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- For the album, see A Charlie Brown Christmas (album).
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) is the first of many prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez.
Synopsis
A Charlie Brown Christmas features Charlie Brown's search for meaning in the Christmas holiday. He starts the special seeking to understand why he always ends up depressed around the holidays. On the advice of Lucy, he gets involved in directing a school play about the Nativity. When he loses control of the production, he is given the lesser responsibility of finding a Christmas tree for the play. Instead of buying a "big, shiny, aluminum" artificial tree as he was instructed to do, he chooses a pitiful little twig. This makes him the target of laughter and derision. He screams out in abject desperation, wondering what Christmas is all about. Linus answers him by reciting the story of the birth of Jesus. Meanwhile, Snoopy has decorated his doghouse with colorful flashing lights and other baubles, and won 1st Prize in a decorating contest. Charlie Brown takes the decorations, and puts a bulb on his tree, which promptly collapses under the weight. He flees in despair. Having heard Linus's explanation, the other kids realise they've been too hard on Charlie Brown, and fix his tree up into a brilliant Christmas display. Charlie Brown returns to find the whole gang gathered around his tree. In a rare moment of happiness, he joins the crew in singing the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing".
Voice cast
- Peter Robbins - Charles "Charlie" Brown
- Christopher Shea - Linus Van Pelt
- Tracy Stratford - Lucille "Lucy" Van Pelt
- Geoffrey Ornstein - Pigpen
- Christopher Doran - Schroeder
- Ann Altieri - Freida
- Sally Dryer - Violet
- Bill Melendez - Snoopy
- Kathy Steinberg - Sally Brown
Themes
The story also touches on and criticizes the over-commercialization of Christmas, continuing the theme explored by satirists such as Stan Freberg and Tom Lehrer during the 1950s.
History
Bringing the Peanuts characters to television was not an easy task. The popular comic strip's creators, with funding from sponsor Coca-Cola, presented CBS with an idea for a Christmas television special starring Schulz's characters. The production was done on a shoestring budget, resulting in a somewhat choppy animation style and, from a technical standpoint, poorly mixed sound. With the exception of the actors who voiced Charlie and Lucy, Peter Robbins and Tracy Stratford, respectively, none of the children had any experience doing voice work. This was especially challenging for Kathy Steinberg, who voiced Sally, who was too young to read and needed to be cued line by line during the soundtrack recording. The technical issues are in evidence on the show's audio track, which at times is noticeably choppy and poorly enunciated.
Network executives were not at all keen on several aspects of the show, forcing Schulz and Melendez to wage some serious battles to preserve their vision. The executives did not want to have Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 2:8-14), the television orthodoxy of the time holding that viewers would not want to sit through passages of the King James Version of the Bible.
Another complaint was the absence of a laugh track, a common element of children's cartoons at the time. Schulz maintained that the audience should be able to enjoy the show at their own pace, without being cued when to laugh. (CBS did create a version of the show with the laugh track added, just in case Schulz changed his mind. This version remains unavailable.)
A third complaint was the use of children to do the voice work, instead of employing adult actors.
Finally, the executives thought that the Jazz soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi would not work well for a children's program. When executives saw the final product, they were horrified and believed the special would be a complete flop.
The show first aired on Thursday, December 9, 1965, preempting Gilligan's Island. To the surprise of the executives, it was both a critical and commercial hit. None of the special's technical problems detracted from the show's appeal; to the contrary, it is thought that these quirks, along with several other choices, are what lent the show such an innovative, authentic and sincere feeling. A full 50% of the televisions in the United States were tuned to the broadcast. A Charlie Brown Christmas won an Emmy and a Peabody award, and is now considered a timeless holiday classic and an annual tradition by millions of viewers. The success of A Charlie Brown Christmas gave rise to a series of animated Peanuts TV specials, several full-length animated feature films, and a Saturday morning TV animated series over the years.
Linus' reading from Luke, which caused the network executives such worry, produced one of the most widely cherished moments in the special.
In 2000, the broadcast rights were acquired by ABC, which is where the special currently airs. On September 12, 2000, the special was released to DVD. The show enjoyed its 40th anniversary with its broadcast of Tuesday, December 6, 2005. This broadcast had the highest ratings in its time slot.
On December 6, 2001, a half-hour documentary on the special entitled The Making of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' (hosted by Whoopi Goldberg) aired on ABC. This documentary was released (along with the special Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales) as a bonus feature with the special I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown on October 26, 2004.
Versions
The special has not been seen in its original, uncut form since its original telecast in 1965. The opening and closing credits contain references to Coca-Cola, the show's original sponsor. The main titles have Linus and Snoopy crashing into a Coca-Cola sign. In one scene, Linus is seen knocking down a Coca-Cola can with his blanket, while the final end credit mentions "Merry Christmas from your local Coca-Cola bottler."
Years later, the FCC imposed sanctions preventing sponsor references in the context of a story (especially children's programming), which is why these elements (as well as several seconds of other footage) have not been seen lately on television, even on home video.
Influence
The musical soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, by jazz composer Vince Guaraldi, has become as well-known as the story itself, especially the piece entitled "Linus and Lucy," which has come to be regarded as the signature musical theme of the Peanuts specials. A soundtrack album for the special was released by Fantasy Records and remains a perennial best-seller.
Commentators, who decry the alleged secularism of the Christmas holiday season, point to this program as a rare exception, due to its straightforward references to the birth of Jesus.
Sequels
Three lesser-known true sequels were produced decades after the 1965 original. All three are 30 minutes in length (with commercials) and aired on CBS Television (as of now, ABC):
- It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992; released to DVD as a bonus feature with A Charlie Brown Christmas)
- Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales (2002; released to DVD as a bonus feature with I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown)
- I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003)
All three avoid the social commentary of the original, placing the emphasis on light-hearted humour. The latter two were made after the death of Charles Schulz and were based on his Peanuts comic strips.
While not true sequels, two other Charlie Brown holiday season specials were produced and are generally regarded as higher quality than the '90s/'00s shows: 1974's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (still aired annually on ABC) and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! from 1985.
External links
"A Charlie Brown Christmas"