uncredited)
Mimi Gibson	...	Charlotte Braun (voice) (uncredited)
Bill Melendez	...	Snoopy (voice) (uncredited)
Karen Mendelson	...	Patty (voice) (uncredited)
Geoffrey Ornstein	...	Pig-Pen (voice) (uncredited)
Peter Robbins	...	Charlie Brown (voice) (uncredited)
Christopher Shea	...	Linus Van Pelt (voice) (uncredited)
Kathy Steinberg	...	Sally Brown (voice) (uncredited)
Tracy Stratford	...	Lucy Van Pelt (voice) (uncredited)

Runtime:

25 min | Argentina:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:TV-G | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | UK:U | Canada:G

Company:

Lee Mendelson/Bill Melendez Production

Trivia:

Broke many of the rules prevalent for animated holiday specials during the 1960s: it didn't make use of a laugh track; real children were used for the character voices instead of adult actors imitating children's voices; and Biblical references were used to illustrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Lucy claims that "pantaphobia" means "a fear of everything." In fact, pantaphobia means "a fear of nothing." The correct term for a fear of everything is "panphobia."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Charlie Brown: [Charlie Brown and Linus stop at a wall on their trip to the pond for ice skating] I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel.
[begins to walk with Linus again]
Charlie Brown: I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.
Linus Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Christmas Special Christmas Special (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

As spiritual as you will see come the next millennium

This morning I turned on the television to find something with just the right atmosphere for opening Christmas presents. But in the 500-channel universe, could I find the Queen, or the Pope, or anything? I could find practically anything but Christmas.

The most inappropriate programme on wasn't the infomercial for the miracle juicer, no, it was the annual Parade of Expensive Children's Merchandise direct from Disneyland, in case there were some kids left who hadn't coerced a Mickey, or Terk, or Pumbaa from their beleaguered parents. One of the French channels did have a service from Notre Dame in Paris which was the right sort of thing, with an actual church and choir, but it was entirely in French. But then I found "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on one of the stations.

Once upon a time, "Charlie Brown" was just a prelude for its television viewers, most of whom would be attending church closer to Christmas Day. Nowadays, it's probably more than just the prelude; it's likely to be the whole concert.

Thank goodness Charles Schulz and company did such a fine job of crafting this programme back in 1965. Thirty-five years later, Charlie Brown is still as earnest and sympathetic as ever. He was even decrying the commercialization of Christmas back then, decrying in the wilderness, it seems.

Vince Guaraldi normally gets a lot of credit for his music, but there is far more to the show than just that. It is extremely well-written with a lot of charming and funny lines. I particularly like Linus as "an innocent shepherd", but even Snoopy as a penguin is sure to get a big laugh.

But at the midway point in the programme, the tone changes from quality seasonal fun to something very sincere and deeply held. Linus delivers his heartfelt sermon from the pulpit (the school stage). The Peanuts gang renews its faith (in Charlie Brown, at the very least). The congregation assembled there together raises its collective voice in the recessional hymn "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" as we bid them farewell and take our leave. It is these parallels from the church service, I feel, that contribute to the strong emotion many of us experience whenever we view this small triumph of television programming.

Would I say that everything in the story conforms to a higher design conceived by Charles Schulz? I won't hazard a guess, but I do like to feel that he felt a little touch of divine inspiration with this one.