A Charlie Brown Valentine

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A Charlie Brown Valentine
CBValentine2002-TC.png
GenreAnimated television special
Created by Charles M. Schulz
Voices of
Theme music composer Vince Guaraldi
Opening theme"Linus and Lucy"
Ending theme"Heartburn Waltz"
ComposersVince Guaraldi
David Benoit
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Running time25:05
Production company
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseFebruary 14, 2002 (2002-02-14)
Related

A Charlie Brown Valentine is the 40th animated television special based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts . It features the Peanuts characters during the week leading up to Valentine's Day. It is the second Valentine's Day-themed Peanuts special, following Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975).

Contents

Initially broadcast February 14, 2002 on ABC, A Charlie Brown Valentine was the first new Peanuts special to air on television since 1994's You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown , and the first original special to be televised since Schulz's death in February 2000. [1]

Plot

Snoopy steals a kiss from his owner in A Charlie Brown Valentine Charlie-brown-valentine.jpg
Snoopy steals a kiss from his owner in A Charlie Brown Valentine

Charlie Brown struggles to muster the courage to talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl during lunch. She drops her pencil, which he picks up and notices has teeth marks, making him realize she is human. He plans to return it as an excuse to speak with her, but Lucy intercepts and returns it first.

Charlie Brown buys a box of chocolates for the Little Red-Haired Girl but hesitates to give it to her directly. Meanwhile, Sally pursues Linus unsuccessfully, and Marcie expresses affection for Charlie Brown, causing misunderstandings. Peppermint Patty also declares her feelings, further confusing him.

Charlie Brown practices giving a valentine to the Little Red-Haired Girl, using Snoopy as a stand-in, but feels unsure. Linus suggests inviting her to the Valentine's Day dance. Charlie Brown attempts to call her but mistakenly reaches Peppermint Patty, who accepts the invitation.

At the dance, Charlie Brown finds the Little Red-Haired Girl already dancing with Snoopy after being preoccupied with Marcie and Peppermint Patty. Afterward, the girls criticize his dancing. Charlie Brown, disheartened by his lack of success and not receiving a valentine, is comforted when Snoopy brings him one.

Voice actors

Note: Franklin, Pig-Pen and the Little Red-Haired Girl are silent.

Production notes

A Charlie Brown Valentine was the first Peanuts special to be produced after the 2000 death of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. It also marked the third time a Peanuts special was animated with digital ink and paint as opposed to traditional cel animation (the first one to do so was It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown in 1997.) The animation was done by Korean studio My Plan Animation; A Charlie Brown Valentine was their only Peanuts work. Lee Mendelson stated in 2012 of the animation outsourcing: "Everyone started sending work overseas. It didn't seem to affect the final outcome. If they can do it as well as we can do it for a lot less money, fine. If it didn't look good, Sparky would never have allowed it. If we had gone to him and said, 'We can't afford to do it here anymore,' and we couldn't do it well overseas, he would have just said, 'Let’s not do anymore.'" [2] The special features a drawing style similar to the comic strip, with a white outline around Lucy's short hair and Snoopy's long ears (this was dropped in future specials).

A Charlie Brown Valentine also depicts the Little Red-Haired Girl in full view, though she remains unnamed in this special, in contrast to her first full-view appearance in It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977) when she was named Heather. She also does not resemble the "Heather" version in any way; that version last appeared in the 1988 special Snoopy!!! The Musical .

Music score

The majority of the music score in A Charlie Brown Valentine consists of classic melodies composed by Vince Guaraldi, some tunes which had only been utilized once ("Heartburn Waltz"). Other more notable tunes, such as "Charlie Brown Theme", "Peppermint Patty" and a jazz/rock version of the franchise signature tune, "Linus and Lucy", were used as well. All themes were performed and arranged by David Benoit.

  1. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 1)
  2. "Peppermint Patty" (version 1)
  3. "Pebble Beach" (version 1)
  4. "Linus and Lucy"
  5. "Blue Charlie Brown"
  6. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 2)
  7. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 3)
  8. "Peppermint Patty" (version 2)
  9. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 4)
  10. "Oh, Good Grief" (version 1) (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
  11. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 5)
  12. "Pebble Beach" (version 2)
  13. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 6)
  14. "You're in Love, Charlie Brown" (version 1)
  15. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 7)
  16. "Charlie Brown Theme" (version 1) (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
  17. "Oh, Good Grief" (version 2) (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
  18. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 8)
  19. "Charlie Brown Theme" (version 2) (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
  20. "You're in Love, Charlie Brown" (version 2)
  21. "Linus and Lucy"
  22. "Oh, Good Grief" (version 3) (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
  23. "Heartburn Waltz" (version 9)

Release

A Charlie Brown Valentine was first broadcast on February 14, 2002. [3] The special was then released to VHS and DVD on January 6, 2004 along with two bonus specials, There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown and Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown , retailing at $14.98. [4] [5] Although it originally aired on ABC, the network edits a few parts out to make time for station commercials, with the original version of the special being 25 minutes. In December 2010, Warner Home Video re-released the special on DVD with Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown as a bonus special. The special was added to Apple TV+ on February 9, 2023.

Reception

A Charlie Brown Valentine received a positive response from critics. It attracted 5.36 million viewers when rebroadcast on February 8, 2008. [6] placing it at No. 2 on the primetime TV ratings for that night. [6] In 2009, it was re-aired by ABC on Valentine's Day, immediately after Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975). In 2010, it was viewed by 7.51 million viewers coming in at No. 2 timeslot. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peppermint Patty</span> Peanuts comic strip character

Peppermint Patty is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. Her full name, very rarely used in the strip, is Patricia Reichardt. She is one of a small group in the strip who live across town from Charlie Brown and his school friends. She has freckles and "mousy-blah" hair, and generally displays the characteristics of a tomboy. She made her first appearance on August 22, 1966. The following year she made her animated debut in the TV special You're in Love, Charlie Brown and began coaching a baseball team that played against Charlie Brown, and thereafter had other adventures with him. Uniquely, she refers to Charlie Brown and Lucy as "Chuck" and "Lucille", respectively. In most of her appearances, she is attracted to Charlie Brown, based on her reactions. Her birthday is October 4.

<i>A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving</i> 1973 television special

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<i>Its a Mystery, Charlie Brown</i> 1974 animated television special

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<i>Youre Not Elected, Charlie Brown</i> 1972 animated television special

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown is the eighth prime-time animated TV special produced based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, and the 10th one to air. It originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1972, nine days before the 1972 United States presidential election between incumbent Richard Nixon and Senator George McGovern. It was the first new Peanuts special to air since the spring of 1971.

<i>It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown</i> 1969 television special

It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown is the sixth prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. It was directed by Bill Melendez and originally aired on CBS on September 27, 1969.

<i>Youre in Love, Charlie Brown</i> 1967 television special

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<i>Theres No Time for Love, Charlie Brown</i> 1973 animated television special

There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown is the ninth prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. This marks the on-screen debut of Marcie, who first appeared on the comic strip in 1971. The special originally aired on the CBS network on March 11, 1973. The first half of the special is presented as a series of sketches based on various Peanuts strips, while the second half depicts Charlie Brown's erroneous trip to a supermarket, mistaken for an art museum.

<i>Hes Your Dog, Charlie Brown</i> 1968 television special

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown is the fifth prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally broadcast on the CBS network on February 14, 1968.

<i>Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown</i> 1975 animated television special

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown is the 13th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. In the United States, it debuted on CBS on January 28, 1975.

<i>Its the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown</i> 1974 animated television special by Phil Roman

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<i>Youre a Good Sport, Charlie Brown</i> 1975 Peanuts animated television special

You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown is the 14th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on the CBS network on October 28, 1975. In this special, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Peppermint Patty participate in a motocross race.

<i>Its Arbor Day, Charlie Brown</i> 1976 animated television special

It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown is the 15th prime-time animated television special based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The subject of the special is Arbor Day, a secular holiday devoted to planting trees. It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown premiered on the CBS network on March 16, 1976, which is near the dates in which most U.S. states observe Arbor Day. This is the first special to feature the character Rerun van Pelt, who had debuted in the Peanuts comic strip in March 1973.

<i>Its Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown</i> 1977 television special

It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown is the 16th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on October 24, 1977, on the CBS-TV network. In this special, Charlie Brown worries when he is chosen to kiss his crush in a homecoming parade.

<i>I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown</i> 2003 television special

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References

  1. ↑ Solomon, Charles (2012). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials. Chronicle Books. pp. 178–179. ISBN   978-1452110912.
  2. ↑ Solomon, Charles. The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials (Kindle ed.). Chronicle Books. p. 91.
  3. ↑ "A Charlie Brown Valentine broadcast date" . Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  4. ↑ "A Charlie Brown Valentine DVD at Amazon.com". Amazon. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  5. ↑ "A Charlie Brown Valentine VHS at Amazon.com". Amazon. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  6. 1 2 "A Charlie Brown Valentine attracts 5.36 million viewers". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  7. ↑ TV Ratings: Wednesday Overnight Nielsen Ratings- Human Target ratings, American Idol ratings, Ugly Betty ratings, Mercy ratings, Law & Order: SVU ratings, Modern Family rating...
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