A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) (TV)

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 | Für Elise

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)

Directed by
Bill Melendez

Writing credits
Charles M. Schulz		(written by)

Produced by
Bill Melendez	....	producer
Lee Mendelson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Vince Guaraldi

Film Editing by
Robert T. Gillis

Music Department
Vince Guaraldi	....	conductor
Vince Guaraldi	....	musician: piano
Lee Charlton	....	musician: drums (song: "Surfin' Snoopy") (uncredited)
John Copolla	....	musician: trumpet, "Surfin' Snoopy" (uncredited)
Eddie Duran	....	musician: guitar (song: "Surfin' Snoopy") (uncredited)
Pat Firth	....	musician: bass, "Surfin' Snoopy" (uncredited)
Jerry Granelli	....	musician: drums (uncredited)
Fred Marshall	....	musician: bass (uncredited)
Frank Snow	....	musician: trumpet, "Surfin' Snoopy" (uncredited)

Other crew
Bob Carlson	....	graphic blandishment
Herman Cohen	....	graphic blandishment
Bernard Gruver	....	graphic blandishment
Ruth Kissane	....	graphic blandishment
Ed Levitt	....	graphic blandishment
Bill Littlejohn	....	graphic blandishment
Manuel Perez	....	graphic blandishment
Beverly Robbins	....	graphic blandishment
Frank Smith	....	graphic blandishment
Dean Spille	....	graphic blandishment
Reuben Timmins	....	graphic blandishment (as Ruben Timmins)
Russ von Neida	....	graphic blandishment
John Walker	....	graphic blandishment
Eleanor Warren	....	graphic blandishment
Rudy Zamora	....	graphic blandishment
Alan Zaslove	....	graphic blandishment

Production Companies

• Lee Mendelson Film Productions
• Bill Melendez Productions
• United Feature Syndicate (UFS) (in co-operation with)

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1965) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Nacional Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Shell Oil Company-Special Promotional Products (1992) (USA) (video)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Coca-Cola Company, The  sponsoring
• Dolly Madison  sponsoring
• Nabisco  sponsoring
• Peter Paul Cadbury  sponsoring
• Producers' Sound Services  sound (as Producers' Sound Service)

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 Film Productions

Trivia:

First animated Peanuts special.

Goofs:

Continuity: The back of Chairle Brown's head is drawn with three hairs in some scenes and with no hair in others.

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:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Helen Hunt/Hanson (#23.9)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Charlie Brown Theme

Wonderful, accidentally powerful special

It's almost Christmas, and the Peanuts gang is eagerly anticipating it… well, except good ol' Charlie Brown, who just doesn't feel quite right about the festivities this year. Oh, he likes presents and sending cards (even though he never receives them, as indicated by the echo in his mailbox) and all, but Charlie Brown can't quite get into the spirit. It's most likely the crass commercialism that's tainted the holiday, from little sister Sally's epic letter to Santa to the pink aluminum Christmas trees for sale. In a rare show of generosity, crabby Lucy tries to lift Charlie Brown's spirits by letting him direct the school's annual Christmas play, but the rest of the kids are too self-absorbed to cooperate. It will take a pitiful little Christmas tree and some help from the ever introspective Linus to restore Charlie Brown's love of the holidays.

A staple of Christmas since 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was the first animated "Peanuts" special, and easily the best. The animation is crude yet has a sweet charm to it. In a rarity in animated films, real children with no acting experience voiced the entire cast of characters (excluding Snoopy). The result is jarringly realistic, since some of the kids are mush mouthed and stumble over words like "syndicate". It introduced the legendary "Linus & Lucy" tune (which would become the "Peanuts" theme song), provided by Vince Guaraldi. Handpicked by Charles M. Schulz himself, Guraldi was responsible for the "Peanuts" specials' uniquely sophisticated sound. The music manages to bring to mind both images of childhood innocence and smoky jazz clubs.

But amidst all the familiar antics (Snoopy's shameless mugging, Linus's blanket, Charlie Brown's melancholy), there is something truly powerful at the heart of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". In our confusing, politically correct climate, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" teaches us the true meaning of Christmas; none of that bland, "family and friends" garbage, but the honest to God meaning of Christmas. Without being preachy, histrionic, or self-indulgent, we learn that Christmas isn't about presents, shopping, or trees, but about a baby born in a humble stable who would grow up to die for our sins. In 1965 that was simply common knowledge, but it is so easily forgotten in the harried, materialistic New Millennium. It is keeping this message in mind that Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang learn that Christmas should unite us, and spread the feeling of love and acceptance into a harsh world.

So for those of you who feel the way Charlie Brown felt in the beginning about Christmas, watch this special with a loved one. It is almost magic, the way it will restore your faith…