...You're the Charlie Browniest! --Linus, A Charlie Brown Christmas
Growing up, I always loved holidays. Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving...and of course, Christmas. And with those holidays, came the holiday TV specials. Easter had The Wizard of Oz , there was A Christmas Story at Christmastime....and of course, all the Charlie Brown specials at each holiday. Those were my favorites. I never missed a one. I would race to the tv to catch a glimpse of Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, and Charlie Brown. No holiday was complete without them.
You see, I grew up with the Peanuts gang. At a very young age, I learned about Charles Schultz. We practically celebrated his birthday at my house. My mother loved him, so I was surrounded. We had just about every Peanuts book, a number of Snoopy dolls, and a good collection of the comic strips. When I was in 8th grade, my mother even directed "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at the local theatre. I, of course, was assistant director. My blanket even played a starring role! So, as you can see....we loved those crazy cartoon characters.
For those of you not familiar with the Peanuts gang, they are the loving creations of cartoonist Charles Schultz, who so tragically passed away recently. The gang consists of Charlie Brown ("The Blockhead"), Lucy ("The Queen"), Snoopy ("The Red Baron") or Charlie Brown's dog, Linus who is Lucy's little brother and is never without his blanket, and the later addition of Sally, Charlie Brown's little sister. You may also remember Schroeder, Pigpen, Patty, the little red-headed girl, Marcy, Woodstock, and many others, who make an appearance on occasion. Peanuts focuses mostly on the kids, and the adults are never seen. You may hear them on occasion in some of the movies, but only as a "wha wha wha" sound. The cartoons are all from a kids point of view.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is by far the best of the Peanuts tv specials. Charlie Brown is trying to find out the true meaning of Christmas. He is tired of everyone "commercializing" the holiday season. Even his dog, Snoopy, has taken Christmas to a new level. He has decorated his dog house with crazy lights, and entered in a "True Meaning of Christmas" contest for the best decorated house. Linus tells Charlie Brown that he is the only person he knows that can take the fun out of Christmas.
Charlie Brown decides to ask Lucy, the resident psychologist, what his problem is. After debating whether he is suffering from a number of different phobias, Charlie Brown tells Lucy that he is really disappointed in Christmas. Lucy tells Charlie Brown that he needs to get more involved in Christmas in order to enjoy it. Her solution (at a 5 cent charge) is for Charlie Brown to direct the school's Christmas program.
Charlie Brown then tries to take charge of the play in order to make this Christmas more traditional. Everyone he runs into is more focused on gifts and music and having fun, rather than the true meaning of Christmas. Finally, Charlie Brown gives up with trying to direct the play, and goes in search of the perfect Christmas tree. And there it is, amidst the pink polka dotted and purple plaid trees....the perfect tree. It is small and scraggly, but it's a real Christmas tree. As Linus remarks, he didn't even know they still made wooden trees!
Of course, the rest of the gang thinks the tree is a joke, and laughs at Charlie Brown screwing up again. Charlie Brown still believes in his tree though. And throughout the movie, with Charlie Brown's love and nurturing, the tree starts to flourish.
Charlie Brown has given up on everyone else though, and still hasn't found out the true meaning of Christmas. Linus finally explains that Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Christ, in a very moving spotlight speech. Charlie Brown agrees that this is definitely the true meaning of Christmas.
Finally, at the end, everyone realizes what Christmas is all about, and the show ends with the whole gang singing "Hark the Herald Angels". They even decorate the tree for Charlie Brown, which is suddenly very full and beautiful, now that it has been loved by all. (And Snoopy even wins first place for his decorated doghouse)
A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of those very special movies that touches on the true meaning of Christmas. What I love about it is that it is so timeless. The movie was made in 1965, but it is still loved today on the verge of a new millenium. Young and old can find their own meaning in the movie, and it appeals to everyone. And I can't resist those Peanuts! And the music track is as wonderful as always. From the sweet Christmas songs to Schroeder playing Beethoven's "Fur Elise" on the piano....it's all so...peanuty!
If you love Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and the rest of the gang, don't miss this classic Christmas tale. Not only can you catch it on tv every year, but it's on video, newly remastered for quality picture and sound. But, it still looks as good as the original. From Frieda's naturally curly red hair to Lucy's puckered up lips as she tries to get Schroeder to kiss her. Don't be a blockhead....find the true meaning of Christmas right along with the Peanuts gang.
This epinion is part of the favorite Christmas movie write-off sponsored by Jenni1396. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this. Please read all the other contributors to this write-off, as they are all wonderful writers!
MOVIE DVD - The first prime-time Peanuts special introduced Charles M. Schulz's timeless gang to the world of television and was awarded both an Emmy ...More at Barnes and Noble
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