A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
| A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving | |
|---|---|
| File:CharlieBrownThanksgiving.jpg | |
| Directed by | Bill Melendez Phil Roman |
| Written by | Charles M. Schulz |
| Starring | Bill Melendez (Snoopy & Woodstock) Todd Barbee (Charlie Brown) Stephen Shea (Linus) Hilary Momberger (Sally) Robin Kohn (Lucy) Christopher DeFaria (Peppermint Patty) James Ahrens (Marcie) Robin Reed (Franklin) ("Little Birdie" sung by Vince Guaraldi) |
| Music by | Vince Guaraldi |
| Distributed by | Television CBS Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (VHS/DVD) (1973-2006) Warner Home Video (DVD) (2007-) |
Release dates | November 20, 1973 |
Running time | 30 min. |
| Language | English |
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is one of many prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network in 1973, and won an Emmy Award the following year. As of 2007, the special is aired every November in prime time on the ABC network. The special was originally scheduled for a limited theatrical release by Kidtoon Films on November 1, 2008, but was canceled being replaced by Barbie in a Christmas Carol.
This special has previously been released on DVD by Paramount. It was released on DVD by Warner Home Video in remastered form on October 7, 2008.[1] A Blu-Ray Disc version of the special will be released on October 6, 2008 along with A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was sponsored by the fast-food restaurant McDonald's.
Summary
The special opens with Lucy taunting Charlie Brown, holding a football for him to kick off the fall football season. Wishy-washy Charlie Brown is talked into it, and once again Lucy pulls the ball away, sending Charlie Brown sprawling and landing flat on his back. ("Isn't it peculiar that all dreams fade away?")
Charlie Brown and Sally are preparing to go to their grandmother's place for Thanksgiving dinner when Charlie Brown gets a phone call from Peppermint Patty who invites herself over to Charlie Brown's house for the holiday dinner. Two quick subsequent phone calls add Marcie and Franklin to the guest list, and since Charlie Brown can't get a word in edgewise with Patty, he quickly finds himself in a quandary with no easy solution -- at least not until Linus shows up.
Linus suggests to Charlie Brown that he could have two dinners: the first one for Patty and her friends, and then the second one at his grandmother's home, forcing Charlie Brown to admit that all he knows how to make is "cold cereal and maybe toast." Regardless, Linus recruits Snoopy and Woodstock to set up a ping-pong table and chairs in the backyard (setting the table has its own problems as Snoopy goes toe-to-toe with an uncooperative, folding deckchair). Snoopy and Woodstock set the table, then help Charlie Brown and Linus with the food. When the food is readied, Snoopy and a defiant Woodstock go to Snoopy's doghouse and dress in pilgrim clothing and Snoopy holds a gun, which catches Charlie Brown somewhat off-guard.
The guests arrive, and they all make their way to the backyard for the "feast". Linus leads the group in prayer, and Snoopy serves up the food:
Each person gets:
- Two slices of buttered toast
- Some pretzel sticks,
- A handful of popcorn, and
- A few jelly beans.
At first Patty is shocked, but her shock quickly turns to outrage, and she angrily berates Charlie Brown for the "meal". Embarrassed and dejected, Charlie Brown timidly leaves the table and goes back into the house. Patty's tirade continues until Marcie gently reminds her that Charlie Brown didn't invite her to dinner; she invited herself -- along with Marcie and Franklin. Realizing Marcie is right, Patty comes to her senses and begs Marcie to go and apologize to Charlie Brown on her behalf. Marcie reluctantly does so, but Patty soon follows her and apologizes to Charlie Brown herself.
In the midst of the quasi-feast, Charlie Brown loses track of the time -- he and Sally are supposed to be at their grandmother's home for dinner in half an hour. So he calls his grandmother to tell her that they're going to be a little late and to explain the situation -- that he has friends over and none of them have eaten yet. But his grandmother (voiced only by "tromboning", the specials' trademark muted trombone) suggests that he bring all his friends with him for Thanksgiving dinner; the idea is welcomed with cheers from everyone, including Snoopy himself.
After Charlie Brown and the gang leave, Snoopy and Woodstock go to the doghouse and cook up their own traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with all the trimmings (they pull apart the wishbone, with Woodstock getting the bigger piece). Over the end credits the two friends each devour dessert -- a large piece of pumpkin pie, and then sit back with content smiles as Woodstock pats his full stomach.
Quotes
[on route to Grandma's, the gang sing "Over the River and through the Woods". At the end of the song Charlie Brown comments:]
- Charlie Brown: Well, there's only one thing wrong with that.
- Linus: What's that, Charlie Brown?
- Charlie Brown: My grandmother lives in a condominium.
Broadcast history
The show aired on CBS before moving, along with the rest of the Peanuts specials, to ABC in 2000. Traditionally, ABC aired the special on Thanksgiving night until 2005.
In 2006, ABC decided to move the special to the Monday before Thanksgiving; this was in response to the success of regular Thursday programs Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, coupled with CBS's decision to air regular programming on Thanksgiving night, with Survivor and CSI. ABC decided to directly engage in a ratings war with CBS (Thanksgiving lies in the middle of sweeps), displacing the Charlie Brown special to Monday and airing regular programming on Thanksgiving night instead. ABC repeated this in 2007 on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but as of 2008, the ratings for Ugly Betty have faded somewhat dramatically, and ABC has decided to air the special in extended form and move the special back to Thanksgiving night, and also on Tuesday (immediately before the Dancing with the Stars finale, filling the void created by the cancellation of Opportunity Knocks).
In 2006 and 2007, ABC paired the special with He's a Bully, Charlie Brown, the last original Peanuts special to date. In 2008, it was paired with "The Mayflower Voyagers" episode from the This is America, Charlie Brown miniseries.
To make room for their long commercial breaks during modern airings, ABC made cuts to two scenes (in 2005, it was extended for the network television premiere of Finding Nemo; but now, it was edited again in order to make room for He's a Bully, Charlie Brown and the Dancing with the Stars results show):
- Snoopy and Woodstock go into Snoopy's doghouse to dress up as pilgrims, and when Woodstock walks away, Snoopy stretches out his arm cartoon style, and scolds Woodstock. Then, both go to the door and Snoopy knocks on it with his foot ("hand").
- In the scene where Marcie apologizes to Charlie Brown on Patty's behalf, the pendulum on the grandfather clock in the background is permanently stuck to the right, and moments later stuck to the left.
- When they are seated at the ping pong table, Franklin is seated on one side alone. There is a chair that appears and disappears beside Franklin when the scene cuts back and forth.
- The scene in the end credits where Snoopy and Woodstock are eating turkey is cut in later airings, going straight to them eating pumpkin pie during the end credits. On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2008, the "turkey eating" portion was shown in its entirety.
- In 2008, when this was re-extended, the credits are slightly sped up in order to make room for "The Mayflower Voyagers".
Film Credits
- Written and Created by Charles M. Schulz
- Directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman
- Produced by Lee Mendleson and Bill Melendez
- Original Score Composed and Performed by Vince Guaraldi
- Arranged and Conducted by John Scott Trotter
- Animators: Bob Carlson, Sam Jaimes, Bror Lansing, Bill Littlejohn, Don Lusk, Al Pabian, Frank Smith, Bob Matz, Rod Scribner, Patricia Joy
- Layout: Evert Brown, Bernard Gruver, Ed Levitt
- Backgrounds: Dean Spille
- Animation Checking: Carole Barnes, Eleanor Warren
- Ink and Paint Supervisor: Beverly Robbins
- Ink and Paint: Joanne Lansing, Manon Washburn, Faith Kovaleski, Adele Lenart, Carla Washburn, Chandra Poweris, Joice Lee Marshall
- Film Editors: Bob Gillis, Chuck McCann
- Assistant Editor: Rudy Zamora, Jr.
- Camera: Dickson/Vasu
- Voices - Coast Recorders, Radio Recorders
- Music - Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California, USA
- Mix - Producers' Sound Service, Don Minkler
- A LEE MENDLESON/BILL MELENDEZ Production In Association With UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC. and CHARLES M. SCHULZ CREATIVE ASSOCIATES, INC.
- ©1973 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
- All Rights Reserved
References
Links
- [1] entry on imdb.com
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving -- almost full episode on YouTube, with audio out of sync
- Recreating the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner article on X-Entertainment
- ABC Feature Page for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving