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The Peanuts Animation and Video Page
A Comprehensive Guide to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts Gang on TV, Film, and Video
Compiled by
Scott McGuire (
smcguire at fivecentsplease dot org)
Last Updated: Aprl 19, 2013
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show: The Complete Series DVD set now available from Warner Archive! (more info)
Now available: Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, a new book about the man who created the music for the early Peanuts specials. (more info)
If you're having difficulty finding the show you're thinking of, use your browser's "Find" command and search for a word or two relating to the show (such as "spelling bee", "flashbeagle", etc.)!
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome to the most comprehensive guide to the Peanuts television specials on the web! This page has detailed information about all the television shows, series, and movies starring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang that have ever been made.
There's also sections covering the latest news, video releases, where you can see the shows on TV now, the music from the shows, awards the shows have won, other web sites of interest, and miscellaneous questions and answers.
The Peanuts characters have also appeared animated in many commercials, but I haven't tried to list all of these. (See Miscellaneous Questions and Answers for some more details, though.)
I hope you enjoy the page and that it answers any questions you have! I continue to update and add to this page as time permits. Additional information, corrections, and suggestions for this list are always welcome! Please send them to smcguire at fivecentsplease dot org .
The latest copy of this guide can be found on the World Wide Web at:
<http://www.fivecentsplease.org/peanuts-tv.html>
Please use the above URL when linking to this website.
Latest News
Visit or subscribe to the FiveCentsPlease blog to keep up with the latest TV and DVD news, as well as other events in the Peanuts world: CD releases, book news, museum exhibits, interesting articles and more. (We'll continue to post the latest TV and DVD news here as well, but you may find that the blog makes it easier to keep up with the latest updates.)
New Shows - TV Broadcast Info - Video & DVD Releases - Music Releases - Other - News Archive
Latest updates are marked in red text.
New Shows
New Peanuts Theatrical Movie Announced for 2015
This week Peanuts Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Animation, and Blue Sky Studios announced they are developing a new Peanuts theatrical film for release on November 6, 2015, timed to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip. (Yes, that's three years from now.)
The currently untitled film's script will be written by Craig Schulz (Charles Schulz's son), Bryan Schulz (Craig Schulz's son), and Cornelius Uliano (writer of several short films). No plot details have been announced yet.
Directing the film will be Steve Martino, who has directed two other films for Blue Sky Studios: the 2008 feature film version of Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who! and the 2012 film Ice Age: Continental Drift.
You can read the initial press release from October 2012 at Blue Sky Studio's website.
While the initial press release didn't explicitly state how the movie will be animated, an announcement in April 2013 revealed that the film will be computer animated and in 3D.
Keep in mind that the film isn't due for another two and a half years; the details are probably still being worked out and films often undergo a variety of changes as they are produced. For example, the film's planned release date changed only six weeks after the initial announcement - initially they said it would be released November 25, 2015. It's likely there will be more changes to the release date over time; so if the date listed in this article doesn't match other dates you see, it probably changed again.
This isn't the first Peanuts theatrical film; as fans will know, there were four earlier theatrically released films - A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969), Snoopy Come Home (1972), Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1976), and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (1980).
Stay tuned for more details in the months ahead! (April 19, 2012)
No New TV Shows in the Works as of Mid-2012
Peanuts Worldwide did have a two-show deal with Warner Home Video, so if 2011's Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown performed well, there might have been a second new show. Unfortunately, as of mid-2012, there are still no definite plans and work has not started on a second special. (July 6, 2012)
Current TV Broadcast Information
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown's All-Stars Aired Sunday, March 31, 2013 on ABC
ABC broadcast It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown together with Charlie Brown's All-Stars on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013 from 7 - 8 PM (Eastern/Pacific time). This was a welcome return for It's the Easter Beagle, which last aired on TV in 2010.
In 1974's It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, Linus tries to convince the gang that there's no need to decorate their own eggs, because the Easter Beagle will bring them - but given Linus' history with the Great Pumpkin, his friends are skeptical. Meanwhile, Peppermint Patty and Marcie (ignoring Linus' advice) go through a series of mishaps preparing eggs for coloring.
Charlie Brown's All-Stars was the second-ever Peanuts television special, airing in 1966, just six months after the successful broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas. In this special, Charlie Brown tries to keep his baseball team together with the lure of getting actual uniforms and playing in a real league, but he faces a tough decision when he learns that the sponsor will only provide them if he takes the girls and Snoopy off the team. (March 11, 2013)
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Valentine Aired February 9 on ABC
ABC broadcast two Valentine's Day-themed specials on Saturday, February 9, 2013. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Valentine aired back-to-back from 8 - 9 PM (Eastern/Pacific time).
In 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown hopes for Valentine's cards at the school Valentine's Day party while Linus worries about how to show his affection for his teacher, Miss Othmar. Then in A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002), Charlie Brown tries to impress the little red-haired girl, but instead Peppermint Patty asks him to a Valentine's Day dance. (February 13, 2013)
Other Broadcast Info
Currently there is no channel broadcasting the many Peanuts TV shows that are not broadcast on ABC. (June 20, 2012)
The Canadian cable channel YTV broadcasts various Peanuts holiday specials from time to time. (June 20, 2012)
DVD & Video Releases
4 Kid Favorites: Happiness is... Peanuts Collection Repackaging Four Previously Released DVDs Due June 4, 2013
Warner Home Video has announced they will be releasing a 4-disc collection titled 4 Kid Favorites: Happiness is... Peanuts on June 4, 2013. This collection contains nothing new, it is a repackaging of four previously released DVDs:
Happiness is... Peanuts: Snoopy's Adventures
Happiness is... Peanuts: Go Snoopy Go!
Happiness is... Peanuts: Team Snoopy
Happiness is... Peanuts: Snow Days
Each of those discs contained one prime time TV special and one episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show; so 4 Kid Favorites contains the following 8 shows:
It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown
Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep 12: It's That Team Spirit, Charlie Brown
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep 14: Snoopy and the Giant
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep 15: Snoopy's Brother Spike
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep 18: Sally's Sweet Babboo
The list price of 4 Kid Favorites: Happiness Is... Peanuts is $14.99, making it a bargain when you consider each individual DVD originally cost the same. If you didn't buy the previous releases and want one of the four prime-time TV specials, this set is worth picking up; however, if you're interested in The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show episodes, you should instead get the The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show: The Complete Series set (see details below) which contains all 18 episodes of that show.
And needless to say, it's disappointing that all Warner Home Video is doing is repackaging old DVDs, instead of releasing DVDs containing the Peanuts specials that have never yet been released on DVD. (April 19, 2013) |
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Peanuts Specials on Netflix Instant Streaming
The online streaming and DVD rental service Netflix now has a small selection of Peanuts television specials available via the Instant streaming feature. They include:
A Charlie Brown Valentine
A Charlie Brown Celebration
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown
This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Note that the best known specials, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, are not available on Netflix Instant streaming. However, they and many other Peanuts specials are (and have been) available from Netflix as DVDs.
This is the first time that A Charlie Brown Celebration and It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown have been made available in a digital format as far as I know; they haven't been released on DVD in the United States or on other online services.
Many Peanuts TV specials are also available as digital downloads from iTunes or Amazon Instant Video, although they are only available to buy, not as cheaper short-term rentals.
Thanks to Jeremi Smith for the tip! (January 16, 2013)
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show: The Complete Series Now Available on DVD
On Tuesday, November 20, 2012, Warner Archive released The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show: The Complete Series, a DVD set containing all 18 episodes of the Peanuts Saturday morning cartoon show from 1983 and 1985.
While a few episodes of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show have been released individually on the various "Happiness Is... Peanuts" line of DVDs, this is the first time most of the episodes have been released on DVD in the United States, and also the first time they have all been released together as a set. (5 episodes have been released previously; 13 are new to DVD in this set.)
The 18 episodes are on 2 discs with a total running time of 402 minutes. The set can be ordered for $29.95 directly from Warner, or it can also be ordered from Amazon.com (although at the time of writing, it cost several dollars more at Amazon, so be sure to compare prices).
The full list of episodes included on this set is:
Disc 1
Episode 1 - Snoopy's Cat Fight
Episode 2 - Snoopy: Team Manager
Episode 3 - Linus and Lucy
Episode 4 - Lucy vs. the World
Episode 5 - Linus' Security Blanket
Episode 6 - Snoopy: Man's Best Friend
Episode 7 - Snoopy the Psychiatrist
Episode 8 - You Can't Win, Charlie Brown
Episode 9 - The Lost Ballpark
Disc 2
Episode 10 - Snoopy's Football Career
Episode 11 - Chaos in the Classroom
Episode 12 - It's That Team Spirit, Charlie Brown
Episode 13 - Lucy Loves Schroeder
Episode 14 - Snoopy and the Giant
Episode 15 - Snoopy's Brother Spike
Episode 16 - Snoopy's Robot
Episode 17 - Peppermint Patty's School Days
Episode 18 - Sally's Sweet Babboo
For more details about each episode, see the Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show section below.
It's worth noting that Warner Archive DVDs are not the manufactured, pressed DVDs that you typically find in stores; they are recordable DVD-Rs that are burned on demand as customers order them. While they should play without problem in any DVD player produced in the last 10-12 years and the video quality should be as good as a regular DVD, they may not be quite as durable or long-lasting as regular DVDs. For more information, see the Warner Archive FAQ.
However... it turns out that for the first batch of discs of any box set, Warner Archive actually makes pressed DVDs instead of recordable DVDs. So if you order this set within a month or two of its release date, you're likely to get "real" DVDs instead of DVD-Rs. (I can verify this - the set that I ordered on release day is pressed DVDs.) But eventually they will switch to using DVD-Rs instead.
I's likely that this will be the only box set of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show that's ever released on DVD, and certainly it's more economical (and space efficient!) than buying the individual "Happiness Is... Peanuts" releases. Plus there's no guarantee that all the episodes of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show will be released individually (consider that after two years, only five episodes have been released that way). So if you're interested in getting these episodes on DVD, this set is the way to go. (November 28, 2012) |
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Music Releases
Newly Remastered Version of A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack Album Released October 9, 2012
Getting a very early jump on the holiday season, Concord Music has released a newly remastered edition of the A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack album by Vince Guaraldi.
You may be thinking, "didn't they remaster the soundtrack already?" Yes, they did. Concord issued a remastered and expanded version of the album in 2006, but some listeners found fault with that release's remastering for changing the sound of the album too much and using different edits and takes of some of the tracks. This new, 2012 remastered edition is a much more low-key remaster, resulting in modest sonic improvement and clarity over the original 1988 CD, but no radical changes.
This re-release of the album includes two "bonus" tracks: "It's the Great Pumpkin Waltz" and "Thanksgiving Theme" (from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, respectively). However, both have been previously released - they can be found on the Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits album, and seem somewhat out of place accompanying the Christmas soundtrack. Unfortunately, the four bonus alternate takes from the 2006 release do not reappear on the 2012 edition. (Concord also calls "Greensleeves" a bonus track, and while it's true it wasn't on the original soundtrack LP, it's been part of every CD release so far, so it's a very familiar track at this point.)
The 2012 remastered edition does feature a very nice 20-page booklet with generous new liner notes written by Guaraldi expert and historian Derrick Bang. You can check out Derrick's writeup about the new remastered album on his Impressions of Vince blog.
It appears that all three versions of the A Charlie Brown Christmas CD (the original 1988 release, the 2006 remaster, and the 2012 remaster) remain in print simultaneously, at least for the moment - presenting listeners with an embarrassment of choices (or possibly with the feeling that they'll need all three). The 2012 remaster is available as a digital download as well as on CD, and there's even a special green vinyl LP version of it!
(The album has also been repackaged in various ways over the year. If you're curious about the many different releases of the A Charlie Brown Christmas album, see Derrick's detailed A Charlie Brown Christmas Redux ... and redux and redux article.) (October 9, 2012)
Other News
Original Coca-Cola Sponsorship Spots for A Charlie Brown Christmas on YouTube
An enterprising Peanuts fan has found copies of the original Coca-Cola sponsorship spots that aired as part of A Charlie Brown Christmas when it first aired in 1965, but that were edited out from subsequent broadcasts and home video releases. You can see both the opening Coca-Cola spot, and the ending Coca-Cola spot (while I have not verified the source of these, they appear authentic). For more information and background about these brief sponsorship bits, see the FiveCentsPlease blog post, A Charlie Brown Christmas Coca-Cola sponsorship spots: facts, myths and actual video. (December 27, 2012)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown App from Loud Crow Interactive Arrives
Loud Crow Interactive is bringing a new interactive storybook app version of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown to sincere smartphones and tablets this October.
The app features artwork, animations, music, and dialog from the classic television special as well as narration by Peter Robbins, who performed the voice of Charlie Brown in the 1966 TV show.
You can interact with each scene, tapping and dragging objects to make them do new things; create your own costume for a new Peanuts character; bob for apples with Lucy and Snoopy; carve a pumpkin that will then appear in the story; play three old wartime songs on Schroeder's piano; and more.
Loud Crow's A Charlie Brown Christmas app was lots of fun, so this one should be too! The app is available now from the App Store for iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, iPod touches); the cost is $4.99. It will be coming soon for Android devices.
Visit Loud Crow Interactive's website and Facebook page for more details and preview screens. (October 11, 2012)
Vince Guaraldi at the Piano: New Book About the Jazz Musician and Peanuts Music Composer
One of the key ingredients of the original Peanuts TV specials' success was their jazzy soundtrack music, written by Vince Guaraldi. Now fans can learn much more about the composer and his work - both Peanuts and non-Peanuts - from the new book-length career study Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, by Guaraldi historian and expert Derrick Bang. (Note that Derrick is the co-proprietor of FiveCentsPlease.org.)
Vince Guaraldi at the Piano gives Guaraldi the long-overdue recognition that he deserves. In its 390 pages, the book chronicles his years as a sideman; his attraction to the emerging bossa nova sound of the late 1950s; his collaboration with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete; his development of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass; his selection as the composer for the Peanuts animated specials; and his emergence as a respected veteran in the Northern California jazz club scene of the 1970s. The book also includes an extensive discography and index.
We think all aficionados of the original Peanuts music sound and jazz music will appreciate this in-depth look at Vince Guaraldi. Vince Guaraldi at the Piano is available now from the publisher, McFarland & Company; visit their site to see the book's table of contents, read an excerpt, and to place an order. The book can also be ordered from Amazon, but their stocking of has been erratic; you may get quicker service by ordering it directly from McFarland. A Kindle version of the book is also available at Amazon. You can also get a taste of Derrick's knowledge and research on Vince Guaraldi by visiting his Guaraldi pages here at FiveCentsPlease.org . (May 4, 2012) |
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Impressions of Vince - a Blog About Vince Guaraldi
Derrick Bang, the co-proprietor of FiveCentsPlease.org and author of the recently published book Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, has launched Impressions of Vince, a new blog devoted to jazz pianist and Peanuts music composer Vince Guaraldi.
While Guaraldi may be most famous for his Peanuts television soundtracks, there was much more to his career - he released a variety of jazz music albums with various musicians and partners, was a frequent performer at West Coast jazz clubs, and wrote and performed the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass, the first such jazz mass in the United States, among other accomplishments.
The Impressions of Vince blog will be devoted to commentary, discussions and thoughts about Vince Guaraldi and his work, together with updates about Derrick's extensive Guaraldi reference pages here at FiveCentsPlease.org. Derrick also hopes that fans and friends of Guaraldi will write in to contribute commentary, anecdotes, and tidbits about Vince to add to the ever growing archive of information.
I'll keep posting Peanuts-related Vince Guaraldi news here as well, but if you're interested in all things Vince, check out the Impressions of Vince blog - Derrick has already posted several entries! (June 20, 2012)
For older news items, see the News Archive.
Recent Updates to This Page
April 27, 2012
April 27, 2012
- Still keeping news, broadcast information, and disc release information up-to-date.
November 13, 2011
- My colleague Derrick Bang and I have started a blog to go with the FiveCentsPlease.org website. Visit http://blog.fivecentsplease.org to keep up with the latest TV and DVD news, as well as other events in the Peanuts world: CD releases, book news, museum exhibits, interesting articles and more. (I'll continue to post the latest TV and DVD news here as well, but you may find that the blog makes it easier to keep up with the latest updates.)
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following people for additional information, suggestions, and corrections:
Mark Astolfi, Derrick Bang, Jason Breslin, John Cassidy, Eugene Chan, Tim Chow, Jon Cooke, Andy Dursin, Craig Davis, Liz Fox, Nat Gertler, Ron Gomes, Ray Hamel, Paul Hiscock, Mike Koegel, Cail Judy, Victor Lee, Jennifer Liao, Maureen McCarty, Ryan Mead, Lisa Monhoff, Leonardo Morán, Ted Nesi, Kaori Nishikida, Beth Prescott, Elisia Saam, Steve Swenson, Basil Wilson, Brian Young
Special thanks to the staff of Lee Mendelson Productions, Bill Melendez Productions, and the Charles M. Schulz Museum for additional material and answering numerous pesky questions.
The book Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown by Lee Mendelson (published by Random House, 1979) has been an invaluable source of numerous trivia bits that I've included.
Current DVD/Video Availability Notes
Warner Home Video has an exclusive contract to distribute the animated Peanuts TV specials on DVD, Blu-ray, and as digital downloads (starting in October 2007). Some of their DVD releases feature remastered video and sound and new behind-the-scenes documentaries (previous DVD releases did not include any behind-the-scenes material).
While some of the shows are currently not available on home video, Warner initially stated they planned to release all the shows on DVD. See DVD Releases for a list of currently available US Peanuts DVDs (and Blu-ray Discs).
The first two theatrical movies, A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home, are available on DVD from Paramount.
Some shows are now available as digital downloads from the iTunes Store and Amazon Instant Video, including shows that have not been released on DVD yet.
While nearly all of the animated TV specials and movies were released on VHS in the US by Paramount, these VHS releases are now out of print. Used copies can sometimes be found on eBay and Amazon.com.
Outside of the US, after many years of being unavailable, the a variety of shows were released on DVD and VHS in the UK, although those releases seem to have stopped and are now out of print. There is an extensive set of releases on DVD and VHS in Germany. Some shows, and a couple of the movies, are have been released on DVD in Australia.
A company named Pony Canyon had released 11 Japanese language videos and DVDs in Japan, but it appears these may be out of print. You may still be able to order them from Amazon.co.jp by searching for "Snoopy" in the DVD section. (Note that being able to read Japanese is useful.) Also, Paramount has released Snoopy Come Home on DVD in Japan and several other countries.
WARNING: Pretty much all "Asian" DVD box sets of the Peanuts specials being sold on eBay are illegal bootlegs, especially the ones that claim to be "50th Anniversary collections" (there was never a legitimate such collection) and the ones that cannot spell "Snoopy" correctly. There are even bootleg box sets that claim to come from legitimate companies, such as Pony Canyon, above - but they never released their DVDs in a box set. The video quality may be questionable and the original makers of the TV specials do not receive any money from bootleg sales. You should not purchasing any Japanese, Chinese, or other Asian DVDs of the Peanuts specials from eBay or other auction sites. You should purchase the properly licensed US or European DVDs, or as noted above, the authentic Japanese DVD releases are available from Amazon.co.jp.
Which Shows Aren't Available on DVD/Video?
Unfortunately, some of the Peanuts TV specials are not currently in print on video in the United States. But the good news is that as of 2008, Warner Home Video started a series of DVD releases and have announced that they intend to release most of the shows on DVD eventually, and they are making steady progress. See the Peanuts TV Checklist or the DVD Releases list to see which shows are available on DVD and Blu-ray.
DVDs of the first two theatrical movies, A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home, are available. The other two movies, Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown were released on VHS, but are now out of print.
Almost all of the TV shows and movies were released on VHS in the US, most are now out of print. You may be able to find used or remaindered copies of the VHS tapes on eBay or from third-party sellers on Amazon.com.
Many of the shows listed under Documentaries and Live Action Shows have never been available on video. One exception is the unaired 1963 documentary, A Boy Named Charlie Brown (documentary), which is available on DVD from the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
History of US Video Releases
Warner Home Video is the current home video rights holder in the US as of October 2007. They have a contract to release the Peanuts TV specials on DVD, Blu-ray, and as digital downloads.
Warner took over from Paramount Home Entertainment, who held the home video rights from 1994 through early 2007. When they held the home video license, Paramount released 12 DVDs containing a variety of new and old Peanuts TV specials. They released the first two Peanuts theatrical movies on DVD in March 2006, and DVDs of This is America, Charlie Brown were released in June 2006. See the Out-of-Print DVD Releases for a complete list of Paramount's North American Peanuts DVD releases.
Paramount also issued the Peanuts TV shows on VHS home video in the United States and Canada, from 1994 to 2000. (See Video Releases.) Unfortunately, all of the VHS titles are now out of print, even though there have not been matching releases on DVD.
The VHS titles were marketed under five banners: "Peanuts Classics" and "A Peanuts Special" (one episode per tape), "This Is America, Charlie Brown" (one episode per tape), "The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show" (two episodes per tape), and "Snoopy Double Features" (two episodes per tape), although some of those banners were dropped as the tapes have been reissued. The prices varied from $7 to $15, depending on the tape.
Paramount also issued two direct-to-video releases; the first of these, It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown, was released in August, 1997. The second, It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown, was released in September, 2000. Both of these are now out of print.
Many, but not all, of the titles that were released on VHS were also released on laserdisc by Paramount, but these are now out of print. See Laserdisc Releases for a list.
Before Paramount, the home video license was held by Media Home Entertainment, and released under the brands Hi Topps and KVC. They released most of the prime-time specials and some compilations from The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show on VHS; however the Paramount releases were of superior quality with better video. Any tapes from Hi Topps or KVS are from 1993 or before.
The very first release of a Peanuts show on home video was in June 1984, when Media Home Entertainment (Hi Topps) released You're The Greatest, Charlie Brown and Life Is A Circus, Charlie Brown.
The first two theatrical movies, A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home were originally available from CBS FOX video, but are now distributed by Paramount Home Video, and remain available on DVD. The latter two movies, Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, are distributed by Paramount Home Video as well, but were only released on VHS and are now out-of-print.
You're In the SuperBowl, Charlie Brown, was originally available on video from Shell gas stations, was not part of the Paramount reissue series and is currently not available on video. (You may be able to find copies on eBay or other auction sites, however.) It is not known if Warner Home Video has the rights to release this special or not.
Where Can I Buy Peanuts DVDs and Videos?
The on-line book, music, and video store Amazon.com, also has all the DVDs available, and you may be able to find used copies of the VHS tapes there. If you're having trouble finding the title you're looking for on Amazon, try searching for "Charlie Brown", "Peanuts", or "Snoopy" and look at the pictures of the boxes - sometimes Amazon doesn't list them by the proper titles.
AAUGH.com, an on-line store run by Peanuts book expert Nat Gertler, has an easy-to-use layout for ordering all the DVDs, CDs, and books too.
Snoopy's Gallery and Gift Shop carries some of the videos and DVDs (and much more!). You can also phone them at 800-959-3385 to place an order.
Locally, your video store may be able to special order the DVDs for you. See the DVD Releases section for a complete list of titles.
Where Can I See Peanuts on TV Now?
ABC has the rights to show It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, and they air them regularly in the fall. (This was a change in 2001 after 35 years on CBS!) ABC is also home to the new specials A Charlie Brown Valentine, Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown, and I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. ABC has occasionally shown other classic specials as well, such as It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown's All-Stars.
In the United States, the last channel to have broadcast rights for the rest of the shows was the cable channel Nickelodeon, but those rights expired in May 2004. There has been no news of the rights being awarded to a new broadcaster.
Every once in a rare while, the theatrical movies are shown on a cable TV station.
The Canadian cable station YTV occasionally airs the TV shows in Canada, and apparently has the rights to every show except "You're in the Superbowl, Charlie Brown."
Current TV Schedule
Here's the schedule for upcoming Peanuts shows on TV in the United States. All times Eastern/Pacific.
No shows scheduled
Complete List of Shows and Movies
The list is divided into five categories:
In each of the sections, I've listed the original broadcast date, a synopsis, a list of characters appearing in the show (if applicable), any interesting trivia or important notes, and amusing things to note about the episode.
If you are interested in just a list of the shows' titles, for example, to use as a checklist, see the Peanuts TV Show Checklist.
A "(b)" notation next to a character means the character appears briefly - in the background or only speaks one line; "(os)" means the character is only heard off-screen.
All shows are 30 minutes long unless otherwise noted. Original broadcast times are for the Eastern Time Zone.
Special thanks to Kaori Nishikida for providing the classical music information throughout the list.
Prime-Time Specials
These are shows that were originally broadcast during prime-time as specials and were predominantly new animation. (A few exceptions, "It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown" and the two direct-to-video specials, were never broadcast, but it made sense to put it here with the others).
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
Broadcast Date: December 9, 1965 (Thursday), 7:30 - 8:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown, depressed by the commercialism of Christmas and because he doesn't get any Christmas cards, becomes the director of the gang's Christmas pageant. Can he overcome his gang's preference for dancing instead of acting, find a good Christmas tree, and the true meaning of Christmas?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Pig-Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Shermy, Snoopy, Violet, 5, 3 & 4 (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- First animated Peanuts special.
- Linus's "the true meaning of Christmas" quote is Luke 2:8-14 from the King James translation of the Bible.
- Original cast voices:
Charlie Brown -- Peter Robbins
Lucy Van Pelt -- Tracy Stratford
Linus Van Pelt -- Christopher Shea
Schroeder/Shermy -- Chris Doran
Pig-pen -- Geoffrey Ornstein
Patty -- Karen Mendelson
Sally Brown -- Cathy Steinberg
Frieda -- Ann Altieri
Violet -- Sally Dryer
Snoopy -- Bill Melendez
- This special is the longest running animated cartoon special in TV history - having been repeated every year since it first aired!
- The versions of the show broadcast on TV until 1997 and older video releases were edited; they left out a scene where the gang throws snowballs at a can on a fence. The Warner and Paramount DVD releases are thankfully complete and unedited. But for the last few years that they broadcast it, CBS ran the special unedited, and from 2001-2008, ABC has shown the unedited version. In 2009, ABC broadcast both edited and unedited versions of the show; the edited version had even more cuts than previously edited versions, and was unfortunately shown first, resulting in viewer confusion and irritation.
- The original broadcast also included two brief sections which highlighted Coca-Cola, the show's original sponsor. These have been edited out of subsequent broadcasts (and the video release). According to the original storyboards, right after the opening title, Linus crashed into a sign advertising Coca-Cola after being tossed by Snoopy. (Look at current versions and you'll notice that we never see where Linus lands!) The closing carol originally included the complete verse (instead of fading out) with a final on-screen "Merry Christmas from your local bottler of Coca-Cola" right after the United Feature Syndicate credit at the end. (Many Internet sources say there was just a voiceover at the end - perhaps it was changed to a voiceover in some years or in some markets, but the original broadcast displayed the words and logo on-screen without a voiceover.) These very short segments have been removed because understandably, later sponsors -- and the companies releasing the videos -- probably don't want to advertise someone else's product!
The two spots can be seen on YouTube - see the opening Coca-Cola spot, and the ending Coca-Cola spot (while I have not verified the source of these, they appear authentic).
- However, claims found on the Internet that in the scene where the gang throws snowballs at a can on the fence that the can was a Coca-Cola can in the original broadcast, but has since been replaced by a generic can, are false. The can has always been a generic can, even in the original broadcast. (Source: personal interview with Lee Mendelson.)
- The initial US broadcast of this special preempted "The Munsters." (For many years this webpage said that "Gilligan's Island" was the preempted show, and this bit of trivia has now spread wide and far over the Internet. However, with assistance from the Schulz Museum and based on information from a variety of TV listings from a variety of newspapers on that day, we've determined that it was almost certainly "The Munsters," not "Gilligan's Island." I apologize for having the incorrect information up for so long, although I believed it was correct at the time.)
- While many shows are based in part on comic strips that appeared before the shows were created, Linus's "true meaning of Christmas" speech actually makes its first appearance in the comic strip after this special was broadcast. It's in a Sunday strip dated 12/18/66. The text is slightly different, since the strip quotes from the Revised Standard Version Bible translation, whereas the show quotes from the King James Version. And the strip ends with Linus saying, "So who needs Santa Claus?" (This strip can be found in The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 7:1965-1966 and in the 2002 Ballantine Christmas-strip collection A Peanuts Christmas, as well as Robert Short's book The Parables of Peanuts and the religious-themed strip collection And the Beagle and the Bunnies Shall Lie Down Together.)
- Won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Children's Program," and a Peabody Award for excellence in programming.
- See also the behind-the-scenes featurette on the 2008 Warner Home Video DVD release of A Charlie Brown Christmas (and the 2001 TV documentary, The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas, although the DVD containing it is now out of print) .
Music:
Score Composed & Conducted by Vince Guaraldi
Songs:
Christmastime is Here
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Classical Music Sources:
When Schroeder plays "Beethoven Christmas music": Beethoven, Bagatelle for piano in A minor, WoO 59, "Für Elise".
CD/Albums:
The original 1965 soundtrack for this special is available on A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (Fantasy Records #8431). This contains essentially all the music from the special, although one missing cue (the music while Snoopy decorates his doghouse) turns up as "Surfing Snoopy" on the CHARLIE BROWN'S HOLIDAY HITS CD (Fantasy Records #9682). A remastered version of the soundtrack (Fantasy FCD-30066-2), that includes some alternate takes of the original tunes, was released in 2006.
In 2000, jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut released a cover version of the CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS music (Atlantic 83366-2). Note that it contains new versions of the songs which are in some cases quite different.
CHARLIE BROWN'S ALL-STARS
Broadcast Date: June 8, 1966 (Wednesday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
After losing 999 games in a row, Charlie Brown's baseball team threatens to quit and spend the summer like normal kids (swimming, skateboarding, and jumping rope) until he announces that Hennessey's Hardware store will sponsor them, meaning they can get uniforms and play in a real league - but only if he'll take the girls and Snoopy off the team.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Pig-Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Shermy, Snoopy, Violet, 5 (b).
Did You Notice?
- Early in the show, Charlie Brown says "we have 5 boys, 3 girls, and 1 dog on the team" - but all 4 of the girls are shown playing along with Snoopy and the 5 boys.
Music:
Score Composed & Conducted by Vince Guaraldi
IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: October 27, 1966 (Thursday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
While the gang goes Trick-or-Treating, Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin; Snoopy plays the World War I Flying Ace and is shot down over "no man's land."
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Violet, Pig-Pen, Frieda (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- According to what we see on screen, and the show's original script, the characters who go trick-or-treating and their costumes are:
Charlie Brown - ghost with a lot of holes
Lucy - green witch mask
Violet - plain ghost
Pig-Pen - dirty ghost
Shermy - ghost with coonskin cap
Schroeder - wearing fright mask and top hat
- In the initial ABC broadcasts (2001 & 2002), they removed 3 minutes of material: the scene near the beginning where Lucy tries to get Charlie Brown to kick the football (1 min, 15 secs); the scene Snoopy dances to music Schroeder plays on the piano at the Halloween party (1 min, 45 secs); the final title card saying "The End" and one repetition of Linus's outraged statements about "next year" were lopped off (1-2 seconds). This is more than CBS ever edited out from the show! However, more recently, since 2006, ABC has been showing the special uncut.
- The version of the show broadcast on CBS and older video releases were edited; they leave out a several of the "I got a rock!" scenes. (Some older video releases also cut the scene where Snoopy dances along to Schroeder's piano music.)
- The Warner and Paramount DVDs are thankfully complete and unedited!
Did You Notice?
- At one point, Lucy is sitting by the TV holding a copy of TV Guide, and the picture on front of it is of her!
- In the shot of the gang just before they bob for apples at the Halloween party, Pig-Pen is wearing glasses!
Music:
Score Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged & Conducted by John Scott Trotter
YOU'RE IN LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: June 12, 1967 (Monday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
On the last two days of the school year, Charlie Brown tries a variety of schemes to meet the Little Red-Haired Girl.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Violet, Pig-Pen (b), Patty (b), 5 (b), 3 & 4 (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Animated debut of Peppermint Patty.
- This is the first special where the adult "mwa-mwa-mwa" voice was heard.
Did You Notice?
- While the 1977 "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" is generally credited as the first time "the Little Red Haired Girl" is seen, Charlie Brown says he sees her on a school bus that passes - and in fact two girls with red hair on the bus are shown (although neither resembles the girl seen in "It's Your First Kiss").
Music:
Score Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged & Conducted by John Scott Trotter
"You're In Love" sung by West Hillsborough School Choir
HE'S YOUR DOG, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: February 14, 1968 (Wednesday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown sends a disobedient Snoopy to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for an obedience refresher course, but on the way across town Snoopy decides to hide out at Peppermint Patty's house. Initially it's a vacation for him, but eventually she puts him to work cleaning house, and Snoopy must choose between it and Charlie Brown's leash.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Peppermint Patty, Roy, Schroeder, Snoopy, Violet, 5.
Trivia & Notes:
- Last show using same character voices as in "Charlie Brown Christmas."
Did You Notice?
- Peppermint Patty is reading a Peanuts book (with Lucy and Charlie Brown on the cover) while Snoopy works.
Music:
Score Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged & Conducted by John Scott Trotter
IT WAS A SHORT SUMMER, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: September 27, 1969 (Saturday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Returning to school, the gang has to write a 500-word essay about their summer vacation. They recall going to summer camp, where the "boys camp" and "girls camp" compete against each other in swimming, softball, and other events. After several poor showings, the boys get out their secret weapon - the "Masked Marvel," champion arm-wrestler.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Peppermint Patty, Pig-Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Shermy, Snoopy, Violet, Roy (b), Clara (b), Shirley (b), unnamed boy (might be 5) (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Linus's teacher in this show is named as Miss Halverson, even though in later shows his teacher is Miss Othmar.
- According to the book HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE BROWN, Charles Schulz thinks the arm-wrestling showdown between Lucy and the Masked Marvel in this show is "the best animated scene of all the shows."
- Lucy's wrist-wrestling match with the Masked Marvel, and its finale, come from newspaper strips dated 2/6/67 - 2/15/67; these were reprinted in the book "You'll Flip, Charlie Brown."
Did You Notice?
- Although Woodstock isn't in this show, Snoopy arm-wrestles with a yellow bird (a sort of "proto-Woodstock").
- When Snoopy pretends to drive the bus, all the towns on the map in the background are named after people involved in the production. There's Schulz City (Charles M. Schulz - author), Cuidad de Melendez (Bill Melendez - director), Leesville (Lee Mendelson - producer), Gruyerberg (Bernard Gruyer - graphic blandishment), and Levittown (Ed Levitt - graphic blandishment).
- Also in the background while Snoopy pretends to drive the bus, all the figures, including a milk truck driver, motorcyclist, a goat, and an eagle, have heads like Snoopy!
Music:
Score Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged & Conducted by John Scott Trotter
PLAY IT AGAIN, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: March 28, 1971 (Sunday), 7:00 - 7:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Schroeder practices piano despite the distraction of Lucy, who tries to get his attention. Finally Lucy arranges a gig for him, playing in the PTA program at school. But Beethoven is too old-fashioned, they want rock and roll. Will Schroeder sell out?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Pig-Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy
Trivia:
- The combo Schroeder is supposed to play with is: Charlie Brown on banjo, Snoopy on bass, and Pig-Pen on drums.
- Beethoven and PTA programs come in spray cans.
Music:
Music Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven & Vince Guaraldi
Music Conducted by John Scott Trotter
Performed by:
Lillian Steuber (Beethoven Sonatas)
The Vince Guaraldi Trio (rest)
Classical Music Sources:
(In order of performance in the show; all composed by Beethoven.)
- Beginning of the show with the score on top; with Lucy leaning against the piano (after Snoopy and Linus dance): Piano sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2 No.3; 1st movement.
- The music that comes out of a spray can is: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67; 1st movement.
- With Frieda at the piano, joined by Lucy: Piano sonata No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 7; 3rd movement.
- With Lucy leaning against the piano: Piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No.2; 1st movement.
- Lucy comes in with a feather duster in her hand: Piano sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ("Moonlight Sonata"), Op. 27 No. 2; 3rd movement.
- Lucy kisses Schroeder on the nose: Piano sonata No. 21 in C major ("Waldstein"), Op. 53, 3rd movement.
- Lucy tells Schroeder she arranged a recital for him: Piano sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49 No.2; 1st movement.
- Schroeder says "Thank you" to Lucy: Piano sonata No. 25 in G major, Op. 79; 1st movement.
- With Lucy leaning against the piano, telling Schroeder that Beethoven wouldn't have made it in Nashville: Piano sonata No. 29 in B flat major ("Hammerklavier"), Op. 106; 1st movement.
YOU'RE NOT ELECTED, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: October 29, 1972 (Sunday), 7:30 - 8:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Linus runs for election as school body president, and is on his way to victory until he makes a speech about the Great Pumpkin.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Russell Anderson (Linus's opponent), Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, Frieda (b), Patty (b), Pig-pen (b), Shermy (b), Violet (b), 5 (b), various kids at school.
Trivia & Notes:
- The gang's school is named "Birchwood School."
- Vince Guaraldi sang the song "Joe Cool", as well as writing and playing the music!
- This special was originally titled "You're Elected, Charlie Brown". It was changed at the very last minute after someone objected because not only is Charlie Brown not elected, he doesn't even run! That's why in the title sequence, the chorus still sings "You're elected, Charlie Brown" and the title written on the chalkboard has "Not" inserted with a caret (there wasn't time to redo the whole cel). The show was even advertised in TV Guide with the original title!
- The primary storyline for this special comes from newspaper strips dated 10/5/64 - 10/27/64; these are reprinted in the book "You Need Help, Charlie Brown".
Did You Notice?
- When Linus goes to the studio for his call-in show, a camera is labeled "CBTV."
- Charlie Brown and Sally's house appears to have two levels in this show (most of the time it seems to be one level).
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
Songs:
Joe Cool (sung by Vince Guaraldi)
THERE'S NO TIME FOR LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: March 11, 1973 (Sunday), 7:30 - 8:00 PM
Synopsis:
The gang's schools plan a field trip to an art museum, and Charlie Brown must get an "A" on his field trip report to pass his class. Unfortunately, he, Peppermint Patty and Marcie mistake a supermarket for the art museum!
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Frieda (b), Violet (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Animated debut of Marcie.
Did You Notice?
- The gang's school is up on the educational trends of the 70's: Linus is studying "new math" and Peppermint Patty says "by the time we grow up the Metric system will probably be official!"
- Peppermint Patty has UCLA and Stanford banners in her bedroom.
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
Songs:
Joe Cool (additional lyrics)
A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING
Broadcast Date: November 20, 1973 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Peppermint Patty invites herself and friends to Charlie Brown's for Thanksgiving dinner, even though he's going over to his grandmother's for dinner. So with Snoopy and Linus's help, he decides to cook his own version of a Thanksgiving meal!
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, Lucy (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Vince Guaraldi sang the song "Little Birdie", as well as writing and playing the music!
- Won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming" for Charles M. Schulz, writer.
- See also the "What was Linus's speech in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving?" in the Miscellaneous Questions and Answers section.
- In its first couple of broadcasts of the show, ABC edited out 3 minutes and 40 seconds: the scene where Snoopy and Woodstock don pilgrim costumes and walk to Charlie Brown's door, and the final scene where Snoopy and Woodstock make and eat a real turkey dinner. In 2005, however, ABC aired the entire special unedited.
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
Songs:
Little Birdie (sung by Vince Guaraldi)
IT'S A MYSTERY, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: February 1, 1974 (Friday), 7:30 - 8:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Woodstock's newly-built nest disappears, so Snoopy puts on his Sherlock Holmes outfit and investigates. Meanwhile, Sally worries about a science exhibit for school. Could these two events be connected? Lucy's court of law will have to decide.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, Pig-pen (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Legal advice from Lucy is more expensive than psychiatric advice: 7 cents.
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
IT'S THE EASTER BEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: April 9, 1974 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie how to decorate eggs, Snoopy gets a birdhouse for Woodstock, and Linus convinces Sally that she doesn't need to color eggs because the Easter Beagle will bring them.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock.
Trivia & Notes:
- Charles Schulz says the bunnies Snoopy dances with are the famed Bunny-Wunnies, stars of Snoopy's favorite books as mentioned in the comic strip.
- Marcie's unsuccessful attempts to make eggs for coloring are frying, waffle-ironing, toasting, roasting (in the oven), and finally making soup out of them.
- This special takes place 246 days before Christmas (according to a banner in the department store).
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
Classical Music Sources:
- The music boxes when Snoopy dances with Peppermint Patty and Marcie: J.S. Bach, minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 116.
- Schroeder plays the piano: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 3, 1st movement.
- While the kids wait for the Easter Beagle: Beethoven, 7th Symphony in A major, Op. 92; 2nd Movement.
- When the Easter Beagle arrives: Beethoven, 7th Symphony in A major, Op. 92; 1st Movement.
BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: January 28, 1975 (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown hopes for Valentines cards in his mailbox and at the school Valentine's Day party, Linus buys a present for Miss Othmar, and Sally hopes Linus will notice her.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Violet, Woodstock, Franklin (b), Frieda (b), Marcie (b), Patty (b), Peppermint Patty (b), Pig-pen (b), Shermy (b), Miss Othmar (os).
Trivia & Notes:
- When Schroeder calls out the names of Charles Schulz's children and Joanne Lansing (one of the show's painting supervisors), among others, when handing out the Valentine's cards. (In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that all of the extra names have some significance.)
- When the show was first broadcast, viewers sent hundreds of Valentines for poor Charlie Brown to Charles's Schulz studio!
- In this episode, the gang's school is named "Birchwood School" (as it was in "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown").
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
Classical Music Sources:
- Schroeder plays piano while Lucy discusses the origin of Valentine cards and Valentine's Day: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49 No. 2; 1st movement.
- Background music used in Snoopy's paw-pet show: an arrangement of Nocturne in B-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 by Chopin.
- The music Snoopy's fancy cut-out valentine plays: J.S. Bach, "Minuet in G Major", BWV Anh. 116.
YOU'RE A GOOD SPORT, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: October 28, 1975 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Snoopy plays tennis against an automatic ball machine and then Woodstock. Peppermint Patty convinces Charlie Brown (with Linus as his pit crew) to compete in a charity motocross race. Can they overcome the challenge of crashes, mud, and the strangely familiar Masked Marvel?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, referee kid (b), Schroeder (b), Roy (b), 5 (b), Patty (b), Violet (b), other racers (b), Motocross Queen Loretta (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- This show was inspired by Charles Schulz's son Craig's interest in motorcycles.
- Won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Children's Special".
Did You Notice?
- Charlie Brown is racer #13 in the race, of course!
- On the contestant board, several of the names of the other racers are members of the production staff: P. Roman (director), J. Lansing (painting supervisor), S. Jaimes (animator), and S. Claxton (production assistant). D. Smith and J. Jones are also listed, but if they're staff they're not in the credits.
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Supervision by John Scott Trotter
IT'S ARBOR DAY, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: March 16, 1976 (Tuesday) 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
While researching a report on Arbor Day, Sally enlists the gang to turn Charlie Brown's ball field into a garden and orchard, complete with a tree on the pitcher's mound and scarecrow in the outfield. During the first game of the season against Peppermint Patty's team, the plants turn out to be an unexpected advantage.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Rerun, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, Jose Peterson (b), Patty (b), Violet (b), 5 (b), unknown kid on Peppermint Patty's team (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Animated debut of Rerun Van Pelt.
- Last show with music by Vince Guaraldi.
- It's unknown why Lucy and Frieda's voices are "mumbled" in the scene when a ball comes to them in the outfield.
Music:
Music Composed & Performed by Vince Guaraldi
IT'S YOUR FIRST KISS, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: October 24, 1977 (Monday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown must escort the Little Red-Haired Girl to the homecoming dance, even though he has trouble kicking the ball during the homecoming football game.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Heather, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Pig-Pen, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, other football players, homecoming princesses, Frieda (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- This is the first time the Little Red-Haired Girl is given a name (Heather) and actually seen. While Charles Schulz has later said he regretted making this decision, he did approve doing it at the time. But the show's animators, not Charles Schulz, decided how the Little Red-Haired Girl would look.
- In the original broadcast, several times after Charlie Brown misses his kick because Lucy (of course) pulls away the football, Peppermint Patty berates him. However, viewers protested, because Charlie Brown was so obviously not at fault. So in subsequent showings the producers decided to dub out two of these incidents. The Paramount and Warner home video releases retain these edits, although the Warner DVD release does include the missing quotes... in the Spanish audio!
- The two removed quotes are: at about 7 1/2 minutes in, "Okay, Chuck, you really goofed up on that play!", and at around 15 1/2 minutes in, "Chuck, you can't do anything right!!" (The dialog was dubbed out by reversing the original audio, and reducing it in volume, so if you record the audio and play it backwards, you can her Peppermint Patty's original exclamations.)
Did You Notice?
- Before treating Charlie Brown for hyponatremia with salt water, Snoopy pulls a pepper grinder out of his doctor's bag.
- Even though all we see is Charlie Brown missing his kicks, he must have succeeded with two of them, because his team gets 7 points for its second and third touchdowns!
WHAT A NIGHTMARE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: February 23, 1978 (Thursday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Accused by Charlie Brown of being "overcivilized" and after eating too much pizza, Snoopy dreams of being a sled dog in the Alaskan frontier (including a side trip to a saloon).
Trivia & Notes:
- In reality, while modern sled dogs are always eager to run and competitive, most are also quite friendly, unlike the sled dogs depicted in this special. However they do howl in the middle of the night! (From personal experience; I stayed at a bed and breakfast in Alaska next to a sled dog kennel.)
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Arctic sled driver, sled dogs (huskies).
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Vince Guaraldi ("Linus & Lucy")
Music Supervision by Judy Munsen
Song Vocals by Larry Finalyson
Songs:
Overlycivilized, Underlydogified Dog
YOU'RE THE GREATEST, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: March 19, 1979 (Monday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown competes against Freddy Fabulous from Fremont, the "Masked Marvel," and Marcie in the ten events of the Junior Olympics Decathlon.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy, Freddy Fabulous from Fremont, 5 (b), Pig-Pen (b), Sally (b), Schroeder (b), Woodstock (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Freddy Fabulous calls Charlie Brown "pumpkinhead." This isn't the first time Charlie Brown's head is compared to a pumpkin. In "It's the Great Pumpkin," Lucy uses it to model her jack-o- lantern face. In "You're a Good Sport," he wears a pumpkin on his head as a helmet.
- The "Masked Marvel" is from the "Ace Obedience School."
- A rare adult's voice announces the decathlon events.
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen
The traditional Olympic fanfare ("Bugler's Dream" by Leo Arnaud) occasionally plays as part of the background music.
SHE'S A GOOD SKATE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: February 25, 1980 (Monday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Snoopy coaches Peppermint Patty for a skating competition, Marcie sews her dress.
Trivia & Notes:
- The first time an off-screen adult actually speaks English to the characters. (Although adult voices speaking English are heard from the "PTA meetings in a spray can" in Play It Again, Charlie Brown.)
- Based on one of the longest sequences of connected strips from the comic, which ran for five weeks from 11/4/74 - 12/7/74; these are reprinted in the Peanuts Parade book "Speak Softly and Carry a Beagle."
- Working title: "She's a Winner, Charlie Brown"
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen
Classical Music Sources:
- The music the thre skaters before Peppermint Patty skate to is, in order:
The Nutcracker: Dance of the Reed Pipes (Tchaikovsky)
Fifth Symphony, 1st Movement (Beethoven)
Lohegrin: Prelude to Act III (Richard Wagner)
- The music Woodstock whistles when Peppermint Patty skates is "O mio babbino caro," from Puccini's opera "Gianni Schicchi." The whistling is performed by Jason Serinus, a musician and professional whistler. He has a web site where you can order a tape of his music, including the Woodstock piece.
LIFE IS A CIRCUS, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: October 24, 1980 (Friday) 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The circus comes to town and Snoopy falls for Fifi, one of the poodles in an acrobatic act. Following her, he is accidentally whisked away with the circus when it leaves. While Charlie Brown worries about him, Snoopy becomes "Hugo the Great" and performs highwire and trapeze stunts. When the carnival owner decides his color scheme is wrong and orders him dyed pink, Snoopy faces the difficult choice of continuing or returning home.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Snoopy, Fifi the Poodle, Miss Polly, other poodles (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Animated Program".
- The Paramount Home Video release incorrectly lists the title of this show as "Life's a Circus, Charlie Brown" on the VHS box.
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen
IT'S MAGIC, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: April 28, 1981 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Snoopy puts on a magic show. Although most of his tricks are failures, he successfully makes Charlie Brown invisible. While Snoopy works to make him visible again, Charlie Brown realizes this may be his golden opportunity to kick Lucy's football.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, heckler in audience, Schroeder (b), Patty (b)
Did You Notice?
- We actually get to see the inside of Snoopy's doghouse, which as is established in the strip, is much larger on the inside than the outside. Inside are sports and exercise equipment, lockers, and a laboratory.
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen
SOMEDAY YOU'LL FIND HER, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: October 30, 1981 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown falls for a girl he sees in the audience of televised football game, and he and Linus go across town on a door-to-door search for her.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, Woodstock, Mary Jo (girl with blanket), Wrong Girl #1, Wrong Girl #2, Evil Cat.
Trivia & Notes:
- Charlie Brown says 13 is "his lucky number."
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen
Songs:
(When I Feel Most) Alone - performed by Becky Reardon
A CHARLIE BROWN CELEBRATION
Broadcast Date: May 24, 1982 (Monday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charles Schulz talks about Peanuts and introduces animations based on newspaper strips, including:
- Peppermint Patty accidentally enrolls in dog-training classes;
- Charlie Brown gets sick, goes to the hospital, and Lucy promises not to pull away the football if he gets better;
- While on a field trip, Linus and his new paramour "Truffles" are trapped on top of a barn and must be rescued by helicopter (aka Snoopy);
- and others.
Trivia & Notes:
- When shown on Nickelodeon in 1998-2000, was split into two half-hour parts.
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen
IS THIS GOODBYE, CHARLIE BROWN?
Broadcast Date: February 21, 1983 (Monday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Linus and Lucy move away from the neighborhood when their Dad is transferred to a new job. Once they're gone, Sally wonders why her "Sweet Babboo" stood her up, Snoopy enjoys Linus's blanket, Peppermint Patty tries to cheer up a depressed Charlie Brown, and even Schroeder misses Lucy. Can the gang cope if their friends have really gone forever?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Franklin (b), Patty (b), Pig-pen (b), Roy (b), Shermy (b), Violet (b), moving men (b).
Did You Notice?
- Adults appear twice in this special; first there's the moving men (although we never see their heads) and then if you look carefully Linus and Lucy's parents are driving the station wagon as they leave town!
- A sled named "Rosebud" is put on the Van Pelt's moving truck. This is an homage to the movie "Citizen Kane," which is often mentioned in the comic strip (and often described as the greatest movie of all times outside the strip).
- The primary storyline comes from newspaper strips dated 5/9/66 - 5/21/66; these are reprinted in the book "The Unsinkable Charlie Brown."
Music:
Music Composed by Judy Munsen
Music Arranged by Steve Riffkin
IT'S AN ADVENTURE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: May 16, 1983 (Monday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Vignettes based on newspaper strips. Includes:
- Charlie Brown bites the kite-eating tree, goes on the run from the EPA, and ends up teaching a pee-wee baseball team;
- Charlie Brown gets a rash that makes his head look like a baseball, goes to camp with a bag over his head, and is elected president as "Mr. Sack";
- Peppermint Patty believes a butterfly is an angel;
- Peppermint Patty and Marcie become golf caddies;
- and others.
Trivia & Notes:
- When shown on Nickelodeon in 1998-99, split into two half-hour parts.
Music:
Music Composed by Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette
Music Arranged and Conducted by Ed Bogas
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED, CHARLIE BROWN?
Broadcast Date: May 30, 1983 (Monday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
After leaving the chateau where they stayed as exchange students in France, the gang visits Omaha Beach in Normandy (where the Allies landed on D-Day in World War II) and Ypres (a World War I battle site), and Linus talks about the significance of the sites and gives tribute to the veterans who fought in both wars.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock.
Trivia & Notes:
- An epilogue to the movie "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown". The movie was deliberately left open-ended so that a follow up could be done.
- Like some of the "This is America, Charlie Brown" episodes, colorized historical footage is used, as well as excerpts from a speech by Eisenhower.
- Linus recites "In Flanders Field" by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D., a surgeon during World War I.
- Won a Peabody Award for excellence in television programming.
Music:
Music Composed by Judy Munsen
Music Arranged by Dawn Atkinson
IT'S FLASHBEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: April 16, 1984 (Monday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown wishes he had a normal dog while Snoopy dances the night away as "Flashbeagle," but Sally finds Snoopy's dancing skills an asset during show and tell at school. Also, Peppermint Patty has trouble with her binder; the gang attends a party where they play "Simon Says" and dance.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Pig-pen, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, 5 (b), Frieda (b), party host kid (b), kid with George the chameleon (b), other birds (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- Marine Jahan, the dancer who doubled for Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance" served as the animators' model for Snoopy's dancing (in a process known as rotoscoping, footage of her was traced over by the animators).
- Jill Schulz (Charles Schulz's daughter) performing aerobics served as the animators' model for Peppermint Patty during the song "Peppermint Patty's PE Program."
- While most of this special is new material, Snoopy did appear as "Flashbeagle" once in the newspaper strips. The strip date is 11/29/83, and is reprinted in the Peanuts Parade book "I'm Not Your Sweet Babboo!"
Did You Notice?
- The "Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show" theme is heard prominently as background music near the beginning of the show (this show was created during the same time period).
- In the breakdancing scene with Snoopy and Franklin, who is the kid watching them who looks like Franklin's identical twin?
- Teenagers (or maybe they're adults) are shown at the disco.
Music:
Music and Lyrics by Desiree Goyette and Ed Bogas
Songs:
Flashbeagle
Peppermint Patty's PE Program (I'm In Shape)
Lucy Says (Listen to Lucy)
Pig-Pen Hoe Down
(Talkin' About) Snoopy
Albums:
An LP of the songs from this special was made in 1984, but is now out of print and there is no CD version. The other songs on the "Flashbeagle" album are from the documentary/celebration show "It's Your 20th TV Anniversary, Charlie Brown."
SNOOPY'S GETTING MARRIED, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: March 20, 1985 (Wednesday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Snoopy decides to get married to a poodle he meets in the dark while he's guarding Peppermint Patty's house. At first alarmed, the Peanuts gang gets into the swing of things making preparations for the wedding. Meanwhile, Snoopy invites Spike to be his "Best Beagle," and Spike does odd jobs to pay for his bus fare. Finally all is set - but where's the bride?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Spike, Woodstock, Genevieve, Franklin (b), Patty (b), Pig-pen (b), Violet (b), other birds (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Animated debut of Spike, Snoopy's brother.
- Most of this story comes from newspaper strips dates 8/9/77 - 8/30/77; these are reprinted in the Peanuts Parade book "The Beagle Has Landed."
Did You Notice?
- Spike's house (inside a cactus), like Snoopy's, is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. We briefly see the inside of Snoopy's house as well.
Music:
Music by Judy Munsen
Songs:
Oh Let Me Be the One
Classical Music Sources:
After Sally finishes her song, Schroeder plays the ending bars of the 1st movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67.
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: November 6, 1985 (Wednesday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Animated version of the 1967 musical.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty (b), Marcie (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- Snoopy speaks for the first time in an animated special (voiced by Robert Towers, who was a member of the 1967 Los Angeles stage cast).
- This is an abridged version of the original stage musical (since the original is about 2 hours long, and this show is about 50 minutes long, obviously all of the original wouldn't fit!)
- Abridgment isn't the only change to take place; the characters have been changed as well. The stage musical stars only Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Schroeder, and Snoopy. In the animated adaptation, Patty (no longer familiar to modern viewers) has been replaced by Sally, presaging the 1999 Broadway revival of "You're a Good Man," which did the same thing. Marcie, Peppermint Patty, and Woodstock also appear briefly as well, even though they aren't in the original.
- Not to be confused with the 1973 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV broadcast, which was live-action.
- When shown on Nickelodeon in 1998-99, split into two half-hour parts with some minor edits (mostly in the second part).
Music:
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Orchestra Conductor - Ed Bogas
Music Director - Desiree Goyette
Songs (in the animated adaptation; a few from the original are omitted):
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Schroeder (Someday We'll Get Married)
The Kite
Snoopy (They Like Me)
The Book Report
Little Known Facts
T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)
Glee Club Rehearsal
Suppertime
Happiness
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (reprise)
Classical Music Sources:
- Song "Schroeder" (sung by Lucy): Beethoven's "Moonlight sonata" (piano sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2; 1st movement).
- Schroeder plays piano; Lucy comes in and starts talking about their future life together (the "Saucepans?" scene): J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue No. 11 in F major, BWV 856.
CD/Albums:
No album of the songs as presented in the animated special is available, but:
- A CD of the original off-Broadway cast album from 1967 is finally available once again from Decca Broadway (012 159 851-2)! It contains all 14 tracks from the original album plus 4 bonus tracks from the original demo tape Clark Gesner sent to Charles Schulz.
- A CD from the new 1999 Broadway production of the musical is available on RCA 09026-63384-2. It includes most of the songs from the original production, plus the new ones ("My New Philosophy" and "Beethoven Day"), and lyrics for all the songs in the liner notes! Note that many of the songs have been reorchestrated from the 1967 version, but both versions are worth owning.
- Several LPs of songs from the original musical were once made, however they are now all of out print and difficult to find.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: January 1, 1986, 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Peppermint Patty hosts a New Year's Eve party, while Charlie Brown struggles to read "War and Peace" over Christmas break.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, Franklin (b), Heather (b), Patty (b), Pig-pen (b), Rerun (b), Violet (b).
Music:
Music by Desiree Goyette and Ed Bogas
Songs:
Slow Slow Quick Quick
If You Want To Be a Winner at Musical Chairs
Classical Music Sources:
When Lucy asks Schroeder to take her to the party: Beethoven, Piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 ("Waldstein"); 1st movement.
SNOOPY: THE MUSICAL
Broadcast Date: January 29, 1988 (Friday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Animated special based on the 1974 musical.
Trivia & Notes:
- This is an abridged version of the original stage musical (since the original is about 2 hours long, and this show is about 50 minutes long, obviously all of the original wouldn't fit!)
- In addition to edits for lengths, there are two small changes to the script of the show:
- At the end of Linus's Great Pumpkin song ("The Vigil"), Lucy comes out and asks him if "the Great Squash ever showed up." On stage, Peppermint Patty asks that question.
- At the very end during the song "Just One Person," in the cartoon, Lucy is the first to join Snoopy in song. On stage, Peppermint Patty is the first to join.
- When shown on Nickelodeon in 1998-2000, was split into two half-hour parts.
Music:
Music by Larry Grossman
Lyrics by Hal Hackady
Musical Director - Desirée Goyette
Music Conducted by Lenny La Croix and Ed Bogas
Songs (in the animated adaptation; a few from the original are omitted):
Don't Be Anything Less Than Everything You Can Be
Snoopy's Song ("Sit up! Lie down! Roll over!")
Woodstock's Theme
Edgar Allan Poe
I Know Now
The Vigil (The Great Pumpkin Song)
Clouds
The Great Writer (It Was a Dark and Stormy Night)
Poor Sweet Baby
The Big Bow Wow
Just One Person
Albums:
Two CD's of the songs from this musical are available:
- SNOOPY!!! - ORIGINAL CAST (San Francisco) (DRG 6103)
- SNOOPY - ORIGINAL LONDON CAST (Jay Records CDJAY 1073)
The London cast album contains several songs not on the San Francisco cast album; the San Francisco cast album contains one ("Friend") not on the London cast album.
IT'S THE GIRL IN THE RED TRUCK, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: September 27, 1988 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
An unusual combination of live-action and animation where Spike's life in the desert makes an unexpected turn when he falls for Jenny, a girl in an old red truck. He travels to town with her, eats good food and goes roller skating. But Jenny's boyfriend Jeff wants her to move to Los Angeles, and Spike's not sure city life is for him. Both Spike and Jenny must choose between the desert or the city - and meanwhile Spike runs into a dangerous coyote hunt.
Characters:
Spike, Jenny (girl in the red truck), Molly, Jeff, hobo beagles in jug band (b), Charlie Brown (b), Snoopy (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- Jenny is played by Charles Schulz's daughter Jill.
- Once again we see that Spike's "house" (a saguaro cactus) is larger on the inside than the outside (also in "Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown."
- Spike makes pancakes, listens to French tapes, plays frisbee, plays piano, and roller skates.
Music:
Music by Paul Rodriguez
WHY, CHARLIE BROWN, WHY?
Broadcast Date: March 16, 1990 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown and Linus become concerned when their friend Janice develops leukemia (a form of cancer) and has to go to the hospital. Discusses the treatment of leukemia and how other children might feel when a friend becomes seriously ill.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, Janice, bully at school, Franklin (b), Marcie (b), Peppermint Patty (b), Schroeder (b), 5 (b), Janice's sisters (b), other birds (b).
Did You Notice?
- On the hospital PA system, you can hear announcements for doctors that have the same names as the production crew: Dr. Jaimes (director), Dr. Taylor (editor), Dr. Melendez (producer), Dr. McCann (editor), and Dr. Neal (production assistant).
Music:
Music by Judy Munsen
Vocals ("Farther Along") - Becky Reardon
Song:
Farther Along
SNOOPY'S REUNION
Broadcast Date: May 1, 1991, 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown decides to cheer up Snoopy by hosting a reunion party with his brothers and sisters; we learn about their first days at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm and how they came to leave it.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Sally, Snoopy; farmer who owns the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, Lila, Lila's mother, bus driver (b); Andy, Belle, Marbles, Missy (Snoopy's mom), Molly, Olaf, Rover, Spike.
Trivia & Notes:
- Snoopy's brothers and sisters, and the instruments they play in the special are:
- Snoopy - plays guitar
- Andy - shaggy; plays drums
- Belle - round eyes, wears pink dress and bow; plays violin
- Marbles - brown ears, lots of little spots; plays banjo
- Molly - dot eyes, wears blue dress; plays mandolin
- Olaf - overweight; plays jug
- Rover - brown ears, one spot; plays guitar
- Spike - skinny; plays violin
- So far, only Spike, Belle, Marbles, Olaf, and Andy have appeared in the newspaper strip.
- The story of how Charlie Brown became Snoopy's owner told in this special contradicts the movie "Snoopy Come Home." Since the movie is an earlier source, and closely matches the information in the comic strip, it is regarded as the more canonical story. The important differences are:
- Here Charlie Brown decides to get a dog because he wants someone to greet him when he gets home from school, and he and Linus take the bus to get Snoopy; originally his parents got Snoopy after Charlie Brown had a bad day on the playground, when another kid dumped a bucket of sand over his head and made him cry.
- Here Sally is her present age when Snoopy was bought; originally Snoopy was bought before she was born.
- Here Linus discovers that Snoopy is "used" when he and Charlie Brown pick him up; originally he only found this out by calling the Daisy Hill puppy farm when Snoopy went away to visit Lila in the hospital.
- According to this special, Snoopy cost $5.
- The working title for this episode was "Those Were the Days, Charlie Brown."
- Schulz has said he wanted to do a series of shows about Snoopy's siblings, set at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, but CBS nixed the idea.
Did You Notice?
- Even though both Spike and Olaf are picked up by families as puppies, by the time of the reunion they're both living by themselves. What are their stories?
- Even though Snoopy's doghouse now is much bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside, in this special it's normal- sized (and full of hay!).
- One of the few specials where adults are shown, and speak in normal voices - no less than three of them!
Music:
Music by Judy Munsen
IT'S SPRING TRAINING, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: Never aired on network television; show's copyright date is 1992; first released on video January, 1996; first TV broadcast February 23, 1998 on Nickelodeon
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown's team can get uniforms if they win the first game of the season. Will an early round of spring training in the snow and new team member, the tiny Leland, be enough help?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Leland, Linus, Lucy, Pig-pen, Schroeder, Snoopy, Leland's sister (looks like Frieda)(b), Patty (b), Shermy (b), visiting baseball team.
Trivia & Notes:
- In both "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" and this show, Mr. Hennessey from the hardware offers to sponsor Charlie Brown's team with uniforms. However, in the politically correct 1990's, Mr. Hennessey no longer cares if the team has girls or a dog on it!
- Charlie Brown first met Leland in "It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown" when he coached Leland's pee-wee league team.
- Never aired during prime-time in the United States (although it was intended to be). It was eventually shown on Nickelodeon in the United States and on YTV in Canada, and has been released on home video several times.
Did You Notice?
- When Linus gets a hit, the gang cheers him on from the bench. One of the cheering players is Linus, who is apparently in both places at once!
Music:
Music - Judy Munsen
"Peanuts Time" and "Baseball" (instrumentals) performed by D'Cuckoo
"That's What It's All About" performed by Jessica Nwafor
Songs:
Hokey-Pokey
That's What It's All About (Franklin's rap song)
Classical Music Sources:
When Schroeder comes up to bat: Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67; 1st movement.
IT'S CHRISTMASTIME AGAIN, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: November 27, 1992 (CBS) (released on video first, approx. Sept. 1992)
Synopsis:
A collection of Christmas-themed vignettes, including: Charlie Brown tries to sell wreaths; Peppermint Patty worries about her Christmas book report; Charlie Brown tries to buy gloves for Peggy Jean; and the gang is in a Christmas play, where Sally worries about her single line and Peppermint Patty plays a sheep.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, Frieda (b), Harold Angel (b), Patty (b), Peggy Jean (b), Violet (b), other unnamed kids, other birds.
Trivia & Notes:
- This special was initially available on video a couple months before it aired on TV as a promotion at Shell gas stations, technically making it the first "direct-to-video" special (although there were always plans to air it on TV soon afterwards).
Music:
Music Composed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged and Performed by David Benoit
YOU'RE IN THE SUPERBOWL, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: January 18, 1994 (NBC)
Synopsis:
Snoopy coaches a football team of birds to the championships; the gang competes in a punt-and-pass contest to win a new bike and a trip to the Super Bowl; Charlie Brown and Linus try to win the affections of Melody-Melody.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy, Melody-Melody, Franklin (b), Pig-Pen (b), various birds.
Trivia & Notes:
- Originally broadcast on NBC, who had the rights to broadcast the SuperBowl in 1994 as well. All previous animated specials were first broadcast on CBS, although several ice skating shows and "The Big Stuffed Dog" were broadcast on NBC.
- The Birds football team players have different names each time they play; they must have a remarkable number of first-string players! The names are: (vs. the Cats) Kowalski, Grabowski, Wisnitski; (vs. the Dogs) Namath, Unitas, Csonka; (vs. the Bison) Van Buren, Harding, Fillmore, Coolidge, Polk, Tyler, and Buchannan. Notice the first and second groups are named for famous football players; the third group are named for U.S. Presidents. Even though Woodstock must be among the players, he is never named once in the episode!
- Marcie and Franklin are given last names in this special - Marcie Johnson and Franklin Armstrong. This is the only time these last names are mentioned - they are never mentioned in the comic strip or other TV specials.
Did You Notice?
- Even though the Birds are playing in the "Animal Football League", the scoreboard has the NFL logo on it.
- The helmets the gang wears in the punt-and-pass contest are all for real NFL teams.
Music:
Music Composed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged, Conducted, and Performed by David Benoit
IT WAS MY BEST BIRTHDAY EVER, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: None (direct-to-video release on August 5, 1997)
Synopsis:
Linus meets Mimi, a girl with a passion for gardening and singing, while in-line skating. He invites her to his birthday party which the gang is preparing... but will she show up?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Pig-pen, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, Mimi, Franklin (b), Marcie (b), Patty (b), Shermy (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- The opera piece Mimi sings is "O mio babbino caro," from Puccini's opera "Gianni Schicchi." Interestingly, this is the music Woodstock whistles in "She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown." And Woodstock gets a chance to whistle it again in this special!
- The working title for this episode was "It's Linus' Birthday, Charlie Brown."
- Direct-to-video release - not shown on TV to date.
Music:
Music Composed by Vince Guaraldi
Music Arranged, Conducted, and Performed by David Benoit
Classical Music Sources:
Mimi sings "O mio babbino caro," from Puccini's opera "Gianni Schicchi."
Albums:
Two pieces of music from this special appear on David Benoit's CD "Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years."
IT'S THE PIED PIPER, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: None (direct-to-video release on September 12, 2000)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown tells Sally a somewhat modified version of the legend of the Pied Piper, as Snoopy plays the title character who tries to rid the Peanuts' gang's hometown of sports playing, loudly dancing mice by playing his accordion in return for a year's supply of dog food.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Sally, Snoopy, the Mayor, the Mayor's secretary, town councilmen, sports mice, Franklin (b), Peppermint Patty (b), Pig-Pen (b), Marcie (b), Schroeder (b), Violet (b), townspeople (p), reporters (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Both the VHS and DVD include an 11-minute "retrospective interview with creator Charles M. Schulz." The material comprising this short feature previously appeared in some of the documentary TV shows.
- The show has numerous adult characters (such as the town's mayor), and while this is unusual, it was not the first special with adult characters as some news reports claimed - the special Snoopy's Reunion had 3 adults characters, and adults also appeared in the What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown, the movie Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, and the mini-series This is America, Charlie Brown.
- Direct-to-video release - not shown on TV to date.
Music:
Music Arranged, Conducted and Performed by David Benoit.
Classical Music Sources:
Schroeder is bothered by the mice: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 ("Pathetique"); 2nd movement.
A CHARLIE BROWN VALENTINE
Broadcast Date: February, 14, 2002 (Thursday), 8:00 - 8:30 (ABC)
Synopsis:
Valentine and love-themed special based on material from the Peanuts comic strip: Charlie Brown is jealous of Snoopy's many valentines cards; Charlie Brown tries to impress the little red-haired girl with a sharp pencil and gets caught in the pencil sharpener; Peppermint Patty asks Charlie Brown to a dance.
Trivia & Notes:
- Both the DVD and VHS home video releases of this show feature an extended version of the show, with 4 minutes of previously unseen material - five new scenes and one extended scene. A couple of other scenes also appear in a different order from the broadcast version.
Music:
Music Arranged, Conducted and Performed by David Benoit, based on themes by Vince Guaraldi.
Classical Music Sources:
The music Schroeder plays during his scene: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31 No. 3, 2nd movement.
CHARLIE BROWN'S CHRISTMAS TALES
Broadcast Date: December 8, 2002 (Sunday), 8:30 - 9:00 (ABC)
Synopsis:
A collection of five Christmas-themed animated shorts based directly on stories from the Peanuts comic strips, each focusing on a specific Peanuts character - Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, and Sally.
Trivia & Notes:
LUCY MUST BE TRADED, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: August 29, 2003 (Friday), 9:00 - 9:30 PM (ABC)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown trades Lucy to Peppermint Patty's baseball team in hopes of getting a better player and winning a few baseball games. Based on stories from the Peanuts comic strip.
Trivia & Notes:
- Both the DVD and VHS home video releases of this show feature an extended version of the show, with 4 minutes of previously unseen material with several new short skits.
I WANT A DOG FOR CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!
Broadcast Date: December 9, 2003 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (ABC)
Synopsis:
It's Christmas vacation and Rerun (Linus and Lucy's little brother) is wishing he had a dog, so he turns to Snoopy for amusement and holiday cheer. Then Rerun asks Snoopy to invite his Spike for a visit. When Spike shows up, it looks like Rerun will have a dog for Christmas after all... but things don't turn out as expected.
Trivia & Notes:
- The first hour-long animated Peanuts TV special since 1988.
HE'S A BULLY, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: November 20, 2006 (Monday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (ABC)
Synopsis:
This special tells the story of a game of marbles that becomes too fiercely competitive for some of the children. When Charlie Brown is called upon for help, he finds that the only way he can finally prove himself to be a neighborhood hero is to match wits with the marble-playing bully. Is he up to the challenge? The show is based on Peanuts comic strips from April 1995.
Trivia & Notes:
- Charles Schulz was working on the idea for this special when he passed away, although he did not complete a script for it.
HAPPINESS IS A WARM BLANKET, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: November 24, 2011 (Thursday), 8:30-9:30 PM (FOX)
Synopsis:
Based solely on material from the original comic strip, the show focuses on Linus and his blanket.
Warner Home Video's description of the show is as follows:
"Linus and his blue blanket go together like peanut butter and jelly, sunny days and baseball games, Snoopy and Woodstock. But when Linus discovers hid Grandma disapproves of his childish attachment, he wonders if it's time to ditch the blanket. Linus enlists the help of best buddy charlie Brown to keep the blanket away from him. When that doesn't work, he turns to his older sister, amateur psychiatrist Lucy, for some tough love. Can Linus kick his habit once and for all?"
Trivia & Notes:
- This special was first released as a direct-to-video release on DVD and Blu-ray on March 29, 2011; the TV broadcast came later.
- This is the first full-length Peanuts animated special that was done without the involvement of Lee Mendelson Productions or Bill Melendez Productions.
This Is America, Charlie Brown
This eight-part series advertised as "the first animated miniseries ever," broadcast in prime-time on CBS during the 1988-89 season. Meant as both education and entertainment, the shows find our friends witnessing and participating in historic events and discoveries. In addition to the usual animation, historical pictures and footage are used.
The series started airing weekly on Friday evenings at 8 P.M. in the fall of 1988 during a Hollywood screenwriter's strike. When the strike was resolved, the TV series "Beauty and the Beast" took over "This is America"'s slot, and it did not return until February, and then as a monthly show. The entire series was also repeated as a weekly series on CBS in the summer of 1990.
(While the volume numbers on the Paramount VHS release of this series do not match the original broadcast order, the DVD release presents the shows in the correct order.)
THE MAYFLOWER VOYAGERS
Broadcast Date: October 21, 1988 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The gang is part of the Mayflower's crew as Linus narrates the story of the Mayflower's trip from England to America in 1620, including the dangerous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean; the ship's arrival and disappointment in Provincetown Harbor; their relocation to Plymouth and the trials of the first winter; and the first Thanksgiving.
Trivia & Notes:
- The version of this special that is included on the Warner Home Video DVD A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Deluxe Edition (released in 2008) features the full version of a scene that has been edited on all previous United States home video releases. This is a scene near the end of the special where the native Americans and pilgrims are gathering food. Previous home video releases (and possibly even the original broadcast) showed the native Americans and pilgrims sneaking up on a turkey from behind a hedge and pointing at it, at which point the scene ended; in the Deluxe Edition DVD release, the scene continues for a few more seconds with the pilgrims firing a shotgun, which envelops the turkey in a cloud of smoke.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Pig-Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, worried kid (b), Captain Myles Standish, Samoset, Squanto, Massaquoit, other Mayflower Voyagers.
Music:
Music by Ed Bogas
THE BIRTH OF THE CONSTITUTION
Broadcast Date: October 28, 1988 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The gang attends the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 1787 with notables such as George Washington and Ben Franklin.
Trivia & Notes:
- The working title for this episode was "It's Freedom, Charlie Brown."
Music:
Piano and Harpsichord Solos by George Winston
(at least partially based on themes by Vince Guaraldi)
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AT KITTY HAWK
Broadcast Date: November 4, 1988 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown and Linus visit Linus's cousin Dolly at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, just in time to witness and help out with Orville and Wilbur Wright's historic first flight. Meanwhile, Snoopy makes his own, less successful, attempts to fly.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy, Woodstock, Dolly (Linus's cousin), Wilbur and Orville Wright, other Wright Brothers helpers (b), early flight pioneers and balloonists (b), other birds (b).
Music:
Music Written and Performed by Wynton Marsalis.
CD/Album:
The music from this special is available on Wynton Marsalis's album "Joe Cool's Blues" (Columbia CK-66880).
THE NASA SPACE STATION
Broadcast Date: November 11, 1988 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Linus dreams that he and the gang are the first crew to live on the new NASA Space Station. Can a spacewalking Charlie Brown and Snoopy repair the station when it's damaged by meteorite?
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Pig-pen, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock, Jason Welker (TV reporter), Mission Control Operator
Trivia & Notes:
- The gang's assignments on the space station crew are:
- Lucy - station commander
- Snoopy - space station operator
- Linus - space station scientist
- Peppermint Patty - in charge of exercise programs
- Charlie Brown - cooking and photography
- Sally - conduct on-board experiments
- Pig-pen - extravehicular experiments
- Franklin - social scientist
- Woodstock - test subject
- While this episode says that the space station was to have been launched and manned by the mid 1990's, it the first crew didn't occupy the station until January 2001, and assembly still continues. The design has also changed quite a bit since this show aired.
- In reality, astronauts never take a spacewalk without being tethered to the station or spaceship, so that they can't float away. (Although they have tested jet-powered backpacks on a few occasions.)
Did You Notice?
- The TV reporter, Jason Welker, bears a marked resemblance to Walter Cronkite, who is famous for his coverage of the space program from the first man in orbit to the men on the Moon.
- Near the end of the show when Lucy, Peppermint Patty, and Sally talk about the Pilgrims, a close up of the Pacific Ocean on Earth is shown. Kind of odd, since the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic!
Music:
Music by Dave Brubeck.
CD/Albums:
The music from this show, composed and performed by Dave Brubeck, is available on the CD "Quiet as the Moon" (MusicMasters #01612-65067-2).
THE BUILDING OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
Broadcast Date: February 10, 1989 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The gang learns about the building of the first transcontinental railroad and sees the completion of the railroad in Promontory, Utah.
Music:
Vocals by The Winans
(no "music by" credit)
THE GREAT INVENTORS
Broadcast Date: March 10, 1989 (Friday), 8:00 - 8:30 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The gang gives reports and imagines they witness the development of important inventions created in America from 1870 - 1900. Linus talks about the Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone; Peppermint Patty talks about Edison's development of the phonograph; Marcie describes the excitement surrounding Edison's first light bulb; Charlie Brown gives a report on the first "horseless carriage" (automobile) race (in which Lucy and Snoopy compete); and Sally and Snoopy give a show and tell demonstrating less significant inventions such as roller skating and pizza.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Franklin (b), Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Watson, Mrs. Holliday (b), Thomas Edison, Maryann Edison, John Krusei, other Edison assistants (b), horseless carriage racers (b), other kids (b).
Music:
Music by David Benoit
THE SMITHSONIAN AND THE PRESIDENCY
Broadcast Date: April 19, 1989 (Friday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The gang visits the Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington, DC, and discuss three famous presidents. First, Charlie Brown and Linus are newspaper boys who meet Lincoln on the eve of his trip to give the Gettysburg Address, and dramatizes the address. Next, they talk about Theodore Roosevelt and the conservation movement, especially the protection of Yosemite Valley. The final topic is Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Depression, and the New Deal, including footage of bread lines and FDR's inaugural speech.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Sally, Snoopy, Abraham Lincoln, Samuel (b), Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir. (Franklin Roosevelt shown in historical footage.)
Trivia & Notes:
- The gang is puzzled by the "coincidental" names of the Apollo 10 Lunar Module ("Snoopy") and Command Module ("Charlie Brown") that they see in the Air & Space Museum. In real life, the modules were given those names because of the popularity of the Peanuts newspaper strip. Also, in real life the Apollo 10 Command Module is in the London Science Museum, and the Lunar Module is in solar orbit... although both a Command Module from a different mission and an unused Lunar Module are at the Smithsonian.
- The gang is also puzzled by a comic strip of Lucy and Charlie Brown hanging in the American History museum (yes, there really is a strip in the museum). (The one shown in the show is the strip where Lucy has a signed document "proving" she won't pull away the football from Charlie Brown.)
- The Wright Brother's airplane and Duryea Brother's "horseless carriage" from previous episodes of "This is America" show up.
Music:
Music by Dave Grusin
CD/Album:
Two pieces of music, the main theme of the episode ("History Lesson") and "Breadline Blues" appear on the album HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CHARLIE BROWN (GRP Records GRD-9596).
THE MUSIC AND HEROES OF AMERICA
Broadcast Date: May 23, 1989 (Tuesday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Schroeder and Franklin try to give a school report about great American musicians from ranging from Stephen Foster to John Phillip Sousa to rock'n'rollers (see song list below), but is interrupted by both the antics of Snoopy and Lucy, who decides to give her report on famous American heroes--including Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earheart, George Washington Carver, and Martin Luther King--on the same stage at the same time.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Pig-Pen, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, other kids dressed as immigrants (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- Adult appearances: the teacher's legs and torso are seen, but she still speaks in the "mwa-mwa-mwa" voice; also, a man reading a newspaper
- Once again, the gang's school's name is given as "Birchwood School"
- The gang is displays wide variety of musical talents in this episode. Here's a list of what instruments everyone plays:
- Charlie Brown - harmonica, trombone, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet
- Linus - guitar, trumpet, fife, drum, trombone
- Lucy - flute
- Franklin - drums, banjo, piano
- Snoopy - banjo, drum, flute
- Pig-pen - cello, banjo
- Schroeder - piano (of course!)
Music:
Music Directors - Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette
Vocals - Lou Rawls, Cameron Clarke, and Desirée Goyette
Musical Pieces/Songs:
"I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" - Stephen Foster
"O Susanna" - Stephen Foster
"America the Beautiful" - Katherine Lee Bates & Samuel Ward
"Stars and Stripes Forever" - John Phillip Sousa
"I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" - George M. Cohan
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" - Irving Berlin
"Maple Leaf Rag" - Scott Joplin
"St. Louis Blues" - W.C. Handy
"When The Saints Go Marching In"
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone"
"You Ain't Nothing But a Hounddog"
"Linus and Lucy" - Vince Guaraldi
The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show
"The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show" was a half-hour CBS Saturday morning cartoon show. Episodes consisted of unconnected sketches, many of them adapted from the newspaper strips. It aired from September 17, 1983 to August 23, 1986 at the following times: Saturday 10:30 - 11:00 AM (9/83 - 1/84); Saturday 8:00 - 8:30 AM (2/84 - 8/84); 1:30 - 2:00 PM (9/84 - 12/85); unknown (1/86 - 8/86). However, since there were only 18 original episodes, there must have been a lot of repeats!
There are two "seasons" of shows, 13 from Fall 1983 and 5 from Fall 1985. The 1985 ones have different opening and ending credits, with words sung to the music in the opening titles.
The theme song was written and sung by Desiree Goyette, who created music for many Peanuts shows in the 1980's. The song actually first appeared on the "Flashbeagle" LP record and was titled "Let's Have a Party."
An important note: sometimes broadcasters, such as the Disney Channel, mixed both the prime-time specials listed above and the Saturday morning shows together under the heading when they were showing "The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show," but in this list it refers only to the Saturday morning shows.
Each episode was given an umbrella title by Creative Associates for easier identification, and those umbrella titles are used for the video releases and in various television listings. The sketches in each episode also have titles, but the umbrella title is almost never among them. The Paramount videos each feature a title card for each show, with the umbrella title and listing all the sketches - these title cards were not part of the original broadcasts.
In the list below, first the umbrella title is given, then initial broadcast date and production order, a list of sketches in the show (numbered by their order of appearance), along with synopses for each sketch, character information, and music sources (incomplete for some episodes).
Note that the Paramount VHS releases did not follow the original broadcast order (instead they follow original production order); the shows are listed in broadcast order below.
Sketches with the same title in different shows are not the same; also, sketches that sound similar in their descriptions are different.
A big thank you to Glenn Mendelson and Basil Wilson, who provided much of the information for this section.
1983 Season
SNOOPY'S CAT FIGHT (Episode 1)
First Broadcast: September 17, 1983 (Production Order: 3)
Sketches:
- "Woodstock" - Woodstock build a swing and deals with basketballs that intrude in his nest.
- "Baseball" - Scenes from the baseball field - Snoopy and Linus demonstrate a play; Schroeder worries that a finger injury may keep him from playing piano; Snoopy wants to be scratched during a game; Charlie Brown is nervous when the Little Red-haired girl comes to watch the game.
- "Sally" - Sally shows a picture of a cow chasing mice, gives a report on the "Bronchitis," and tries to put some life into show & tell.
- "Peppermint Patty" - Peppermint Patty has to share a desk with Charlie Brown in school.
- "Piano" - Lucy tells Schroeder what sort of men make the best husbands. Frieda accidentally kisses Snoopy and Lucy continues to criticize Schroeder.
- "Blanket" - Linus give his blanket to Eudora, who gives it to the Cat Next Door. Linus and Snoopy try to get it back and end up in a big fight with the cat.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 2 (Paramount VHS)
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Baseball":
- When Schroeder is worried he's injured a finger: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2 No. 3, 1st movement.
Skit "Piano":
- Lucy discusses what kind of men make good husbands; Lucy says "may your stupid piano be devoured by termites": Beethoven's piano sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1; 1st movement.
- Frieda thinks "Beethoven" is something to drink: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2 No. 3; 1st movement.
- Frieda and Lucy talk: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"; 1st movement.
- Lucy says "you musicians are something else": Beethoven's piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2; 1st movement.
- Lucy says "Beethoven wasn't so great!": Beethoven's piano sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 56 "Appassionata"; 1st movement.
SNOOPY: TEAM MANAGER (Episode 2)
First Broadcast: September 24, 1983 (Production Order: 7)
Sketches:
- "Shoveling" - Linus and Snoopy try to help Lucy plant her garden.
- "Rerun" - Rerun sings and recites poetry while he rides on the back of his mother's bicycle.
- "Lost Blanket" - When Lucy invites the "blanket-hating grandma" over, Linus puts his blanket in an envelope and mails it to himself. The blanket is accidentally delivered to Snoopy instead, and Linus tries to get it back.
- "The Manager" - Charlie Brown makes Snoopy the new manager of the baseball team.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 4 (Paramount VHS)
LINUS AND LUCY (Episode 3)
First Broadcast: October 1, 1983 (Production Order: 4)
Sketches:
- "Sally and Snoopy" - Sally takes Snoopy to school for "Show & Tell," and rewards him with an ice cream cone.
- "Football" - Linus tries to get Sally to kick the football but it hisses at her. Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown once again.
- "Beads" - Lucy makes "lovebeads" for Schroeder, but he doesn't appreciate them so she gives the Snoopy.
- "Love" - Lucy asks Schroeder if he might love her and not know it.
- "Snowballs" - Linus thinks he's found two snowflakes exactly alike; Linus and Lucy make snow sculptures; Linus thinks his snow fort makes him invincible; Linus uses his blanket as a sling for throwing snowballs; Lucy makes a huge snowball.
- "Kite Flying" - Charlie Brown gets his kite string caught on a picket fence and people's noses; he sits in school tangled in string; he tries to take up flying paper airplanes instead with little success.
- "Linus and Lucy" - Linus draws an unflattering picture of Lucy; Lucy demands appropriate thanks from Linus for a piece of toast; Lucy tries to take out Linus and Snoopy's slivers.
- "Baseball" - Lucy stands on the pitcher's mound to see if she can see the ocean; Charlie Brown shows Lucy how to "keep a stiff upper lip and a firm jaw"; Lucy wants Schroeder to give her a kiss if she hits a home run.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 2 (Paramount VHS)
LUCY VS. THE WORLD (Episode 4)
First Broadcast: October 8, 1983 (Production Order: 10)
Sketches:
- "Straws" - Charlie Brown and Lucy sip lemonade while having a discussion. Charlie Brown starts making funny faces as Lucy sips - could it be that the neighborhood dog took a sip from her cup when she wasn't looking?
- "Lucy Baseball" - Lucy drives Charlie Brown crazy as a reporter for the school paper after Charlie Brown kicks her off the baseball team.
- "Peppermint Patty" - Peppermint Patty mistakes Snoopy's doghouse as the guest cottage when she invites herself to stay at Charlie Brown's house while her father is out of town.
- "Daisy Hill Puppy Cup" - Snoopy forces everyone to write recommendation letters for him when he's nominated for the Daisy Hill Puppy Cup.
- "Linus and Lucy" - Lucy attempts to set a world record for being crabby 1000 days in a row; Lucy criticizes Linus for patting birds on the head; Linus moves in with Snoopy after Lucy throws him out of the house, but Lucy isn't alone for long because she discovers that her mom has just had a new baby boy!
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 5 (Paramount VHS)
LINUS' SECURITY BLANKET (Episode 5)
First Broadcast: October 15, 1983 (Production Order: 2)
Sketches:
- "Snoopy and Woodstock" - Snoopy gets into a fight with the Cat Next Door when he believes the cat has gotten Woodstock, but the visit to the vet's afterwards might be even worse.
- "Sally" - Sally tries to tell jokes in front of her school class.
- "Piano" - Lucy bugs Schroeder while he plays the piano and Snoopy plays the fiddle and dances.
- "Baseball" - Charlie Brown starts to float out to see on his pitcher's mound after a rain storm.
- "Sunsets" - Lucy gives Charlie Brown psychiatric advice based on whether he prefers sunrises or sunsets.
- "Football" - Lucy pretends to fall asleep while Charlie Brown tries to kick the football.
- "Security Blanket" - Linus tries to kick his blanket habit by giving it to Snoopy, who makes a sports coat out of it; Linus is just about "cured" when Charlie Brown gives him an unexpected gift.
- "Kite" - Charlie Brown puts up with humiliation after he ends up hanging upside from a tree when he tries to fly his kite.
- "Woodstock" - Sleepy Snoopy and Woodstock try to share the doghouse for a nap.
- "Clinging Snoopy" - Snoopy becomes a nuisance to the gang when he starts clinging to people who say they love dogs.
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Piano":
- Schroeder plays piano while Lucy talks: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2; 1st movement.
- Schroeder says "Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven..." while he plays Beethoven's piano sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2 No. 3, 1st movement.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 1 (Paramount VHS)
SNOOPY: MAN'S BEST FRIEND (Episode 6)
First Broadcast: October 22, 1983 (Production Order: 5)
Sketches:
- "Kiss" - Lucy complains that no one loves her, walking away as Snoopy tries to kiss her.
- "Peppermint Patty" - Peppermint Patty hires Snoopy to be her guard dog because she's afraid to sleep at night. But the house is burglarized anyway when Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie can't get off the very bouncy waterbed.
- "Charlie Brown Lost!" - Snoopy takes the Beagle Scouts on a hike and doesn't come back, and Charlie Brown gets lost trying to find them. Peppermint Patty and Marcie go on a rescue mission.
- "Snoopy" - Skits involving Snoopy, including Linus tells the story of the "Three Little Pigs" and Snoopy begins to "huff and puff" knocking Linus over; Frieda tries to get Snoopy to hunt for rabbits; Snoopy pretends he's the Flying Ace and stalks Charlie Brown as he brings out supper; Sally uses Snoopy to espouse her new philosophy "speak softly and carry a beagle."
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 3 (Paramount VHS)
SNOOPY THE PSYCHIATRIST (Episode 7)
First Broadcast: October 29, 1983 (Production Order: 9)
Sketches:
- "Charlie Brown & Lucy" - Charlie Brown has difficulty getting good advice from Lucy the psychiatrist and her replacement Snoopy.
- "Kite" - Charlie Brown keeps losing his cap and crashing his kite; the kite explodes into little pieces; the kite encounters the "kite-eating tree."
- "The Dance" - Peppermint Patty asks Snoopy to go to a dance with her and ends up slugging a kid who jokes about Snoopy's "big nose."
- "Thiebault" - Peppermint Patty lends Charlie Brown's baseball glove to Thiebault and he won't give it back; Thiebault refuses to play with Marcie on Peppermint Patty's team.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 5 (Paramount VHS)
YOU CAN'T WIN, CHARLIE BROWN (Episode 8)
First Broadcast: November 5, 1983 (Production Order: 1)
Sketches:
- "Shaking" - Snoopy demonstrates the "shaking" method of training puppies.
- "Spaghetti" - Woodstock comments on Snoopy's dinner.
- "Football" - Sally learns the danger of kicking a football near a bird's nest.
- "Baseball" - With Rerun's help, Charlie Brown's baseball team wins their first game ever - but there's trouble when the league discovers someone was gambling on the game!
- "Toast" - Linus offers his burnt toast to Woodstock.
- "Snow Sculpture" - Lucy and Linus make snow sculptures honoring George Washington's birthday.
- "Sit" - Charlie Brown tries to teach Snoopy to "heel" and "sit".
- "School" - The school ceiling springs a leak over Peppermint Patty's desk.
- "Kite" - Lucy helps Charlie Brown fly his kite.
- "The Blanket" - Linus tries to live without his blanket for two weeks.
- "Sally" - Sally tries to answer math questions with humor and charm.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Rerun, Sally, Snoopy, Woodstock.
Trivia & Notes:
- League headquarters for Charlie Brown's baseball league is in a bicycle repair shop.
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Kite":
- Lucy helps Charlie Brown with kite-flying: Mendelssohn, "Song without words" Vol. 5, Op. 62 No. 6 in A major, "Spring Song".
- Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and Lucy get tangled up in kite string: J. S. Bach, Two-part invention No. 8 in F major, BWV 779.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 1 (Paramount VHS)
THE LOST BALLPARK (Episode 9)
First Broadcast: November 12, 1983 (Production Order: 6)
Sketches:
- "Crawl" - Lucy tries to correct Charlie Brown's walk.
- "Marcie" - Marcie is bothered by a boy at summer camp who keeps calling her "lambcake."
- "Truffles" - While hunting for truffles, Linus and Snoopy met a little girl named Truffles and compete for her affection.
- "The Lost Ballfield" - Charlie Brown tries to figure out what to do when the owner of the vacant lot won't let his baseball team play there anymore.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 3 (Paramount VHS)
SNOOPY'S FOOTBALL CAREER (Episode 10)
First Broadcast: November 19, 1983 (Production Order: 11)
Sketches:
- "Gold Stars" - Peppermint Patty goes undercover to find her teacher's missing box of gold stars.
- "Blanket" - Snoopy steals Linus's blanket, and Linus tries tricks to get it back.
- "Piano" - Lucy throws Schroeder's piano up into the kite-eating tree.
- "Teaching" - Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie and Charlie Brown to play football; Linus tries to teach Sally football; and Snoopy tries to play football with Woodstock. Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown - again.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Franklin, Linus, Lucy, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, Miss Tenure (off-screen).
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Piano":
- Snoopy starts dancing on Schroeder's piano: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2; 1st movement.
- Lucy comes in and starts talking: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1; 1st movement.
- Schroeder pauses for a moment, says "I don't know. It's kind of hard to tell off hand" and plays Beethoven's piano sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2 No. 3; 1st movement.
- Lucy and Schroeder discuss flowers: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1; 1st movement.
- Lucy says "you can't bluff a musician" and then gets frustrated: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"; 1st movement.
- Lucy says "if we were married...": Beethoven's piano sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1; 4th movement.
- The Kite-Eating Tree eats Schroeder's piano; Schroeder and Lucy talk in the living room: Beethoven's symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67; 1st movement.
- Schroeder plays his new piano, Lucy leans on it: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"; 1st movement.
- Snoopy dances on Schroeder's new piano: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2; 1st movement.
- Snoopy leaves and Lucy walks in with a glass of lemonade: Beethoven's piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"; 1st movement.
Skit "Teaching":
- Lucy talks Charlie Brown into kicking a football; Charlie Brown misses the football: Mendelssohn's "Song without words" Vol. 5, Op. 62 No. 6 in A major, "Spring Song"
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 6 (Paramount VHS)
CHAOS IN THE CLASSROOM (Episode 11)
First Broadcast: November 26, 1983 (Production Order: 12)
Sketches:
- "Sally at School" - Sally shows how some numbers can't be trusted; Sally takes Woodstock's nest to school for "Show & Tell"; Sally is afraid to walk home alone after she borrows a kid's ruler and breaks it.
- "Football" - Linus tries to teach Sally to play football; Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown again; Marcie and Peppermint Patty play football.
- "School Patrol" - Peppermint Patty is jealous when Marcie is picked to be a traffic patrol person at school. After Marcie falls asleep in class, Peppermint Patty gets the job, but will her unique style allow her to keep it?
- "Blanket" - Linus's blanket keeps attacking Lucy.
- "The Team" - Baseball skits, including Snoopy's dish is used for second base; Charlie Brown tries to teach Lucy to bat; Lucy refuses to slide because of her designer jeans.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 6 (Paramount VHS)
IT'S THAT TEAM SPIRIT, CHARLIE BROWN (Episode 12)
First Broadcast: December 3, 1983 (Production Order: 13)
Sketches:
- "Vulture" - Snoopy pretends he's a vulture and swoops down on passer-bys.
- "Blanket" - Snoopy steals Linus's blanket while Lucy tries to get Linus to kick his blanket habit. Linus steals Snoopy's supper dish in retaliation.
- "Peppermint Patty" - Peppermint Patty refuses to go to school because of her "Z" average, so Marcie gets Snoopy to "helicopter" her to school.
- "Rerun" - Rerun observes the world while riding on the back of his mother's bicycle.
- "Rainy Day" - Charlie Brown's team plays baseball while Charlie Brown gives a speech on baseball signals, and tries to promote team spirit; when it beings to rain, Lucy uses an umbrella as a bat.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 7 (Paramount VHS)
LUCY LOVES SCHROEDER (Episode 13)
First Broadcast: December 10, 1983 (Production Order: 8)
Sketches:
- "Kite-Eating Tree" - Charlie Brown goes to Lucy's psychiatry booth for advice on fighting the kite-eating tree.
- "Sally" - Snoopy pretends to be the World War I Flying Ace and steals important enemy papers - that is, Sally's report for school.
- "Camp" - Charlie Brown gets sent home from camp for being a trouble-maker.
- "Lucy Loves Schroeder" - Lucy bugs Schroeder at the piano, including taking the piano and putting it in the washer and dryer.
- "Scared Snoopy" - Snoopy refuses to pay his psychiatry bill after consulting Lucy about noises he's been hearing at night.
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Lucy loves Schroeder":
- Schroeder plays piano while Lucy and he talk: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 7; 1st movement.
- While Lucy walks over to Schroeder's to tell him they are through: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2; 1st movement.
- Lucy says "If I told you that we were through... ": Beethoven, piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 ("Waldstein"); 1st movement.
- Schroeder says "If I told you it didn't matter to me one way or the other..." and plays: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 1, Op. 2 No. 1; 3rd movement.
- BGM when Lucy takes the piano out of the drier: Beethoven, Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59 ("Für Elise").
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 4 (Paramount VHS)
1985 Season
SNOOPY AND THE GIANT (Episode 14)
First Broadcast: September 14, 1985 (Production Order: 14)
Sketches:
- "Snoopy's Foot" - Snoopy tries to play baseball with his foot in a cast.
- "Giant" - Snoopy and Woodstock grow a giant beanstalk and meet a giant.
- "Rerun" - Rerun meets a little girl in the supermarket.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 7 (Paramount VHS)
SNOOPY'S BROTHER SPIKE (Episode 15)
First Broadcast: September 21, 1985 (Production Order: 15)
Sketches:
- "The Pelicans" - Peppermint Patty makes Charlie Brown dress up in a pelican costume to be her baseball team's mascot.
- "Great Pumpkin" - Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown compete in a bowling tournament while Linus and Sally wait for the Great Pumpkin in a nearby pumpkin patch.
- "Spike" - Lucy attempts to "fatten up" Snoopy's brother Spike in preparation for a fight with the Cat Next Door.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 8 (Paramount VHS)
SNOOPY'S ROBOT (Episode 16)
First Broadcast: September 28, 1985 (Production Order: 16)
Sketches:
- "Snoopy's Robot" - The gang goes to computer camp, where Snoopy has an unpleasant run-in with an unusual robot.
- "Linus and the Blanket" - Linus tries to give up his blanket.
- "Friends" - Charlie Brown wonders what to do when he discovers that both Marcie and Peppermint Patty have a crush on him.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 8 (Paramount VHS)
PEPPERMINT PATTY'S SCHOOL DAYS (Episode 17)
First Broadcast: October 5, 1985 (Production Order: 17)
Sketches:
- "School Days" - The trials and tribulations of Peppermint Patty in school. Marcie tries to advise her on how to get better grades.
- "Snoopy's Trick" - Charlie Brown tries to get Snoopy to "shape up" when he gets tired of Snoopy's tricks and demands.
- "Snoopy's Flight" - Schroeder takes a plane flight to music camp - but he may never get there since he's flying on "Ace Airlines" whose plane looks suspiciously like a doghouse!
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Snoopy's Trick":
- Snoopy dances while Schroeder plays piano: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 23 in F minor ("Appassionata"), Op. 57; 1st movement.
Skit "Snoopy's Flight":
- Woodstock whistles and flies away on a musical note while Schroeder plays piano: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 ("Waldstein"); 1st movement.
- After Schroeder gets off the plane he plays piano at home: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2; 1st movement.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 9 (Paramount VHS)
SALLY'S SWEET BABBOO (Episode 18)
First Broadcast: October 12, 1985 (Production Order: 18)
Sketches:
- "The Play" - Charlie Brown writes a term paper about what happened at the previous year's disastrous Christmas play.
- "Sweet Babboo!" - Everyone in the gang is hoping for valentines from their favorite sweeties on Valentine's Day.
- "Snoopy's Story" - Peppermint Patty writes an essay about Snoopy and then is chosen to read it in front of the whole school.
Music:
Classical Music Sources:
Skit "Sweet Babboo!":
- Schroeder plays piano while Lucy leans on it: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 ("Waldstein"); 1st movement.
VHS Release:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 9 (Paramount VHS)
Documentaries and Live-Action Shows
Although definitely part of the Peanuts television canon, these shows are either not primarily animated, or are a blend of interviews, archival footage and retrospectives that incorporate sequences from earlier specials.
This is not necessarily a complete listing (although I think it's pretty close). Please send in any additional information you have!
A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: Originally created in 1963, never aired. (30 minutes)
Synopsis:
A gentle and informative examination about Charles Schulz and the comic strip. It featured these segments:
- Charles Schulz driving his children to school, while he discusses where he gets his ideas;
- Schulz answering his fan mail;
- Schulz in his studio, drawing his famous creations;
- A discussion of the then-bestselling book "Happiness is a Warm Puppy", and drawings sent to Schulz by children who wanted to share what "happiness is" to them;
- "Charlie Brown" appreciation day at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, where a large cut-out of Charlie Brown takes the pitcher's mound before the Giants do... and of course it starts raining.
In between the live-action segments were a series of color stills from the strips illustrating each character's personality and quirks, and the animations. These animations were simple and short, and based on popular elements of the comic strip--the gang playing baseball; Lucy pulling away the football when Charlie Brown tries to kick it; Charlie Brown flying a kite and ending up dangling from a tree; Snoopy pretending to be a vulture and then stealing Linus's blanket--but they easily illustrated the possibilities for Peanuts in the medium.
Characters (in the animated segments):
Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Schroeder, Shermy, Snoopy, Violet (b), Pig-pen (b)
Trivia & Notes:
- Includes what are often referred to as the first Peanuts animations, although the Ford Falcon commercials predate it.
- The first show that included music by Vince Guaraldi. Most of the now-famous Peanuts themes actually debuted here, rather than in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
- Not to be confused with the movie of the same title.
- Available on DVD from the Charles Schulz Museum. Call them at 707-579-4452 to order a copy.
Music:
Original Music Composed and Conducted by Vince Guaraldi
CD/Albums:
Some of the music from this special shows up on the A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN (Fantasy FCD-8430-2) CD.
CHARLIE BROWN AND CHARLES SCHULZ
Broadcast Date: May 24, 1969 (Saturday), 8:30 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Documentary about Charles Schulz, the comic strip, and its spinoffs in other media, showcasing the world of Peanuts at the height of its popularity. It incorporated segments from the unaired documentary "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", although much of the show is new material. Segments included:
- A brief autobiography of Charles Schulz, illustrated by the artist as he draws scenes to match the narration (these drawings also appear in the 1972 book Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz);
- The San Francisco cast of the play "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" performing the musical's opening number;
- Vince Guaraldi performing "Linus and Lucy" on stage at the Monterey Jazz Festival (intercut with animation of Schroeder playing piano with Snoopy on the cello);
- A music video of the Royal Guardsman signing their hit single, "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron";
- An excerpt from the soon-to-be released big-screen film "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" accompanied by Rod McKuen singing "Champion Charlie Brown" (the scene just after Charlie Brown wins the school spelling bee);
- Robert Short discusses the theology present in Peanuts, from the lecture that produced his book The Gospel According to Peanuts;
- Charles Schulz giving a speech at NASA, to acknowledge Apollo 10's two modules being named "Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy";
- Schulz giving a tour of his studio, discussing the origin of some of his famous ideas and why he doesn't have assistants;
- and a discussion of the then-bestselling book "Happiness is a Warm Puppy", and drawings sent to Schulz by children who wanted to share what "happiness is" to them (this is the same segment that appeared in the unbroadcast 1965 documentary).
Once again the segments were separated by short animated sequences. Some were from the unbroadcast 1963 documentary, but they are supplemented by new and more polished animations based on daily strips (since by this time six animated shows had been produced and shown).
Characters (in animated segments):
Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Pig-pen, Sally, Schroeder, Snoopy, Violet (b), Patty (b)
Music:
Original Music Score Written and Performed by Vince Guaraldi
CD/Albums:
Some of the music from this special shows up on the A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN (Fantasy FCD-8430-2) CD.
SNOOPY AT THE ICE FOLLIES
Broadcast Date: October 24, 1971 (Sunday), 7:30 - 8:30 PM (NBC)
rebroadcast: January 14, 1977 (Friday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Live-action/Variety) The following description is from TV Guide. Snoopy, the George Plimpton of the "Peanuts" set, grabs the spotlight at the season's first ice show. The Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies features Snoop & his creator Charles Schulz in an ice-hockey mismatch, and the glitter of pros... graceful solos by Karen Kresge ("You've Made Me So Very Happy") and Ricky Inglesis ("Spinning Wheel"); duets by Ron & Cindy Kaufman ("Early in the Morning"), and Richard Dwyer & Susan Berens ("Promises, Promises"); comedy with Mr. Frick and the Scarecrows; and production spots with the Ice Follies.
SNOOPY'S INTERNATIONAL ICE FOLLIES
Broadcast Date: November 12, 1972, 8:00 - 9:00 PM (NBC)
Synopsis:
(Live-action/Variety) The following description is from TV Guide. A larger-than-life Snoopy takes to the ice in search of top skaters... it's the Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies, featuring the Peanuts canine on the prowl in Denmark, England, France, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and California. Comedy skaters: Mr. Frick, hobo Kevin Bubp, and Buddy and Baddy. "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz is the host of the festivities.
Songs & Skaters: "If I Ruled the World" - Richard Dwyer; "Joy to the World" - Ricky Inglesi; "What About Today?" - Jill Shipstad; "People" - Richard Dwyer & Kathy Miller; "Down on the Bayou" - Ricky Inglesi & Karen Kresge.
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: February 9, 1973 (Friday), 8:30 - 10:00 PM (NBC)
Synopsis:
(Live action) Broadcast as a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" special, this faithful live-action production of the 1967 stage musical is complete with minimalist sets, all the songs, and only one scene edited from the script. The presentation is mostly traditional shots of the stage or close up of the characters, although a few TV innovations are use, such as fancy scene transitions using cutout shapes, and overlaying shots of the different character's heads on screen at once during "The Book Report".
Trivia & Notes:
- Not to be confused with the 1985 animated adaptation of this musical.
- No home video version of this show was ever released.
- The director, Walter C. Miller, was nominated for a 1973 Emmy for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Comedy or Variety".
Music:
Book, Music, Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Music Arranged and Conducted By Elliot Lawrence
Songs:
You're a Good Man, CB
Schroeder
Snoopy (They Like Me)
My Blanket and Me
The Kite
The Doctor is In
The Book Report
T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)
Glee Club Rehearsal
Little Known Facts
Suppertime
Happiness
You're a Good Man, CB (end title reprise)
Albums:
An LP of the songs from as presented in this production was produced, but is no longer in print. No CD of this version is available; however, two other CDs with music from the musical are available - the 1967 off-Broadway version, and the 1999 Broadway version. See the entry for the animated You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown or the Music section for more details.
SNOOPY DIRECTS THE ICE FOLLIES
Broadcast Date: November 13, 1973 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (NBC)
Synopsis:
(Live-action/Variety) The following description is from TV Guide. Snoopy is in the director's chair as the skating "Peanuts" canine leads the Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies. With beautiful outdoor sequences filmed in Colorado Springs, and behind-the-scenes shots of the great director at work. "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz hosts the festivities which include comic maneuvers from Mr. Frick and the skating Funsters.
Songs & Skaters: "Pieces of Dreams", "Cabaret", "You're My World" - Richard Dwyer; "Ain't No Sunshine, "You Are My Sunshine" - Atoy Wilson; "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Karen Kresge; "For All We Know", "Yakety Axe" - Richard Dwyer & Susan Berens; "Love Story" - Nancy and Leadre; "Saturday Night U.S.A." - all.
Snoopy "directs" the this special staring himself, the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, Richard Dwyer, Atoy Wilson, Karen Kresge, and Susan Berens, and comedy routines by Mr. Frick and the Funsters. Includes outdoor sequences filmed in Colorado Springs and behind-the-scenes segments. Hosted by Charles Schulz.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: January 9, 1976 (Friday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) A salute to Charles Schulz on the 25th anniversary of the "Peanuts" comic strip.
Trivia & Notes:
- Won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Informational Children's Special."
SNOOPY'S MUSICAL ON ICE
Broadcast Date: May 24, 1978 (Wednesday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Live-action/Variety) The following description of the show is from TV Guide. Snoopy (skated by Judy Sladky) is joined by "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz, 1968 Olympic champion Peggy Fleming, performers from the Ice Follies, and singers Becky Reardon and Larry Finlayson. Taped in San Francisco.
Skating highlights: "Canon", "So Into You", Peggy Fleming medley, Snoopy & skaters, "My Heart Belongs To Me" - Karen Kresge, "Mr. Bojangles" - Atoy Wilson
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: January 5, 1979 (Friday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) Phyllis George hosts an hour-long salute to "Peanuts".
CHARLES M. SCHULZ... TO REMEMBER
Broadcast Date: October 8, 1980 (30 minutes, PBS)
Synopsis:
Documentary starring Charles Schulz with reflections on his youth and on parenthood, and how they inspired events and characters in the comic strip, especially including his recollections of Spike, his real-life childhood dog that inspired the cartoon character of Snoopy. Also partially filmed in France and the places that inspired the movie "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown." Includes clips from that movie.
THE BIG STUFFED DOG
Broadcast Date: February 8, 1981 (Sunday), 7:00 - 8:00 PM (NBC)
Synopsis:
(Live-action, not animation.) Young Petey's prized 5-foot stuffed Snoopy doll gets misplaced at the airport and comes into the life of a variety of characters before returning to his original owner.
Trivia & Notes:
- Launched "Project Peacock", an intermittent series of "spectacular prime-time specials for young people". I don't know how long the series lasted, though.
IT'S YOUR 20TH TELEVISION ANNIVERSARY, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: May 14, 1985 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) Highlights from the 26 "Peanuts" TV specials to date.
Music:
Songs (new to this special):
Let's Have a Party
Snoopy's Big Debut
Someday, Charlie Brown
Don't Give Up, Charlie Brown
Albums:
The new songs from this special appear on the 1984 "Flashbeagle" record album, but is now out of print and there is no CD version.
YOU DON'T LOOK 40, CHARLIE BROWN
Broadcast Date: February 2, 1990 (Friday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
A documentary/retrospective featuring:
- Clips from various animated specials and a few new animations;
- Interviews with and historical footage of Charles Schulz;
- Interview with Bill Melendez, including him performing his "Snoopy" voice and demonstrating how Snoopy's dances were rotoscoped for "It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown";
- "Music videos" of the songs "Little Birdie" performed by Joe Williams, "Linus and Lucy" performed by David Benoit, "Joe Cool" performed by B.B. King;
- Reunion of the actors who have performed the voices of the characters over the years;
- The song "Suppertime" performed by Bill Hinnant from the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown";
- Commentary by Cathy Guisewite;
- Hosted by Michele Lee (footage shot at Snoopy's Gallery and Gift Shop and One Snoopy Place).
Music:
CD/Albums:
Most of the songs in this special are available on HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CHARLIE BROWN (GRP Records GRD-9596).
A&E BIOGRAPHY: CHARLES SCHULZ - A CHARLIE BROWN LIFE
Broadcast Date: December 25, 1995 (60 minutes, A&E)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) An overview of Charles Schulz's life and career, including snippets from animated shows.
Trivia & Notes:
- A shorter, edited version of this show with new narration started appearing on "The Biography Channel" as part of "Biography for Kids" in 2001.
- A videotape of was available by calling 1-888-423-1212, by going to <http://www.biography.com/store/> , or from Amazon.com. However it has been listed as "out of stock" for some time and may be out of print.
GOOD GRIEF, CHARLIE BROWN: A TRIBUTE TO CHARLES SCHULZ
Broadcast Date: February 11, 2000 (Friday), 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) A tribute to Charles Schulz and his comic strip as the final Peanuts strip approaches, hosted by Walter Cronkite. Features mostly clips from the animated specials intercut with footage from Charles Schulz's interview with "60 Minutes" from October 31, 1999. Also commentary and congratulatory messages from cartoonists Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Scott Adams (Dilbert), and Jim Davis (Garfield).
Segments include:
- a short biography of Charles Schulz (some of the autobiographical sketches first appeared in the special 1969 "Charlie Brown & Charles Schulz");
- the theme of unrequited love in Peanuts and comments from Donna Wold, the "real" little red-haired girl;
- Schulz explaining how a strip gets created from quick sketches to the finished product (originally from the 1976 special "Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown");
- an examination of Snoopy's over-active imagination, fantasy life, and roles;
- Gene Cernan, Apollo 10 astronaut, speaking about how Snoopy influenced the astronauts (with footage of Apollo 10 command module and LEM, named "Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy");
- a skit from the special "A Charlie Brown Christmas" translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, and German
- an examination of sports in the strip;
- analysis and commentary on Lucy's crabbiness and Linus's blanket;
- the song "Happiness" from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" with a montage of clips.
Trivia & Notes:
- No video release of this special is/will be available - CBS News says the rights for it were "broadcast only."
- Won an News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Scenic Design (News & Documentary Program), Scenic Designer Ann L. Cudworth and Assistant Art Director Matthew Anderson, 2000.
NIGHTLINE: GOOD GRIEF, CHARLES SCHULZ
Broadcast Date: February 11, 2000 (Friday), 11:35 - 12:05 PM (ABC)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) An analysis of the Peanuts comic on the eve of the last strip, hosted by Christopher Bury with interviews with many celebrities.
Topics discussed include the characters of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and Snoopy; sports and losing and perseverance; insecurity and emotions; the essence of the strip; lack of parents of the strip; the music of Vince Guaraldi; how Peanuts phrases and scenes have become cultural icons; and the legacy of Peanuts/life after Peanuts.
Commentary provided by: Jim Davis (Garfield creator), Michael Feinstein (Pianist), Joe Garagiola (former Major League catcher), Joe Torre (Manager, New York Yankees), Matt Groening (Simpsons creator), Cheryl Miller (Head Coach/General Manager of the Phoenix Mercury), Bob Mankoff (The New Yorker Cartoon Editor), Oscar the Grouch (Sesame Street), Dr. Alvin Poussaint (Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard University), Pets.com Sock Puppet, Cathy Guisewite (Cathy creator), Commander Ken "Snoopy" Ryan (US Navy pilot), Colonel Paul "Snoopy" Schafer (US Air Force pilot), and George Winston (Pianist).
HERE'S TO YOU, CHARLIE BROWN: 50 GREAT YEARS
Broadcast Date: May 10, 2000, 8:00 - 9:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
(Documentary/Retrospective) This special hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, featured highlights from past shows as well as 10 minutes of new animation, country music star Faith Hill singing "Poor Sweet Baby" to Charlie Brown; sports figures Willie Mays, Joe Montana and Joe Torre giving advice to Charlie Brown; and six segments focusing on some of the strip's major themes: "Unrequited Love", "Sports", "Everyday Life", "Music of Charlie Brown", "Snoopy", and "Happiness."
Trivia & Notes:
- Due to legal and contractual issues, no home video release of this show will be available.
Music:
A Peanuts tribute album to accompany this special, also titled Here's To You Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years, has been released by GRP Records. Despite the similarity in titles, most of the music on this album did not appear in the documentary. Two of the tracks, "Linus Tells Charlie" and "Getting Ready", are from It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown.
Featuring mostly rerecordings of Peanuts standards and a couple of new pieces, the track list includes: (1) Linus And Lucy, (2) Charlie Brown Theme, (3) Pebble Beach, (4) Linus Tells Charlie, (5) Frieda (With Naturally Curly Hair), (6) Christmas Time Is Here, (7) Getting Ready, (8) Blue Charlie Brown, (9) Red Baron, (10) Happiness.
The primary artist is jazz pianist David Benoit, the musical director for the special. Other performers on the album include Al Jarreau, Take 6 (vocals); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Chris Botti (trumpet); Vince Guaraldi (piano); Marc Antoine, Russell Malone (guitar); Christian McBride (bass); and Peter Erskine (drums).
THE MAKING OF A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
Broadcast Date: December 6, 2001 & December 16, 2001, 8:30 - 9:00 PM (ABC)
Synopsis:
(Documentary) Produced by Lee Mendelson Productions, who created the original A Charlie Brown Christmas special, this 17-minute documentary hosted by Whoopi Goldberg focuses on the creation of the first Peanuts TV special, including interviews with some of the original voices; an example of the earliest Peanuts animation, a Ford Falcon TV commercial; and a tribute to Vince Guaraldi.
Trivia & Notes:
- Created to fill out the hour-long time slot when ABC broadcast the unedited A Charlie Brown Christmas on TV in 2001.
- This is not the same as the similarly named short documentary that appears on the Warner Home Video A Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Edition DVD; that DVD bonus feature is completely new and separate from this 2001 feature.
AMERICAN MASTERS: GOOD OL' CHARLES SCHULZ
Broadcast Date: October 29, 2007 (Monday), 9:00 - 10:30 PM (PBS)
Synopsis:
(Documentary) Description from the producer's website:
"Charles M. Schulz always insisted he was ordinary and boring. But his ordinary life—like those of the Peanuts characters he created—was in fact chock-full of drama: mundane cruelties, transcendent hopes, and the daily collisions of insiders and outsiders. Interviews with those who knew him best (including the real-life Linus and Little Red-Haired Girl) will propel this feature-length documentary, the first American Masters tribute to a comic-strip artist."
Movies
There have been four theatrically released feature-length movies.
A note about opening dates: the dates the movies opened varied widely around the country, by as much as 4-5 weeks. I have searched through the newspapers of all major US cities to come up with the earliest opening date for each movie, however, it may not be the date a movie opened in one particular spot.
A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN
Theatrical Release Date:
December 4, 1969
First Television Broadcast:
April 16, 1976 (Friday), 8:00 - 10:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
After winning local competitions, Charlie Brown competes in a national spelling bee.
Characters:
Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, Lucy, Patty, Pig-pen, Sally, Schroeder, Shermy, Snoopy, Violet, Peppermint Patty (b), 5 (b), kite-eating tree (b), other school kids (b), other spelling bee contestants (b).
Trivia & Notes:
- Debut showing was at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
- Nominated in 1971 for "Best Music, Original Song Score" Academy (Oscar) Award (equivalent to "Original Music or Comedy Score" today). Vince Guaraldi, Rod McKuen, Bill Melendez, Al Shean, and John Scott Trotter were named in the nomination. However, it lost to "Let It Be" from the Beatles - tough competition!
- The words Charlie Brown has to spell are: failure, insecure; stomach-ache, perceive; unconfident, fussbudget, disastrous, incompetent, beagle.
- Charlie Brown is competing in the "National Elimination Spelling Bee, 2nd grade," which implies that he's in 2nd grade.
- The Fox and Paramount VHS versions and US television versions feature the "shorter" 79 minute verison of the movie, seven minutes shorter than the original theatrical release. Two major missing scenes are where Lucy plays an "instant reply" of Charlie Brown missing the football during his psychiatric appointment, and where Charlie Brown orders room service from his hotel; many other scenes have been trimmed slightly. The good news is that the US DVD release from Paramount is the longer, 86 minute version.
- Many sources list this movie as opening on Dec. 11. However, it opened for limited release a week earlier.
- The movie was the #1 top grossing film for the week ending December 17, 1969, earning $290,000 - despite the fact that it was showing in only one theater, New York's Radio City Music Hall, that week! The next week it was replaced at #1 by the latest James Bond film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."
Music:
Credits:
- Original Musical Score by Vince Guaraldi
- Arranged and Conducted by John Scott Trotter
- Music and Lyrics for Songs "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", "Champion Charlie Brown", and "Failure Face" written by Rod McKuen
- Vocals on "A Boy Name Charlie Brown" performed by Rod McKuen
- Music for "I Before E" written by John Scott Trotter
- Lyrics for "I Before E" written by Bill Melendez & Al Shean
- Beethoven Pathetique Sonata performed by Ingolf Dahl
Albums:
An LP with the songs was released (Columbia OS 3500), but is long out of print. In addition to the songs, it includes dialog from the movie and additional narration from Linus and Charlie Brown not in the movie. It's more of a "story of" album than a strictly music soundtrack. The album was also released on 8-track tape.
(The CD with the title of the same name is not the movie soundtrack; it's the soundtrack from the 1963 documentary of the same name.)
Songs:
A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Failure Face
I Before E
Champion Charlie Brown
Classical Music Sources:
- Lucy asks Schroeder if he thinks Charlie Brown could win the spelling bee: Beethoven, piano sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 ("Pathetique"); 3rd movement.
- Schroeder's solo: the 2nd movement of the same sonata.
Video Release Info:
Running time: 86 minutes (DVD, original movie) / 79 minutes (VHS releases, TV broacast)
(While the original movie runs 86 minutes, most TV airings and VHS releases have been a shorter, edited version that runs 79 minutes.)
SNOOPY COME HOME
Theatrical Release Date:
July 14, 1972
First Television Broadcast:
November 5, 1976 (Friday), 8:00 - 10:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Snoopy decides he must return to his previous owner.
Trivia & Notes:
- Animated debut of Woodstock and Franklin.
Music:
Songs Written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman
Songs:
Snoopy Come Home
Lila's Theme (Do You Remember Me)
At the Beach
No Dogs Allowed!
The Best of Buddies
Fundamental-Friend-Dependability
Gettin' It Together
It Changes
Albums:
An LP with the songs was released (Columbia S 31541), but is long out of print.
Video Release Info:
Running time: 80 minutes
RACE FOR YOUR LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN
Theatrical Release Date:
June 3, 1977
First Television Broadcast:
Premium cable: as early as May 12, 1978 (HBO)
Network television: November 3, 1979 (Saturday), 8:00 - 10:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
The gang goes to summer camp and competes in a whitewater race.
Trivia & Notes:
- To research this movie, Charles Schulz et al went rafting on the Rogue River in Oregon.
Video Release Info:
Running time: 76 minutes
BON VOYAGE, CHARLIE BROWN (AND DON'T COME BACK)
Theatrical Release Date:
June 13, 1980
First Television Broadcast:
Premium cable: as early as June 6, 1981 (HBO)
Network television: May 7, 1985 (Tuesday), 8:00 - 10:00 PM (CBS)
Synopsis:
Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Snoopy travel to France as exchange students and confront a mystery surrounding their hosts.
Trivia & Notes:
- The chateau that Charlie Brown, Linus, and Snoopy stay in is based on the chateau that Charles Schulz was billeted at for six weeks in World War II.
- The TV special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? is an epilogue to this movie.
Music:
Songs:
I Want To Remember This, written and performed by Judy Munsen and Ed Bogas
Other:
The music played on the jukebox in the pub Snoopy visits is (listed in order):
Boogie Woogie - Clarence Smith
Sentimental Journey - Les Brown, Ben Homer, and Bud Green
It's Been a Long Long Time - Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn
Boogie Woogie - Clarence Smith
Rum & Coca Cola - Morey Amsterdam, Paul Baron, and Jerri Sullivan
I'll Be Seeing You - Sammy Fain and Irving Kahol
Video Release Info:
Running time: 76 minutes
Emmy, Peabody, and Academy Awards
Emmy Awards
This is a listing of all Emmy awards and nominations earned by Peanuts television specials. I believe this to be a complete and correct list.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Winner - Outstanding Children's Program, 1966
- Nominee - Special Classifications Of Individual Achievements, Charles Schulz, Writer, 1966
Charlie Brown's All-Stars
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Program, 1967
- Nominee - Special Classifications Of Individual Achievements, Charles Schulz, Writer, 1967
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Program 1967
- Nominee - Special Classifications Of Individual Achievements, Bill Melendez, Director, 1967
You're In Love, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Achievement In Children's Programming, Lee Mendelson, Producer, 1968
- Nominee - Special Classifications Of Individual Achievements, Charles Schulz, Writer, 1968
- Nominee - Special Classifications Of Individual Achievements, Bill Melendez, Director, 1968
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Achievement In Children's Programming, Lee Mendelson, Producer, 1968
Play It Again, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Achievement In Children's Programming, John Scott Trotter, Music Director, 1972
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Achievement In Children's Programming, Charles Schulz, Writer, 1972
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
- Winner - Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming, Charles M. Schulz, Writer, 1974
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Special, 1974
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Special, 1975
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Special, 1975
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown
- Winner - Outstanding Children's Special, 1976
Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown
- Winner - Outstanding Informational Children's Special, 1976
It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Special, 1977
You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1979
Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1979
She's A Good Skate, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1979
Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown
- Winner - Outstanding Animated Program, 1981
It's Magic, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1981
Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1982
- Nominee - Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animated Programming, Phil Roman, Director, 1982
A Charlie Brown Celebration
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1982
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1983
What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1983
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1984
Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program, 1985
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program (Daytime), 1986
Why, Charlie Brown, Why?
- Nominee - Outstanding Animated Program (One Hour or Less), 1990
You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Program, 1990
Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Program, 2000
Good Grief, Charlie Brown: A Tribute to Charles Schulz
- Winner - Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Scenic Design (News & Documentary Program), Scenic Designer Ann L. Cudworth and Assistant Art Director Matthew Anderson, 2000
The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Nominee - Outstanding Children's Program, 2001
Peabody Awards
The following two shows were awarded the Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting (said to be the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize):
A Charlie Brown Christmas
What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?
Academy (Oscar) Awards
The movie "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" was nominated in 1971 for a "Best Music, Original Song Score" Academy Award (equivalent today to "Original Musical or Comedy Score"). Vince Guaraldi, Rod McKuen, Bill Melendez, Al Shean, and John Scott Trotter were named in the nomination.
Peanuts TV & Video Links
This is a far from comprehensive list of Peanuts web sites! But here are a few which are related to Peanuts video and animation.
Peanuts.com
The "official" Peanuts web site, includes daily strips and news.
Bill Melendez Productions, Inc.
Website for the folks who have animated all the Peanuts TV shows and commercials. Includes many short clips from the TV shows and even some of the rarely seen commercials! Warning - the site is completely Flash-based and probably won't work well on dial-up Internet connections.
VinceGuaraldi.com
The official Vince Guaraldi website, featuring a biography, a pictorial discography and Vince photo gallery, and store with exclusive Vince Guaraldi CD releases.
Vince Guaraldi
Derrick Bang has tons of information about the man who composed music for the classic Peanuts specials. His pages include a Guaraldi discography, an analysis of the many different releases of the A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, the latest news via the Impressions of Vince blog, and much more.
Warner Home Video's Peanuts DVD Website
Warner Home Video has set up a special website for the Peanuts DVD releases, featuring information and trailers about the DVDs, as well as short video clips and pictures.
David Benoit
Jazz pianist David Benoit has written and performed the music for the most recent TV specials, produced an album of Peanuts music, and gives concerts of Peanuts music too. Check out this web site, with photos, background information, and a history of his association with Peanuts, written by Derrick Bang.
Lee Mendelson
Stanford's Nov-Dec 97 alumni magazine has an article about Lee Mendelson (who has produced all the TV shows to date) which discusses his background and current projects.
AAUGH.com
This on-line store run by Peanuts book expert Nat Gertler, has an easy-to-use layout for ordering all the videos, CDs, and Peanuts books too.
Amazon.com
The on-line book, music, and video store has almost every Peanuts video title for sale and in stock (search for either "Charlie Brown" or "Snoopy").
How Did The Specials Get Started?
In 1963, Lee Mendelson, an independent television producer, contacted Charles Schulz with the idea of producing a documentary about Schulz and Peanuts. While Schulz had received several offers from Hollywood for a feature film or TV series, none of the offers had appealed to him. But he'd seen and enjoyed Mendelson's 1963 documentary on Willie Mays, so he agreed to meet with Mendelson.
They decided to include some short trial animations in the documentary (titled "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," a title that was later reused for the 1969 theatrical movie). These sequences were created by Bill Melendez, a friend of Schulz's who had done the animation for some Ford commercials starring the Peanuts gang. Unfortunately, Mendelson and Schulz were unable to convince any network or sponsor to buy the documentary when they were done.
But in May 1965, Coca-Cola, remembering the animated sequences from the documentary when it had been shopped to them, expressed an interest in sponsoring an animated Peanuts Christmas special. In the next six months, Schulz, Mendelson, and Melendez worked hard to create the special which became "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
Several important choices were made during the first show's development that have influenced all shows to come.
Schulz, Melendez, and Mendelson decided to have real children perform the voices of the show's characters, instead of the customary practice of adults pretending to be children. They also decided, with the exception of Charlie Brown and Linus, to use amateurs with no previous experience.
(Charlie Brown was voiced by Peter Robbins, and Linus by Christopher Shea, who were both established child actors, although arguably they are now both best known for their voices on the first five Peanuts specials.)
Since the children's voices change as they grow, every few years a new set of voices needs to be found. Melendez tries to match the original voices as closely as possible. New voices have been siblings of the previous actors, children of the production staff, and children chosen from auditions held at schools near the production offices in Northern California.
Snoopy presented something of a problem. Originally the animators considered showing thought bubbles with words, as in the strip, but they realized young children would be unable to read these. They considered using a "funny voice" to verbalize the thoughts, but it didn't seem right either. In the end, they decided to play Snoopy in pantomime, "emulating the great Harpo Marx." When Snoopy does make a noise -- a bark, a howl, a grunt -- he is performed by Bill Melendez in all shows so far. (Melendez also performs Woodstock's "voice.")
Schulz, Melendez and Mendelson also decided to hire jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi to write the music for the show, and this was so successful that he wrote and performed the music for the first 14 specials (until his death), and his music has greatly influenced the music for shows after that.
Once "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was complete, CBS previewed it, and expressed apprehension. The show's slow pace (compared with other cartoons), the religious message, and the amateur voices didn't sit well with them. But when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was aired, it was an immediate critical and popular success - it received a 45 share (meaning almost half the televisions on that night tuned in to it)! Four months later the show received the Peabody Award for "outstanding children's and youth's program," and another month after that, an Emmy award.
Thus a whole series of specials was launched, each written by Charles Schulz, produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, and animated by Melendez's studio.
The original documentary ("A Boy Named Charlie Brown") was updated and broadcast in 1969.
For a more detailed history, see the book "A Charlie Brown Christmas - The Making of a Tradition", by Lee Mendelson, HarperCollins, 2000.
[Most of this section was adapted from the book "Charlie Brown & Charlie Schulz," by Lee Mendelson, published by The World Publishing Company in 1970.]
Snoopy's Flights of Fancy
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is "which special did Snoopy do this in?" So here's a list of the many roles he takes on, or imagines he takes on, or unusual activities that he does in each special.
Below, "CB&SS" before a title means it's an episode of "The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show."
This is definitely not a complete list, I'm still working on it.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Skates; plays guitar; a penguin (briefly); a vulture (briefly).
Charlie Brown's All-Stars
Surfboarder; plays baseball; tailor.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
World War I Flying Ace.
You're In Love, Charlie Brown
Wears the WWI Flying Ace gear (briefly).
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
Scuba diver; World War I Flying Ace; imagines he's in a French Cafe; sunbathes; dives off divingboard; dishwasher; does laundry; window-washer; seeps; vacuums; mops; lawnmower; wears a disguise (mustache). (Most of these are brief.)
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
Bus driver; the Masked Marvel (arm-wresting champion).
Play it Again, Charlie Brown
Floats on air to Beethoven, psychiatrist at Lucy's booth (to Lucy!), plays cello.
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
Cooks a breakfast; Joe Cool; student in class; campaign volunteer (makes posters); radio show producer.
There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown
Joe Cool (briefly); grocer; supermarket clerk.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Plays basketball; plays ping-pong; fights with a chair; chef; pilgrim.
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
Tries on funny hats with Sally; dances with bunnies; gets his nose stuck in a birdhouse; dances with Peppermint Patty & Marcie; the Easter Beagle.
It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
Detective (Sherlock Holmes); dusts for fingerprints; attorney/lawyer; Pavlov's dog.
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
Cupid; ticket taker; usher; performs Pawpet show; makes fancy valentines.
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown
Plays tennis (against automatic ball machine and Woodstock); the Masked Marvel (motocross racer); hospital patient; wrestles with bike chain.
It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown
Visits library, uses copy machine; gardens; attacked by vine (twice); cow (briefly); plays baseball; swims dogpaddle.
It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown
Helicopter; football referee; member of pep squad; doctor; plays flute (very briefly).
What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown
Drives Charlie Brown on a sled; bakes a pizza & makes shake; Alaskan sled dog; saloon piano player; tap dances on stage; makes sundae.
You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown
The Masked Marvel (decathlon athlete); runs track; lifts barbell; dances (b); jumps the high jump; jumps the broad jump; drops shot put on his foot; shot put; jumps hurdles; chased by/rides discus; gets collar stuck on pole during pole vault; throws javelin.
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
Skating coach; tailor; drives zamboni.
Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown
Hugo the Great (balancing and trapeze acts).
It's Magic, Charlie Brown
Visits library; gives a magic show as "The Great Houndini;" levitates Lucy; makes Charlie Brown invisible; wears a wizard's hat.
Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown
Plays football; uses weight training equipment; kung fu fights.
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?
Disguises himself as bush and old man (briefly); holds blanket and sucks thumb in imitation of Linus; psychiatrist (with goatee & glasses); "Joe Cool Catering" - drives truck, sets up tables, serves food.
What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?
Drives car; World War I Flying Ace.
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
Plays football; disco dancer (Flashbeagle); serves drinks; plays violin.
Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown
Groom.
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown
Wears top hat & tails; plays trumpet.
Why, Charlie Brown, Why
Plays harmonica (on back of school bus); swings on school swingset; world famous surgeon; sleds down hill with birds in dog bowl.
Snoopy's Reunion
Plays guitar; (all rest occurred briefly) sits in reclining chair; stands at podium giving speech; plays baseball; makes Charlie Brown pull him along in sled; surfboarder; plays tennis; World War I Flying Ace.
It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown
Rides ski lift; plays baseball; gets stuck in paint mixing machine; fights with drinking hose.
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown
Bell-ringing sidewalk Santa.
You're In the Superbowl, Charlie Brown
Football coach.
It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown
DJ; breakdances; chef (briefly).
The Mayflower Voyagers
Ship's lookout with telescope; part of first exploration group; plays drum.
The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk
Drives horse-drawn buggy (in top hat); tries several schemes to fly.
The NASA Space Station
Space station operator; eats dog food in zero gravity; wears spacesuit on EVA; fights with remote control arm; repairs solar panel.
The Great Inventors
Flips pizza dough; roller skates; plays basketball; plays baseball; fiddles with and drives old car; drives "Snoopmobile" in first "horseless carriage" race.
The Smithsonian and the Presidency
World War I flying ace (briefly); drives fancy 1930's car; wears top hat and tails and holds "Vote Snoopy for Head Beagle" sign.
The Music & Heroes of America
Plays banjo; plays piano; plays drum; dresses up as Theodore Roosevelt; dresses up in Uncle Sam hat and cane and dances to "Yankee Doodle Dandy"; dresses up as Russian immigrant (with hat and mustache); dresses up as a peanut; dances with Lucy; plays flute in tricorn; dresses as a 50's rock n roller.
CB&SS: You Can't Win, Charlie Brown
Dances; files a kite; fights with Linus for blanket.
CB&SS: Snoopy's Football Career
Attorney (briefly); disguised as Peppermint Patty; firefighter (captain of rescue squad); plays football.
CB&SS: Peppermint Patty's School Days
The Cheshire Beagle; airplane pilot.
Movie: A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Swings Linus on blanket (briefly); vulture in tree (briefly); flies kite (briefly); plays baseball; does suppertime dance; dreams of Flying Ace fighting Red Baron; plays jawharp; figure skates; plays ice hockey; pretends to be lion; plays bull to Linus's blanket as the cape; flirts with girl at Spelling Bee.
Music Questions and Answers
Who wrote the music for the television specials?
The music most people identify with the Peanuts TV specials was written by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, who wrote the music for the first 15 shows (from A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 through It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown in 1976), plus the music for the 1964 and 1969 documentaries A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz, and finally the music for the movie A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
For more information about Vince Guaraldi, see Derrick Bang's excellent Vince Guaraldi pages and the official Vince Guaraldi website.
The music for late 1970's and early 1980's specials was written by Ed Bogas, Judy Munsen, and Desiree Goyette.
For the mini-series This is America, Charlie Brown, a variety of well-known jazz musicians (such as Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, George Winston, and David Benoit) contributed, often reworking themes by Guaraldi.
David Benoit has performed and written the music for the specials broadcast in the 1990's and 2000's.
Finaly, Mark Mothersbaugh composed and performed the music for 2011's Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown.
What's the name of the Peanuts theme?
The "Peanuts theme" is really titled "Linus and Lucy," and was composed by Vince Guaraldi.
Where can I get Peanuts music on CD?
There are numerous CD's with music from the TV specials available. I believe this is a complete list.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (Fantasy FCD-8431-2)
- Includes almost all the music and songs from the TV special (including "Christmastime is Here"), performed by Vince Guaraldi.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Remastered Version (Fantasy FCD-30066-2)
- Includes almost all the music and songs from the TV special (including "Christmastime is Here"), performed by Vince Guaraldi, includes bonus tracks of alternate takes of 4 of the cues, and simulates the original LP packaging.
A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN (Fantasy FCD-8430-2)
- Music from the 1965 documentary (not the movie of the same name) and the 1969 documentary Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz, composed by Vince Guaraldi and performed by the Vince Guaraldi trio. The music is similar to music used in the animated specials.
CHARLIE BROWN'S HOLIDAY HITS (Fantasy FCD-9682-2)
- Music from various specials, including 9 previously unreleased tracks along with a few from the "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" albums. Performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. (The track "Camptown Races" does not appear in any of the specials -- the scene it originally accompanied was cut from an unspecified show.)
OH GOOD GRIEF (Warner Bros. 1747-2)
- Music from the early specials besides A Charlie Brown Christmas, re-recorded by Vince Guaraldi for this album. (The versions on this album are different arrangements than the music as it appears in the shows, however.)
VINCE GUARALDI AND THE LOST CUES FROM THE CHARLIE BROWN TELEVISION SPECIALS VOL. 1 (D&D VG 1118)
- A selection of original tracks and music cues from the TV specials A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown; You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown; and You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown. These tracks aren't available on any other CD, and are taken from the original studio master tapes used in the TV shows! Two of the particular highlights are Guaraldi's original vocal and instrumental versions of the song "Joe Cool." While the selection is a little haphazard and fans might have wished for complete soundtrack releases for each of the specials, this is still an essential CD for fans of Guaraldi's Peanuts music.
VINCE GUARALDI AND THE LOST CUES FROM THE CHARLIE BROWN TELEVISION SPECIALS VOL. 2 (D&D VG 1119)
- Like the first volume, this CD contains another set of previously unreleased tracks and music cues taken from the original studio master tapes for various Peanuts TV specials. This time the music is drawn from It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown; Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown; It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; and You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown. Note that unfortunately, a variety of errors crept into the liner notes and many of the tracks are identified incorrectly; see this album's entry in Derrick Bang's Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD page for a corrected listing. Nevertheless, once again, a must have for fans of the TV specials and their music.
OAXACA (D&D VG 1125)
THE CHARLIE BROWN SUITE & OTHER FAVORITES (Bluebird 82876-53900-2)
- "The Charlie Brown Suite" is a long piece of fully orchestrated music that weaves many of Guaraldi's familiar Peanuts themes. The suite isn't from any particular special per se, but you'll enjoy the unique arrangement. Also features a previous unreleased performance of "Linus and Lucy" with a full band accompaniment.
PEANUTS PORTRAITS (Concord Music FAN-32033)
- "Peanuts Portraits" is a compilation CD celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip through Vince Guaraldi's music. The CD features 11 tracks of music covering the various themes that Guaraldi wrote for members of the Peanuts gang in the television specials. Nine of the tracks are performed by Vince Guaraldi, and two are performed by George Winston. While some of the tracks on this album have been released before on different albums, at least 3 tracks are previously unreleased alternate versions of the songs, so even serious collectors of Guaraldi's music will find something new on the album. The CD also features generous liner notes about both the Peanuts characters and Vince Guaraldi's music, written by FiveCentsPlease.org's very own Derrick Bang.
LINUS & LUCY: THE MUSIC OF VINCE GUARALDI (Windham Hill 01934 11184)
- George Winston performs Guaraldi music from various Peanuts specials and some of Guaraldi's best-known non-Peanuts tunes. A great album!
LOVE WILL COME: THE MUSIC OF VINCE GUARALDI, VOLUME 2 (RCA)
- Another round of Guaraldi's music from the Peanuts specials and a few non-Peanuts tracks as interpreted by pianist George Winston.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CHARLIE BROWN! (GRP Records GRD-9596)
- Soundtrack to the TV special You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown, includes songs and music from the specials performed by other jazz stars, as well as some music from the This is America, Charlie Brown series.
JOE COOL'S BLUES (Columbia CK-66880)
- Eight tracks are music Wynton Marsalis composed for This is America, Charlie Brown - The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk and performed by the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Five tracks are versions of Guaraldi tunes performed by Wynton's father, Ellis Marsalis, and his trio.
QUIET AS THE MOON (MusicMasters 01612-65067-2)
- Music composed and performed by Dave Brubeck for This is America, Charlie Brown - The NASA Space Station episode.
HERE'S TO YOU, CHARLIE BROWN: 50 GREAT YEARS (GRP Records 314543 637-2)
- Featuring music inspired by the special of the same name, mostly re-recording of Peanuts standards and a couple of new pieces from the video special It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown. Artists include David Benoit (piano), Al Jarreau, Take 6 (vocals); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Chris Botti (trumpet); Vince Guaraldi (piano); Marc Antoine, Russell Malone (guitar); Christian McBride (bass); and Peter Erskine (drums)
JAZZ FOR PEANUTS (Peak Records PD-30454)
- This album contains new 6 tracks from David Benoit: 3 that are his interpretations of Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts music, and 3 of his own pieces from more recent TV specials. The album also contains 4 tracks by other musicians that have previously appeared on other CDs. Contains tracks from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; You're in Love, Charlie Brown; Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown; various episodes of This is America, Charlie Brown; It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown; and I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.
CYRUS CHESTNUT & FRIENDS - A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (Atlantic 83366-2)
- Jazz pianist and composer Cyrus Chestnut has done his own version of the entire A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. The album includes new and occasionally unusual takes on the dozen songs from the original albums, featuring vocals from Vanessa Williams and the Boys Choir of Harlem on the song "Christmas Time Is Here," Brian McKnight on "The Christmas Song," and the Manhattan Transfer on "What Child Is This?" The album also includes a Chestnut-composed solo piano tribute to late Peanuts creator Charles Schulz titled "Me & Charlie Brown."
JASON SERINUS, WHISTLER EXTRAORDINAIRE
- Jason Serinus, a musician and professional whistler, performed the popular sequence of Woodstock whistling Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" at the end of She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown. You can get a CD or cassette tape that contains the Woodstock piece and numerous other classical and popular pieces whistled by Mr. Serinus at his web site. (The recorded version of the Woodstock piece is slightly different from the TV version.)
While the following CD's don't contain music from the TV shows, they do contain related material of interest:
SCHROEDER'S GREATEST HITS (RCA 09026-61240-2)
- Not music from the TV specials, strictly speaking. This album contains Beethoven's "Fur Elise" performed on a toy piano, an interpretation of Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy", and numerous excerpts from fairly well-known classical pieces by Beethoven and other composers. (In fact, most of these classical snippets don't appear in any Peanuts animated special.)
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (Decca Broadway 012 159 851-2)
- A CD re-release of the LP album of the original 1967 off-Broadway production. It contains all 14 tracks from the original album plus 4 bonus tracks from the original demo tape Clark Gesner sent to Charles Schulz when seeking permission to create the musical.
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (RCA 09026-63384-2)
- A CD from the new 1999 Broadway production of the musical. It includes most of the songs from the original production, plus the new ones ("My New Philosophy" and "Beethoven Day"), and lyrics for all the songs in the liner notes! (Many of the songs have been reorchestrated as well.)
SNOOPY!!! - ORIGINAL CAST (San Francisco) (DRG 6103)
SNOOPY - ORIGINAL LONDON CAST (Jay Records CDJAY 1073)
- Music from the second Peanuts musical. The London cast album contains several songs not on the San Francisco cast album; the San Francisco cast album contains one ("Friend") not on the London cast album.
Unfortunately, the soundtracks from the animated movies aren't available on CD and are long out of print on LP.
There are also many other CD's which contain versions of "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmastime is Here." See section 8 of Derrick Bang's Peanuts FAQ.
Which specials did the music on those CDs come from?
Derrick Bang has a web page that lists the names of all the pieces of music used in each show, and tells which CD they appear on. See his Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts Song Library page.
Where can I get sheet music of Peanuts music?
For information on Peanuts sheet music, read Derrick Bang's Peanuts Sheet Music article.
Also see section 8 of Derrick's Peanuts FAQ.
What is the classical music played during the MetLife Peanuts promos at the beginning and end of "Live from Lincoln Center"?
Some broadcasts of "Live from Lincoln Center" from 2001 onwards have featured short animated Peanuts promos for MetLife at the beginning and end of the show.
The classical music played by Schroder and an orchestra in the beginning promo is the very end of the third movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. Thanks to Eugene Chan for identifying this piece.
The distinctive classical music played by Snoopy and Schroeder in a short animated Peanuts promo at the end is from the fourth movement of the Sonata in A for Piano and Violin, by Cesar Franck. Thanks to Beth Prescott for identifying this piece.
Miscellaneous Questions and Answers
Here are some questions and answers that I've been asked since I started maintaining this list. It's kind of a random assortment, but you never know, the answer you're looking for might be here.
Where else have animated Peanuts characters appeared?
The very first animated appearance of the Peanuts characters was for a black-and-white Ford Falcon commercial in 1960, and they continued to advertise for Ford for several years. They also appeared in the introductions for the "Tennessee Ernie Ford Show" (sponsored by the Ford Motor Co.) not too long afterwards.
They have also appeared in commercials for Dolly Madison, Chex cereal, Weber's Bread, Knott's Berry Farm, Friendly's Family Restaurants, Regina Vacuums, and most recently Met Life Insurance. An article in the 3/10/01 Los Angeles Times about Bill Melendez said he had done "372 commercials" featuring the Peanuts gang.
In the late 70's and early 80's, the Peanuts gang starred in three short public service films, produced by the Mendelson and Melendez team. Two were sponsored by the American Dental Association, titled Toothbrushing with Charlie Brown and It's Dental Flossophy, Charlie Brown, both teaching about good dental hygiene. (The dental videos are no longer available from the ADA or other sources, unfortunately.) Then the American Lung Association sponsored Charlie Brown Clears the Air, about pollution.
Unfortunately, these videos were withdrawn from circulation many years ago, and are no longer available from any source, even for health professionals.
How were the adult's "mwa-mwa-mwa" voices made?
With a trombone. Leonardo Morán of Bill Melendez Productions says: "Composer John Scott Trotter directed his trombonist to 'enunciate' the teacher's dialog as though it were a trombone riff. Trotter did a great job... he would read the teacher's line, e.g., 'Linus, where's your homework?' then direct the trombonist to repeat Trotter's inflection through his instrument."
The first special to feature the adult "mwa-mwa-mwa" voice was You're In Love, Charlie Brown (in 1967; the fourth Peanuts special).
What is the name of Charlie Brown's teacher?
The name most people remember as the teacher from the Peanuts comic strip and TV shows is "Miss Othmar," since she is the most frequently mentioned teacher.
However, Miss Othmar was actually Linus's teacher, not Charlie Brown's. Charlie Brown's teacher was only named once in the comic strip, and that name was Mrs. Donovan. (Charlie Brown isn't in Linus's class, although he has visited it few times.) Mrs. Donovan was mentioned in a series of strips where Charlie Brown volunteers to be in the school spelling bee, the exact date being the February 17, 1966 daily strip, which is reprinted in "The Unsinkable Charlie Brown."
Other teachers named in the strip and TV have been "Mrs. Hagemeyer" (Miss Othmar's married name), "Miss Halverson" (who replaced Miss Othmar temporarily during a strike), and "Miss Swanson" and "Miss Tenure" (both have been named as Peppermint Patty's teacher).
What are the names of Snoopy's brothers and sisters?
Andy, Belle, Marbles, Molly, Olaf, Rover, and Spike. Snoopy's mother's name is Missy.
Only Spike, Belle, Marbles, Olaf, and Andy ever appeared in the newspaper strip.
See the entry for Snoopy's Reunion in Prime-Time Specials.
Who are those twin girls in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (particularly noticeable in the dance scene)?
Those are "3" and "4", "5"'s twin sisters. "5" is a character who appeared in the comic strip in the 1960's. His father gave everyone in the family a number instead of a name. "3" and "4" also appeared in the comic strip, but those comics have not been reprinted in any book. "3" and "4", along with "5," also make a brief appearance in a playground scene in "You're In Love, Charlie Brown."
What special did Snoopy fight the Red Baron in?
This actually happens in two TV specials and one of the movies.
"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is probably the one most people remember. It has a sequence where Snoopy gets on his Sopwith Camel (his doghouse), fights the Red Baron, is shot down behind enemy lines, escapes through no-man's land, and eventually reappears at Violet's Halloween party.
The movie "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" has a very similar scene to "Great Pumpkin" of Snoopy imagining he's in a dogfight, but it's shorter and doesn't have the crawl through No Man's Land.
"He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" also has an extended World War I flying ace theme; Snoopy fights the Red Baron in the beginning, and later imagines he's on leave in Paris, is a prisoner of war, and throws a grenade.
What specials did Joe Cool appear in?
"You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown" and very briefly in "There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown". The Joe Cool theme is also played in several other specials, usually when Snoopy takes on another persona (but not necessarily Joe Cool). See also Snoopy's Flights of Fancy.
What special did Snoopy play the Jaw Harp in?
Actually, it was in a movie, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown." It is most prominently featured in the "I before E except after C" song.
He also plays it briefly in the movie "Snoopy Come Home."
What was the name given to Snoopy by his previous owner in "Snoopy Come Home"?
Snoopy's name has always been Snoopy - that's also what Lila called him (the name was given to him by the proprietor of the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, according to "Snoopy's Reunion").
Maybe you were thinking of the scene where a little girl nabs Snoopy, thinking he's a stray, and decides to call him "Rex," and dresses him up for a tea party.
Also, in "Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown", Snoopy performs in the circus under the alias "Hugo the Great."
What was Linus's speech in "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"?
Many people like to give Linus's dinner speech from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as part of their Thanksgiving celebration. Here is some background on the speech and its text.
Linus says that he is quoting Elder William Brewster, "who was a minister, [and] said a prayer that went something like this."
Elder William Brewster was the spiritual leader of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, although he wasn't actually ordained in any way, and thus not officially a minister or pastor, although he served in that capacity when needed. While we know that he did offer a prayer at the first Thanksgiving dinner, the actual text is unknown - in fact, the only primary source document about the first dinner is a letter that one of the pilgrims wrote to a relative in England, which mentions the prayer in passing.
I'm unclear on where the text that Linus speaks in the special came from - whether there's a best guess in secondary historical documents somewhere, or it's just something Schulz, Mendelson, and Melendez thought sounded good (judging from its popularity, they were right). Linus does indicate that he's paraphrasing ("a prayer that went something like this").
Anyway, what Linus says is:
"In the year 1621, the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast. They invited the great Indian chief Massasoit, who brought ninety of his brave Indians and a great abundance of food. Governor William Bradford and Captain Miles Standish were honored guests.
Elder William Brewster, who was a minister, said a prayer that went something like this:
'We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land. We thank God for the opportunity to create a new world for freedom and justice.'"
To which Peppermint Patty adds, "Amen."
What other countries have the Peanuts TV specials been shown in?
According to a sign that was once displayed at "Snoopy's Gallery and Gift Shop" in Santa Rosa, California:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Belorussia, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Crete, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Korea, Kwajalein, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritus, Mexico, Nambia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Phillippines, Portugul, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe
(I imagine the shows have been translated into some of the languages of these countries as well, but the sign didn't say that.)
List of Current US DVD & Blu-ray Releases
This lists the currently in print US DVD & Blu-ray releases in roughly alphabetical order. Unless otherwise noted, the discs are released by Warner Home Video.
The number in parenthesis following each title is the length of the DVD in minutes. (For multiple episode discs, this is the total length of all shows on the disc.)
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (theatrical film) (DVD) (86m) (released by Paramount Home Video)
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (unaired 1963 documentary) (DVD) (27m) (available only from the Charles M. Schulz Museum)
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown / You're In Love Charlie Brown / It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD) (75m)
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show: The Complete Series (DVD) (all 18 episodes) (402m) (available from Warner Archive)
A Charlie Brown Christmas / It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD) (50m)
A Charlie Brown Christmas / It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (Blu-Ray + DVD) (50m)
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales / Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? (DVD) (41m)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (Deluxe Edition DVD) (50m)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (Blu-ray + DVD) (50m)
A Charlie Brown Valentine / Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown (DVD)
Happiness is... Peanuts: Friends Forever - The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep. 13: Lucy Loves Schroeder / You're In Love, Charlie Brown (DVD) (47m)
Happiness is... Peanuts: Go Snoopy Go - It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown / The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep. 12: It's that Team Spirit, Charlie Brown (DVD) (47m)
Happiness is... Peanuts: Snoopy's Adventures: Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown / The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep. 14: Snoopy and the Giant (DVD) (46m)
Happiness is... Peanuts: Snow Days - She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown / The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep. 18: Sally's Sweet Babboo (DVD) (47m)
Happiness is... Peanuts: Team Snoopy - Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown / The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Ep. 15: Snoopy's Brother Spkike (DVD)
Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown DVD (45m)
Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown Blu-ray+DVD (45m)
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown / Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD)
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown / It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD) (50m)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / It's Magic, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD) (50m)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / It's Magic, Charlie Brown (Blu-ray + DVD) (50m)
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown / Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD)
Peanuts 1960's Collection Box Set: A Charlie Brown Christmas / Charlie Brown's All-Stars / It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / You're In Love Charlie Brown / He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown / It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (DVD box set) (150m)
Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1 Box Set: Play It Again, Charlie Brown / You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown / There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown / A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown / It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (DVD box set) (150m)
Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 2 Box Set: Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown / You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown / It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown / It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown / What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown / You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown (DVD box set) (150m)
Peanuts Deluxe Holiday Collection (contains It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; and A Charlie Brown Christmas DVDs)
Peanuts Deluxe Holiday Collection Blu-ray version (contains It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; and A Charlie Brown Christmas Blu-rays)
Peanuts Double Feature: A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home DVD (released by Paramount Home Video)
Peanuts Motion Comics Collection (DVD) (70m) (available from WBShop.com or Amazon.com)
Snoopy Come Home (DVD) (80m) (released by Paramount Home Video)
Snoopy's Reunion / It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (DVD) (50m)
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (animated adaptation) (DVD) (50m)
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown / You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD) (50m)
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown / He's a Bully, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition DVD) (50m)
List of Out of Print US DVD Releases
This lists the US DVD releases from Paramount Home Video in roughly alphabetical order. They are now all out of print. They were released between 2000 and 2006.
A Charlie Brown Christmas / It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (Paramount edition) (50m)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (Paramount edition) (50m)
A Charlie Brown Valentine / There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown / Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown (75m)
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown / You're In Love Charlie Brown / It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (Paramount edition) (75m)
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown / It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (Paramount edition) (50m)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (Paramount edition) (50m)
It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown (24m)
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown / Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales / The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas (75m)
Lucy Must Be Traded Charlie Brown / Charlie Brown's All-Stars / It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown (75m)
This is America, Charlie Brown (2 DVDs, 194m)
(includes: The Mayflower Voyagers, The Birth of the Constitution, The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, The NASA Space Station, The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad, The Great Inventors, The Smithsonian and the Presidency, The Music and Heroes of America)
List of iTunes Releases
In addition to the DVD releases, the Peanuts specials are also being made available as digital downloads in several different ways.
You can now purchase a variety of Peanuts shows from Apple's iTunes Store, using the iTunes software for Macintosh and Windows. Once purchased, you can watch the shows on your computer's monitor, or transfer them to an iPod, iPhone, iPad or AppleTV for viewing. Shows sold on iTunes are "near DVD quality," and having downloaded a couple and viewed them, I agree that the video quality is close to the DVD releases, although there are more compression artifacts.
Note that videos purchased from iTunes cannot be burned to a DVD or viewed on a DVD player.
Some specials are only available as bundles; others are available both in bundles and individually. While some of the bundles are similar to the Warner DVDs, they are not identical. Differences are noted below.
The shows currently available on iTunes (as of April 27, 2012) are:
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by the bonus episodes It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown and You're In Love, Charlie Brown, along with the behind-the-scenes documentary Unlucky in Love: An Unrequited Love Story.
- All four specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- This duplicates the Warner Home Video DVD release.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
- Accompanied by bonus episodes This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers and Play It Again, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that Play it Again, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ; it is in the Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1 box set.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Accompanied by bonus episodes It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown and It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of A Charlie Brown Christmas; it is on the Snoopy's Reunion DVD instead.
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by the bonus episode Happy New Year, Charlie Brown.
- Both specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Both these specials are available on the Warner Home Video DVD release I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
- Includes the titular special (which is only about 17 minutes long) together with a special feature about "how Charles Schulz came to create the character of Rerun Van Pelt as a younger brother to Lucy and Linus."
- The price is $9.99.
- Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is available on DVD; although the special feature about Rerun Van Pelt is actually on the I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown DVD.
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by bonus episodes It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, and It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of It's the Easter Beagle (although it was released on the now out-of-print Paramount DVD of Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown).
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by bonus episodes It's Magic, Charlie Brown and Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of It's the Great Pumpkin ; instead it is on the Happiness is... Peanuts: Team Snoopy DVD release.
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by bonus episodes He's a Bully, Charlie Brown and What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of You're Not Elected and has not been released on DVD in the US yet.
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
- Includes the titular special (which is the animated adaption of the play, not a live-action version) together with a "bonus featurette exploring the 20-year journey of the Clark Gesner album that evolved into an off-Broadway hit."
- The price is $9.99.
- Both the special and the bonus featurette are available on DVD.
Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown
- Includes the titular special as well as two behind-the-scenes featurettes: "Deconstructing Schulz: From Comic Book to Screenplay" and "Happiness is... Finding the Right Voice."
- The price is $9.99.
- Available on DVD and Blu-ray as well.
Peanuts Specials, Vol. 1
- Charlie Brown's All-Stars
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown
It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
Life's a Circus, Charlie Brown
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown
There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown
What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown
Why, Charlie Brown, Why
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown
- Each can be purchased individually for $1.99, or all 12 can be purchased together for $23.88 (no savings for purchasing them together, just a convenience).
- All of these shows except for Why, Charlie Brown, Why are available on DVD in the US
(see the List of Current US DVD & Blu-ray Releases to determine which DVD they're on).
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
- All 18 episodes of the Saturday morning cartoon show.
- These can be purchased individually for $1.99 each or all 18 together as a "season" for $29.99 (a modest savings).
- A complete DVD set of these episodes is available from Warner Archive.
Peanuts Motion Comics, Vol. 1
- Linus for President / The Election
The Sore Arm / Independence Day
Eraserophagia / The Great Pumpkin
A Fall Rain / Some Advice
Ready to Pitch / Back on the Mound
Dear Santa / I'm New At It
Science Project / April Fool
Crabby Little Girl / Mother's Day
All Your Faults / Services Rendered
The Good Brother / Valentine's Day
- New short animations (7- to 8-minutes) based on 1964 Peanuts comic strips, these have not previously aired on television. They were first released from November 2008 through January 2009.
- The shorts are available for 99 cents each, or $7.99 for the entire "season" of 10 episodes (20 shorts total).
- All 20 shorts are also available on DVD directly from Warner Brother's online store or Amazon.com.
List of Amazon Instant Video Releases
Amazon Instant Video (formerly Amazon Video on Demand and before that Amazon Unbox) — another digital video service, run by the giant on-line retailer Amazon.com — is also offering Peanuts TV shows for on-line viewing (and, in some cases download) as well.
The video quality of Amazon Instant Video offerings are generally not quite as good quality as the iTunes offerings or DVDs; there is more blockiness visible. Note that videos purchased from Amazon Instant Video cannot be burned to a DVD or viewed on a DVD player.
The offerings on Amazon used to be similar to the iTunes offerings and some of the Deluxe Edition DVDs, but because a variety of Peanuts specials are no longer available on Amazon, the organization of the specials is now rather confusing and nonsensical.
Some specials are only available as bundles (or "seasons" as Amazon calls them, even though that terminology doesn't really apply to the Peanuts specials that aired over a period of 40 years); others are available both in bundles and individually.
The shows currently available on Amazon Instant Video (as of April 27, 2012) are:
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by the behind-the-scenes documentary Unlucky in Love: An Unrequited Love Story.
- Unlike iTunes or the DVD release, currently this "season" does not include the episodes It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown and You're In Love, Charlie Brown
. While they used to be available on Amazon Instant Video, they aren't any more - it's not clear why or when or if they will be available again.
- The cost for Be My Valentine is $4.99; you can get the behind-the-scenes documentary for free.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
- While Amazon does not list which episodes this bundle contains, the running time is 1 hour 15 minutes, so presumably it's accompanied by the same bonus episodes at it is on iTunes: This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers and Play It Again, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that Play it Again, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ; it is in the Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1 box set.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
- While Amazon does not list which episodes this bundle contains, the running time is 1 hour 13 minutes, so presumably it's accompanied by the same bonus episodes at it is on iTunes: It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown and It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of A Charlie Brown Christmas; it is on the Snoopy's Reunion DVD instead.
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
- While Amazon does not list which episodes this bundle contains, the running time is 1 hour 6 minutes, so presumably it's accompanied by the same bonus episode at it is on iTunes: Happy New Year, Charlie Brown.
- Both specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Both these specials are available on the Warner Home Video DVD release I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
- Includes the titular special (which is only about 17 minutes long) together with a special feature about "how Charles Schulz came to create the character of Rerun Van Pelt as a younger brother to Lucy and Linus."
- The price is $9.99.
- Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is available on DVD; although the special feature about Rerun Van Pelt is actually on the I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown DVD.
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by the episode It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown, although you can no longer purchase them together as a bundle.
- It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown can be purchased for $1.99, and It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown can be purchased separately for $9.99. Despite the fact that Amazon presents the two shows as a "season" there is no way to purchase them together as a bundle.
- Another special, It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, used to be bundled with It's the Easter Beagle, but is now not available from Amazon.
- Note that It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of It's the Easter Beagle (although it was released on the now out-of-print Paramount DVD of Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown).
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Accompanied by bonus episodes It's Magic, Charlie Brown and Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of It's the Great Pumpkin ; instead it is on the Happiness is... Peanuts: Team Snoopy DVD release.
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
- While Amazon does not list which episodes this bundle contains, the running time is 1 hour 11 minutes, so presumably it's accompanied by the same bonus episodes at it is on iTunes: He's a Bully, Charlie Brown and What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown.
- All three specials are available together for $9.99 (they cannot be purchased separately).
- Note that What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown is not on the Warner Home Video DVD release of You're Not Elected and has not been released on DVD in the US yet.
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
- Includes the titular special (which is the animated adaption of the play, not a live-action version) together with a "bonus featurette exploring the 20-year journey of the Clark Gesner album that evolved into an off-Broadway hit."
- The price is $9.99.
- Both the special and the bonus featurette are available on DVD.
Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown
- While Amazon doesn't list the contents of this bundle, the running time is 1 hour 11 minutes, so presumably it is the same bundle as on iTunes: the titular special as well as two behind-the-scenes featurettes: "Deconstructing Schulz: From Comic Book to Screenplay" and "Happiness is... Finding the Right Voice."
- The price is $9.99.
- Available on DVD and Blu-ray as well.
Peanuts Specials "Season 1"
- Charlie Brown's All-Stars
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown
It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
Life's a Circus, Charlie Brown
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown
There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown
What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown
Why, Charlie Brown, Why
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown
- Each can be purchased individually for $1.99, or the whole "season" can be purchased together, sometimes for a discount compared to buying the individual episodes (the season price varies).
- Even though Amazon describes this as a "season" in reality these shows aired as separate specials over many years and were in no way grouped together in what is usually regarded as a TV season.
- All of these shows except for Why, Charlie Brown, Why are available on DVD in the US
(see the List of Current US DVD & Blu-ray Releases to determine which DVD they're on).
Peanuts Summertime Specials
- Includes three specials: Charlie Brown's All-Stars, It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, and It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown.
- The 3 episodes purchased together as part of this bundle cost $9.99; note that Charlie Brown's All-Stars and It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
can be purchased separately from Amazon Instant Video in the "Peanuts Specials Season 1" listing.
- All three specials are available on DVD as well.
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
- All 18 episodes of the Saturday morning cartoon show.
- These can be purchased individually for $1.99 each or all 18 together as a "season" for $28.66 (a modest savings).
- A complete DVD set of these episodes is available from Warner Archive.
Peanuts Motion Comics, Vol. 1
- Linus for President / The Election
The Sore Arm / Independence Day
Eraserophagia / The Great Pumpkin
A Fall Rain / Some Advice
Ready to Pitch / Back on the Mound
Dear Santa / I'm New At It
Science Project / April Fool
Crabby Little Girl / Mother's Day
All Your Faults / Services Rendered
The Good Brother / Valentine's Day
- New short animations (7- to 8-minutes) based on 1964 Peanuts comic strips, these have not previously aired on television.
- All 20 shorts are also available on DVD directly from Warner Brother's online store.
- These shorts can be purchased for 99 cents each, or $7.99 for the entire "season" of 10 episodes (20 shorts total). They were first released from November 2008 through January 2009.
List of Video (VHS) Releases
This lists the Paramount VHS reissues in roughly alphabetical order. All of the VHS releases are out of print.
The number in parenthesis following each title is the length of the video in minutes, as given on the video box. (For two-episode tapes, this is the total length of the tape.) Length isn't listed for every title because I don't own every video release.
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (79m)
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (25m)
The Big Stuffed Dog (live-action) (48m)
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (movie) (76m)
Snoopy Double Feature: (48m)
Charlie Brown's All-Stars
It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown
A Charlie Brown Celebration (48m)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (25m)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (24m)
A Charlie Brown Valentine
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (24m)
Snoopy Double Feature: (50m)
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? (24m)
It's An Adventure, Charlie Brown (47m)
It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (25m)
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (23m)
It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown (48m)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (25m)
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (25m)
It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (25m)
It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown (36m)
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (41m)
It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown (25m)
Snoopy Double Feature: (48m)
Life's a Circus, Charlie Brown
Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown
Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown
Snoopy Double Feature: (50m)
Play It Again, Charlie Brown
She's A Good Skate, Charlie Brown
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (movie) (76m)
Snoopy, the Musical
Snoopy Come Home (80m)
Snoopy Double Feature: (49m)
There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown
Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown
What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? (23m)
Snoopy Double Feature: (49m)
What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown
It's Magic, Charlie Brown
You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown (documentary) (47m)
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (animated) (49m)
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (25m)
Snoopy Double Feature: (48m)
You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown
Snoopy's Reunion
Snoopy Double Feature: (50m)
You're In Love, Charlie Brown
It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown
Snoopy Double Feature: (49m)
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
Why, Charlie Brown, Why? (25m)
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 1 - The Great Inventors
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 2 - The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 3 - The Transcontinental Railroad
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 4 - The Mayflower Voyagers
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 5 - The NASA Space Station
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 6 - Birth of the Constitution
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 7 - The Smithsonian and the Presidency
This is America, Charlie Brown Vol. 8 - The Music and Heroes of America
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 1:
You Can't Win, Charlie Brown
Linus' Security Blanket
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 2:
Snoopy's Cat Fight
Linus and Lucy
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 3:
Snoopy: Man's Best Friend
The Lost Ballpark
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 4:
Lucy Loves Schroeder
Snoopy: Team Manager
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 5:
Snoopy the Psychiatrist
Lucy vs. the World
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 6:
Snoopy's Football Career
Chaos in the Classroom
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 7:
It's That Team Spirit, Charlie Brown
Snoopy and the Giant
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 8:
Snoopy's Brother Spike
Snoopy's Robot
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Vol. 9:
Peppermint Patty's School Days
Sally's Sweet Babboo
List of Laserdisc Releases
Below is a list of the laserdiscs that have were released by Paramount and CBS Fox. They are now all out of print.
The discs contain two episodes each, although often the combination of episodes is different than they are on videotapes. Not all episodes have been released on laserdisc.
The discs with television episodes from Paramount are all CAV. The CBS Fox movie discs were CLV.
The laserdisc releases of the feature films were all full-frame (aka pan-and-scan), not widescreen, so the picture was cropped some.
The numbers following each title in brackets are the Paramount "part number" for that laserdisc. I believe these are correct but I'm just relying on what I've read in some catalogs.
Sorry for the sketchy information; I don't own a laserdisc player. Any more information is appreciated!
Paramount Laserdiscs
A Charlie Brown Christmas / You're The Greatest, Charlie Brown [LV83716]
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown [LV83714]
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown / You're In Love, Charlie Brown [LV83742]
Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show Vol. 1: [LV83703]
You Can't Win, Charlie Brown
Linus' Security Blanket
Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show Vol. 2: [LV83704]
Snoopy's Cat Fight
Linus and Lucy
Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show Vol. 3: [LV83705]
Snoopy: Man's Best Friend
The Lost Ballpark
Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show Vol. 4: [LV83702]
Lucy Loves Schroeder
Snoopy: Team Manager
Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show Vol. 5: [LV83721]
Snoopy the Psychiatrist
Lucy vs. the World
Happy New Year,Charlie Brown / Snoopy's Reunion [LV83715]
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown / It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown [LV83738]
It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown / It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown [LV83741]
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown [LV83718]
There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown / Someday You'll Find Her Charlie Brown [LV83737]
This Is America Charlie Brown Vol. 1: [LV83709]
The Great Inventors
The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk
This Is America Charlie Brown Vol. 2 (two episodes) [LV83708]
The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad
The Mayflower Voyagers
This Is America Charlie Brown Vol. 3 (two episodes) [LV83707]
The NASA Space Station
The Birth of the Constitution
This Is America Charlie Brown Vol. 4: [LV83719]
The Smithsonian and the Presidency
The Music and Heroes of America
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown / Why, Charlie Brown, Why [LV83730]
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!) [movie] [LV1158]
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown! [movie] [LV8850]
CBS Fox Laserdiscs
A Boy Named Charlie Brown [movie] [#7121-80]
Snoopy, Come Home [movie] [#7125-80]
Really Old Video Compilations
Several compilations of sketches from "The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show" were released on video previously, but are now out of print. While not exactly in the same order, their contents are duplicated by later home video releases. If you have the "Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Complete Series" DVD set from Warner Archives or the Paramount VHS tapes you do not need these. Shows with these titles were never shown on television.
Good Grief, Charlie Brown
She Likes You, Charlie Brown
Very Funny, Charlie Brown
What Next, Charlie Brown
You Can't Win, Charlie Brown
It's Three Strikes, Charlie Brown
RCA issued four sets of shows on Select-a-Vision (Capacitance Electronic Disc), an early videodisc system that is incompatible with the modern laserdisc standard. They were:
A CHARLIE BROWN FESTIVAL - contained:
There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown
You're In Love, Charlie Brown
It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown
You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown
A CHARLIE BROWN FESTIVAL II - contained:
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown
A CHARLIE BROWN FESTIVAL III - contained:
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
A CHARLIE BROWN FESTIVAL IV - contained:
Charlie Brown's All Stars
Play It Again, Charlie Brown
It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown
At least three of the movies were also released on CED:
A Boy Named Charlie Brown
CBS/FOX 7121-90
Dual language tracks: English/Spanish
Snoopy Come Home
CBS/FOX 7125-90
Dual language tracks: English/Spanish
Race For Your Life Charlie Brown
Paramount CM11E V105101
Disclaimers and Copyright
I have no formal association with United Media, Peanuts Worldwide, Paramount, Warner Home Video, Charles Schulz, Bill Melendez Productions, Mendelson Productions, or any other commercial enterprise mentioned in this article.
This article is provided as is without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
Copyright 1995-2013 by Scott McGuire.
This article may not be reproduced or included in part or in full in any print or electronic collections, compilations, or publications without express permission from the author.
Last updated 4/19/13 - Scott McGuire (smcguire at fivecentsplease dot org) - Vers 5