A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)

Director:

Bill Melendez

Writers:

Charles M. Schulz (creator)
Charles M. Schulz (written by)

Release Date:

4 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

The Peanuts' Gang in their First Movie!

Plot:

Charlie Brown makes his way to the national spelling bee finals.

Plot Keywords:

Spelling Bee | School | Dog | Star Spangled Banner | Hockey

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Peter Robbins	...	Charlie Brown (voice)
Pamelyn Ferdin	...	Lucy Van Pelt (voice)
Glenn Gilger	...	Linus Van Pelt (voice)
Andy Pforsich	...	Schroeder (voice)
Sally Dryer	...	Patty (voice)
Ann Altieri	...	Violet (voice) (as Anne Altieri)
Erin Sullivan	...	Sally (voice)
Lynda Mendelson	...	Frieda (voice) (as Linda Mendelson)
Christopher DeFaria	...	Pig Pen (voice)
David Carey	...	2nd Boy (voice)
Guy Pforsich	...	3rd Boy (voice)
Bill Melendez	...	Snoopy (voice)

Directed by
Bill Melendez

Writing credits
Charles M. Schulz		(creator)
Charles M. Schulz		(written by)

Produced by
Bill Melendez	....	producer
Lee Mendelson	....	producer
Charles M. Schulz	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Vince Guaraldi		(original musical score)

Cinematography by
Wally Bulloch

Film Editing by
Robert T. Gillis
Chuck McCann		(as Charles McCann)
Steven Cuitlahuac Melendez		(as Steve Melendez)

Art Department
Ellie Bogardus	....	graphic designer (as Ellie Bonnard)
Evert Brown	....	graphic designer
Jan Green	....	graphic designer
Bernard Gruver	....	graphic designer
Ruth Kissane	....	graphic designer
Ed Levitt	....	graphic designer
Charles McElmurry	....	graphic designer
Alan Shean	....	graphic designer (as Al Shean)
Dean Spille	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Don Minkler	....	sound mixer
Bill Mumford	....	sound mixer
Sid Nicholas	....	sound recordist: voices

Animation Department
Debbie Abbott	....	ink and paint artist
Maggie Bowen	....	animator
Bob Carlson	....	animator
Ken Champin	....	animator
Herman Cohen	....	animator (as Herm Cohen)
Connie Crawley	....	ink and paint artist
Gwenn Dotzler	....	ink and paint artist
Florence Hammontre	....	ink and paint artist
Lew Irwin	....	animator
Sam Jaimes	....	animator
Gerry Kane	....	animator
Faith Kovaleski	....	animator
Bror Lansing	....	animator
Bill Littlejohn	....	animator
Don Lusk	....	animator
Joice Lee Marshall	....	ink and paint artist
Bob Matz	....	animator
Celine Miles	....	ink and paint artist
Barrie Nelson	....	animator (as Barry Nelson)
Ken O'Brien	....	animator
Karen Oglesby	....	ink and paint artist
Spencer Peel	....	animator
Chandra Poweris	....	ink and paint artist
Beverly Robbins	....	ink and paint artist
Jay Sarbry	....	animator
Dawn Smith	....	ink and paint artist
Frank Smith	....	animator
Hank Smith	....	animator
Russ von Neida	....	animator (as Russ Van Neida)
Eleanor Warren	....	ink and paint artist
Manon Washburn	....	ink and paint artist
Rudy Zamora	....	animator
Frank Braxton	....	animator (uncredited)
Phil Roman	....	animator (uncredited)
Alan Shean	....	animator (uncredited)
Richard Thompson	....	animator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Alice Keillor	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Art Becker	....	music recordist (as Artie Becker)
John Scott Trotter	....	conductor
John Scott Trotter	....	music arranger

Other crew
Skippy Baxter	....	skating routines

Production Companies

• Cinema Center Films (presents)
• Lee Mendelson Film Productions
• Bill Melendez Productions
• United Feature Syndicate (UFS)

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (distributed CBS Video's release)
• Paramount Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Dickson/Vasu  camera
• Radio Recorders  voice recording
• United Recorders  music recording
• Producers' Sound Services  sound mix (as Producers Sound Service)

Also Known As:

A Boy Called Charlie Brown (UK)

Runtime:

86 min | Argentina:88 min | Netherlands:85 min | 79 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Portugal:M/4 | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:G

Company:

Cinema Center Films

Trivia:

The main story line of this movie, involving Charlie Brown's participation in a spelling bee, was taken from a sequence that originally appeared in the comic strip. In that story, however, Charlie Brown lost in the first round of the competition, misspelling the word "maze" M-A-Y-S. He later loses his temper at the teacher and is sent to the principal's office; as he waits in the hall, he reflects that the reason he misspelled the word was that when he heard the word "maze," the first thing he thought of was the surname of famed baseball player Willie Mays. This last half of the story had been used in You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967) (TV), when Charlie Brown inadvertently yelled at the teacher for "missing the stupid bus" (after he overslept).

Goofs:

Continuity: The amount of food in Snoopy's dish changes between the kitchen and his doghouse.

Quotes:

Lucy Van Pelt: Aren't the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud's formations. What do you think you see, Linus?
Linus Van Pelt: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean.
[points up]
Linus Van Pelt: That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there...
[points]
Linus Van Pelt: ...gives me the impression of the Stoning of Stephen. I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Todd Killings (1971)

Soundtrack:

Pathetique Sonata

Stress for Success

After scoring both an Emmy and a Peabody on television, the Peanuts gang heads to the big leagues, beginning with "A Boy Named Charlie Brown".

The first of four Peanuts films, this one is a basic layout of what the original Peanuts comic strip (1950-2000) was all about. Charlie Brown is a regular kid who's only asking for a little respect. But even when everybody else got the hang of it, he just can't seem to fly a kite, or win a baseball game. Doomed to be labeled a loser forever, he boldly volunteers to participate in the school's spelling bee. Too bad nobody told him it was a NATIONAL competition; the only way he can win now is thru persistence and hard study.

This film is listed for family and comedy. But it should also be listed for tragedy. It's just one example of how you can do EVERYTHING right (in this case, studying your brains out), and STILL lose.

I recall seeing this regularly on The Disney Channel, and each time, I kept watching to see if Charlie Brown would win that spelling bee...

...but he never did. :-(

Aside from the main plot, this movie is also a great piece of art. Even with its limited UPA-esquire animation, it still has the artistic flair of your basic Disney film. Parts of the story are interpreted thru split-screen action, extended background footage, catchy songs, and a hypnotic blend of colors and music. In spite of all that, I don't think that Charles Schulz was trying to compete with Disney in any way, thus avoiding a common error made among most non-Disney animation studios. But still, who would've thought that you can create music with the use of a dictionary?

The content is uniquely accessible for everyone. Children will love the fantasy sequences of Snoopy. Teens can relate to Charlie Brown and his never-ending quest for acceptance. Adults will love the intellectual undertones of the film. And animation/art fans will really appreciate the musical/fantasy sequences.

"A Boy Named Charlie Brown" is one of the better of the four Peanuts feature films. Most Peanuts fans will easily enjoy, but all are welcome to see it.