Watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown For Free

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This childhood classic held the test of time for 50 years. I remember seeing this on CBS back in the day. After this cartoon played, it was followed by GARFIELD'S HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE. So what the animation seems crude, it is the story and humor that steals the picture. Who can forget Snoopy's dogfight with the Red Baron? Who can forget Sally and Linus waiting to see the Great Pumpkin. Who can forget Charlie Brown getting nothing but rocks? It once aired on CBS and in 2000, it aired on ABC just like all the other classic Charlie Brown specials. It got spoofed over the years and let me tell you, you are going to love it. It is rated TV-G like all the other Peanuts Specials so you will enjoy it. Happy Halloween.

Fifty years ago in 1966, the television special "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" aired as "A CBS Special Presentation In Color" on October 27,1966. It was the third Peanuts special(and the second holiday themed special,following the phenomenal success of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in 1965 that became a colossal hit)to be produced and animated by Bill Melendez and was written by Charles M. Schulz,based on his Peanuts comic strip and serving as executive producers Lee Mendelson along with Bill Melendez with the original theme music composed by Vince Guaraldi. "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" was also the first Peanuts special to use the titular pattern of a short phrase,followed by the main character "Charlie Brown", a pattern which would remain the norm for almost all subsequent Peanuts specials for many years. The initial broadcast of "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" took place in prime-time on Thursday October 27,1966 on CBS-TV In Color ,preempting "My Three Sons" on it's regular schedule. The original sponsors,as seen during the opening sequences(almost never seen afterward in its entirely since the original telecast)were The Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Dolly Madison Snack Foods which would go on to be a longtime co-sponsor of the Peanuts specials that originally aired on CBS. From the original telecast it was a colossal hit and the animated special was nominated in 1967 for three Prime Time Emmys including Outstanding Children's Program, Outstanding Animation Director(Bill Melendez),and Outstanding Outstanding Animation Writer(Charles M. Schulz). It was also nominated in 1967 for the Golden Globe for Best Animated Special. "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" really encapsulates childhood, the camaraderie and the spirit of Halloween in this classic tale of Charlie Brown and his friends going out for trick or treats and seeing Charlie Brown and his bag of rocks while everybody else gets candy and goodies; Linus and Sally waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive while Charlie Brown and the gang get invited to Violet's Halloween party. The classic Snoopy and the Red Baron(in one of the greatest animated scenes ever)sets the tone for what's to follow. The scene where Sally really gives Linus the scolding of his life is the best of this holiday special where Sally misses Halloween and Treats while calling Linus "You Blockhead!" while sitting all night in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive but instead rises Snoopy from the patch. The musical score from Vince Guaraldi is in regards a classic among classics and the score is just as brilliant today as it was when audiences first heard this back in 1966. I heard there is a soundtrack album to this television special too."It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" aired annually on CBS from 1966 until 2000 with ABC picking up the rights beginning in 2001(as with all of the Peanuts specials)where it airs annually during the Halloween season. Until the 2013 broadcast, the other Peanuts special "You're Not Elected Charlie Brown" aired immediately after "It's The Great Pumpkin" as if the emphasize the proximity of Halloween to Election Day. Also,the Great Pumpkin is mentioned in "You're Not Elected Charlie Brown" which aired twice on ABC in 2014. When ABC aired the first-ever animated special based on the "Toy Story" movies titled "Toy Story of Terror" that animated special "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" immediately followed afterward. Even after its initial broadcast more than 50 years ago this Peanuts special still entertains while enjoying the holiday spirit. So, here's a golden 50th anniversary to the Great Pumpkin and Charlie Brown.

Third animated special based on the cartoon strips of Charles M. Schulz is also the best, a fondly remembered and still quite popular tale about how Linus decides to forgo trick or treating with his friends to stay in the pumpkin patch to get presents from the Great Pumpkin, a legendary figure who is quite similar to Santa Claus. Meanwhile, poor Charlie Brown gets only rocks in his bag, and mistakenly invited to Violet's Halloween party, where Lucy uses his head as a pumpkin model! Sally's love for Linus is also tested, and Snoopy becomes a WWI flying Ace. Wonderful tale has a distinct Halloween feel to it, and is also both funny and even spooky. A perennial holiday favorite.

I think the above quote can sum this special nicely. I mean, it wouldn't feel like the holidays without the Peanuts, and I'm sure you are all familiar with this one. This half-hour of classic Halloween fun begins with Lucy and Linus marching into the local pumpkin patch and selecting a nice, big one, which Linus is forced to carry home, or rather roll home with him on it. Once they get it home, the boy is dismayed that Lucy hadn't told him beforehand that she was going to "kill it." The next day, Linus "helps" Charlie Brown and Snoopy rake leaves, then Lucy tries to entice Charlie Brown to kick the football. He doesn't want to fall for it...literally, but then Lucy presents him with a signed document that states she won't pull the ball away again. Chuck surprisingly believes her and tries for a running kick, and predictably falls flat on his back, because apparently the signed document wasn't notarized. Sheesh, how do these guys put up with her? After that, Linus writes a letter to the Great Pumpkin, the Halloween equivalent of Santa Claus, apparently. His friends all balk at this concept, but Linus remains confident. He's sure GP will rise out of the pumpkin patch and gives presents. So come Halloween night, the gang is all dressed up, including Charlie Brown as a Swiss-cheese ghost, and Linus sits in the patch, and waits. He convinces Sally to wait with him, so she misses out on her first trick-or-treat outing to wait with Linus.Snoopy, dressed as a WWI flying ace, has an interesting adventure as the Red Baron shoots down his dog house, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. While he manages to avoid detection, the kids finish up trick or treating and find they had a successful run...except Charlie Brown who only received rocks. Then it's on to Violet's Halloween party, to which Charlie Brown was surprisingly invited, mainly so he could model for a jack-o-lantern. Snoopy crashes the party, then ventures out to the pumpkin patch. Linus predictably assumes him to be the Great Pumpkin and faints. Sally is furious at being cheated out of "tricks or treats", berates Linus by saying he owns her restitution and leaves with the others. Always the optimist, Linus continues to wait well into the night. At 4:00, Lucy finds her half-frozen brother asleep in the pumpkin patch and brings him inside. Say, where are these kids' parents anyway? So has Linus learned anything from this experience? Maybe that the pumpkin patch in which he waited wasn't sincere enough, and he vows to try again next year, and every year until the Great Pumpkin finally shows up.Classic. I watch it every Halloween, and I believe you all should too. You know what I think makes this such a timeless piece that can be rebroadcast every year? Just that: it's timeless. You could watch it in 1966 or 2013 and it would still fit. Most animated specials today are loaded with cultural references and crude humor, which turn off their audiences and date themselves horribly. The Peanuts specials never did that, they respected their audiences and were genuine. What makes this work is that it's for ANYBODY at ANY TIME. Again, in 1966, 2013 or even in 3066, people will still be enjoying this special, as it's aimed at the kid in all of us. Another Halloween has come and gone, but I still urge you to see It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown...even though this special was more about Linus than CB. Another interesting observation: in the Christmas special, it was established that Linus knows the true meaning of the season, and he apparently doesn't believe in Santa as referenced in the dialog, yet he believes in the Great Pumpkin. But then he IS just a kid.