:
Sally Dryer,
Peter Robbins,
Christopher Shea,
more...
:
Bill Melendez,
Bill Melendez,
Phil Roman
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Paramount
: Animation, Cel
: 25 min.
: English
: English
see additional details...
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As incredible as it seems, CBS head man James Aubrey originally vetoed his network's presentation of the animated A Charlie Brown Christmas on the grounds that Charles M. Schultz' round-headed protagonist was a "loser" who wouldn't attract an audience! The story proposes that Charlie Brown is convinced that the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten by his "Peanuts" friends, not to mention the rest of the world. "Psychiatrist" Lucy advises Charlie Brown to get into the holiday spirit by directing the kids' upcoming Christmas play. Despite his utter lack of control over his cast, Charlie Brown takes his job seriously, even setting out to find a genuine Christmas tree to decorate the set instead of the usual aluminum job. But Charlie Brown's tree is a scrawny, pathetic thing, and all seems--lost until the rest of the Peanuts gang decide to pitch in and decorate the woebegone tree. An instant hit when first telecast December 9, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas has been rebroadcast virtually every year since. It was produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, the latter providing the squeals and growls of Charlie Brown's hyperintelligent dog Snoopy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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| A Holiday Classic
by Redcoffin
December 5, 2003 - 10:30 PM PST
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| Animated in great haste at the last minute, by a Jewish-owned producation company with little experience in this kind of work, bankrolled by a corporation (Kodak, I think) that became increasingly uneasy with its overt religiosity, and broadcast to tepid response, this little show has somehow managed to defy all odds and survive nearly forty years. Why? Great music -- two pieces in it have become standards, and a strange, peaceful, quiet beauty that overcomes the clumsy animation and truncated, haphazard story. Did the play ever get staged? We never learn. Does anyone even remember when it seemed normal for kids to wander downtown unsupervised at night? And Charlie Brown's angst over the "commercialization of Christmas" feels sadly dated, in a world where everyone now accepts that commercialization is the point of Christmas, and we keep track of holiday retail sales the way the Soviets once tracked the harvest. The more you think about this little show and its only true companion, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! the stranger they begin to seem, like mysterious things preserved in amber from another age. |
| classic
by ashram
March 1, 2002 - 1:53 PM PST
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| what's not to love? classic peanuts. only problem is that there's no extras on the dvd and it's really short. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.20)
110 Votes
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