Great Pumpkin

Last updated

Linus awaits the Great Pumpkin. GreatPumpkin.jpg
Linus awaits the Great Pumpkin.

The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. [1] According to Linus van Pelt, the Great Pumpkin is a legendary personality who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween carrying a large bag of toys to deliver to believing children. Linus continues to maintain faith in the Great Pumpkin, despite his friends' mockery and disbelief. [2]

Contents

The Great Pumpkin was first introduced in the strip dated October 26, 1959, [3] and Schulz subsequently reworked the premise many times throughout the run of Peanuts, notably inspiring the 1966 animated television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown .

While Schulz usually avoided outright politics, he enjoyed his Great Pumpkin strips and incorporating religious references in many comics and animated cartoons. [4]

Premise

Each year Linus awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch deemed most sincere and lacking in hypocrisy. The following morning, each year, an embarrassed yet undefeated Linus vows to wait for the Great Pumpkin again next Halloween. Linus acknowledges the similarities between the Great Pumpkin and Santa Claus (in the television special, Linus writes to the Great Pumpkin that Santa Claus has better publicity). Charlie Brown attributes Linus's belief in the Great Pumpkin to "denominational differences."

In the comic strip dated October 25, 1961, Linus explains: "There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." [5] A few days later, Linus claims previously reported official sightings of the Great Pumpkin in Connecticut and Texas, [6] and Charlie Brown hears of a sighting in New Jersey. [7]

Linus remains faithful to the Great Pumpkin, even devising a Great Pumpkin Newsletter in comic strips dated October 1998. [8]

Religious metaphors

The Great Pumpkin has been cited as a symbol of strong faith and foolish faith, leading to vastly different interpretations of creator Charles Schulz's own faith. As described in the book on Schulz's religious views, A Charlie Brown Religion, Schulz's views were very personal and often misinterpreted. [4] Linus' seemingly unshakable belief in the Great Pumpkin, and his desire to foster the same belief in others, has been interpreted as a parody of Christian evangelism by some observers. Others have seen Linus' belief in the Great Pumpkin as symbolic of the struggles faced by anyone with beliefs or practices that are not shared by the majority. [9] Still others view Linus' lonely vigils, in the service of a being that may or may not exist and which never makes its presence known in any case, as a metaphor for mankind's basic existential dilemmas. [10]

Schulz himself, however, claimed no motivation beyond the humor of having one of his young characters confuse Halloween with Christmas. In the 1959 sequence of strips in which the Great Pumpkin is first mentioned, for instance, Schulz also has Linus suggest that he and the other kids "go out and sing pumpkin carols", [11] something which he also asks the trick-or-treating kids in the special itself.

In animated adaptations

After the Great Pumpkin formed the central premise of the 1966 television special, later television specials would also reference the character. These included You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) when Linus almost blows his chances in a school election; It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974) in which Sally cites her previous experience with the non-appearance of the Great Pumpkin; and You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (1975), wherein Linus enters the pumpkin patch with Charlie Brown, who gets teased as being the Great Pumpkin. The Peanuts Movie (2015) also namedrops the character, when Linus says he hopes the new kid in town (later revealed as the Little Red-Haired Girl) might be willing to believe in the Great Pumpkin.

Dee Andros

College football coach Dee Andros (1924–2003), was known by the nickname "The Great Pumpkin" as head coach (1965–75) and athletic director (1976–85) at Oregon State University in Corvallis. [12]

As the head coach of the orange and black Beavers, Andros had a round physique and often wore an orange windbreaker. He was first dubbed with the nickname in 1966 by a member of the Spokane press on Halloween weekend in Pullman, Washington, as his OSU team routed host Washington State's Cougars, 41–13. [13] [14] [15]

Braniff Airways

In the late 1970s, Braniff Airways painted its fleet in bright colors, for visual appeal and marketability. The airline's first 747-100 airliners were delivered painted in a striking shade of orange, causing several air traffic control centers across the US to welcome the new Braniff acquisitions with the phrase "Welcome, Great Pumpkin". [16] The 1973 Petersen Publications annual, Air Progress: World's Greatest Aircraft, had its chapter devoted to the 747 headed "The Great Pumpkin Lives!"

BNSF Railway

In 1996, Burlington Northern SD60M #9297 (renumbered 8197 in 2008, renumbered 1474 in 2014) was jokingly dubbed the "Great Pumpkin" by employees because of its bold orange paint scheme, one of many prototype paint designs created by the then newly formed Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), a merger of Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe). This scheme eventually became the basis for BNSF's "Heritage I" paint design, while the "Great Pumpkin" nickname has stuck among railfans for this particular locomotive.

The Simpsons

In the opening cameo of "Treehouse of Horror II" the Peanuts gang in Halloween costumes are passing in front of the Simpson house. The final segment of "Treehouse of Horror XIX" (the fourth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons ), called "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse", is a parody of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and contains numerous references to the Peanuts characters, including the Great Pumpkin appearing as the Grand Pumpkin (voiced by Hank Azaria). Milhouse Van Houten wears the same clothes and plays the same role as Linus van Pelt. Lisa Simpson is modeled after Sally Brown, and Bart is patterned after Charlie Brown (even saying "Good grief!" at one point). A redesigned version of Santa's Little Helper can be seen sleeping atop his dog house a la Snoopy, while Homer is seen sleeping on top of the family house in a similar manner. [17]

When Marge first speaks, her voice is replaced with a muted trombone sound, a parody of the "wah wah wah" voice that is used for adults in all Peanuts specials. [18] The dance scene during the Halloween party is a parody of the dance scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas right down to Kang and Kodos in a nonspeaking cameo as the twins "3 and 4". [19] Parts of the segment had music by Vince Guaraldi (best known for composing music for animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip), which they had obtained the rights to use. [20]

Robot Chicken

A sketch in the episode "Vegetable Funfest" of the stop-motion parody show Robot Chicken featured a Peanuts parody in which Linus tires of never seeing the Great Pumpkin. He conducts a magical ritual involving burning a chicken in a pentagram to summon the entity, which is revealed to be Lovecraftian in nature, feeding on children. The Great Pumpkin murders Linus and proceeds to stalk the other characters with similar intentions. Charlie Brown is saved by the similarly demonic Kite-Eating Tree, which consumes the Pumpkin. Charlie Brown declares that his deceased friends can now rest in peace. The murdered characters are then shown in Hell dancing with the devil as Schroeder plays his piano. [21]

Italy and the "Great Watermelon"

When the Peanuts strip was first introduced in Italy, Halloween was almost unknown there as a festivity. The earlier translations turned the pumpkin into a watermelon ("Il Grande Cocomero") because it was felt to be a more Mediterranean fruit-figure and its name sounded better. The intentional mistranslation somehow stuck in Italian pop culture, and was kept in all subsequent translations. [22] There was also a movie named after Il grande cocomero in 1993, directed by Francesca Archibugi.

Dan Johnson

The Major League Baseball player Dan Johnson is nicknamed "The Great Pumpkin" due to his orange-red beard and his notable late-season/autumn performance. Johnson was called to the majors late in three separate seasons (2008, 2010, 2011), and subsequently hit clutch home runs that propelled his team into the playoffs. [23]

Wizard of Id

On October 30, 2015, the Wizard of Id comic strip made a tribute to Linus and the Great Pumpkin. The wizard makes a spell "making a dream come true for a special little boy". The last panel shows the Great Pumpkin menacingly chasing Linus, who runs away terrified. [24]

Helloween

Charlie Brown, Linus, and the Great Pumpkin are referenced in Helloween's song "Halloween", alluding to the events in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown :

"Someone's sitting in a field, never giving yield.Sitting there with gleaming eyes.Waiting for Big Pumpkin to arise."

"Bad luck if you get a stone like the good old Charlie Brown, you think Linus could be right. The kids will say it's just a stupid lie."

The Great Pumpkin

In 1965 a song by The Jack-o-Lanterns was produced by Lou Reizner and released on 45. The composers were Danny and Myrna Jannson, along with Walter Keske. The song starts with the sound of a gong, a creaking door, then the voice speaks "My name is The Great Pumpkin. Whataya want sonny boy?" The singers of the song then tell The Great Pumpkin they are lonely and have no one to love. They're asking them for help saying they're his "last chance." At the end of the song the Pumpkin responds only by saying, "The Great Pumpkin he say you’ll never make the Top 40 Sunny Boy.” [25]

Snoopy vs. the Red Baron

In the 1966 Peanuts-themed hit single "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (song)" by The Royal Guardsmen Snoopy is said to have "asked the Great Pumpkin for a new battle plan" after a failed attempt to capture The Red Baron.

Licensed use in Poptropica

In October 2010, forty-four years after the initial airing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the Great Pumpkin was the topic of a licensed use by the online game Poptropica . The site's 15th island is Great Pumpkin Island, and features several of the Peanuts characters interacting with players. [26] As the island follows the same plot as the original TV special, the Great Pumpkin does not appear, and turns out to be Snoopy with a pumpkin on his head.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles M. Schulz</span> American cartoonist (1922–2000)

Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, the creator of the comic strip Peanuts which features his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists in history, and cited by many cartoonists as a major influence, including Jim Davis, Murray Ball, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey.

<i>Peanuts</i> Comic strip by Charles M. Schulz

Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. Peanuts is among the most popular and influential in the history of comic strips, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being" and is considered to be the grandfather of slice of life cartoons. At the time of Schulz's death in 2000, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of around 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 21 languages. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States, and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion.

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

Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip Peanuts, syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American archetypes and a popular and widely recognized cartoon character. Charlie Brown is characterized as a person who frequently suffers, and as a result, is usually nervous and lacks self-confidence. He shows both pessimistic and optimistic attitudes: on some days, he is apprehensive to even go outside because his day might just be spoiled, but on others, he hopes for the best and tries as much as he can to accomplish things. He is easily recognized by his trademark zigzag patterned shirt.

<i>Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown</i> 1966 animated Halloween television special

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. The third Peanuts special, and the second holiday-themed special, to be created, it was written by Schulz along with director/animator Bill Melendez and producer Lee Mendelson. The cast included Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea as Linus Van Pelt, Sally Dryer as Lucy Van Pelt, and Melendez as Snoopy. The special features music composed by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, whose contributions include the theme song "Linus and Lucy". It aired on broadcast television every year from its debut in 1966 until 2020 when it became an Apple TV+ exclusive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linus Van Pelt</span> Peanuts comic strip character

Linus Van Pelt is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts. He is the best friend of Charlie Brown, the younger brother of Lucy Van Pelt, and the older brother of Rerun Van Pelt. His first appearance was on September 19, 1952, but he was not mentioned by name until three days later. He was first referred two months earlier, on July 14. Linus spoke his first words in 1954, the same year he was first shown with his security blanket. Linus is named after Schulz's friend Linus Maurer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rerun Van Pelt</span> Peanuts comic strip character

Rerun Van Pelt is Linus and Lucy's younger brother in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. Lucy Van Pelt, his sister, disparagingly calls the situation a "rerun" of the birth of her brother Linus, so Linus nicknames the child "Rerun". Despite Lucy's disappointment, she becomes a warm and protective older sister.

Schroeder (<i>Peanuts</i>) Peanuts comic strip character

Schroeder is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. He is distinguished by his prodigious skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of classical music in general and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in particular. Schroeder is also the catcher on Charlie Brown's baseball team, though he is usually seen walking back to the pitcher's mound with the baseball, never throwing it—admitting in one strip he did not want the other team to discover his lack of ability. He is also the object of the unrequited infatuation of Lucy van Pelt, who constantly leans on Schroeder's piano. Charlie Brown, Frieda, Peppermint Patty, and Snoopy are occasionally depicted leaning on Schroeder's piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Van Pelt</span> Peanuts comic strip character

Lucille "Lucy" Van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is characterized as a "fussbudget", crabby, bossy and opinionated girl who bullies most other characters in the strip, particularly Linus and Charlie Brown.

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

Shermy is a fictional character from the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles Schulz. Schulz named him after a friend from high school. When Peanuts made its debut on October 2, 1950, Shermy sat with another early character, Patty on the curb, and spoke the first lines of dialogue, ending with "Good ol' Charlie Brown...How I hate him!" which is ironic, considering how he became one of Charlie Brown's closest friends, along with Linus van Pelt and Schroeder.

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

Sally Brown is a fictional character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She is the younger sister of main character Charlie Brown. She was first mentioned in May 1959 and throughout a long series of strips before her first appearance in August 1959. Cathy Steinberg was the first to voice Sally in 1965 for the CBS special A Charlie Brown Christmas; she was six years old at the time.

Violet (<i>Peanuts</i>) Peanuts comic strip character

Violet Gray is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Violet first appeared in the February 7, 1951 strip. She was originally a major character, until she was eventually relegated to background and cameo appearances as other female characters became more prominent, with Lucy ultimately taking over most of Violet's character traits.

Frieda (<i>Peanuts</i>) Peanuts comic strip character

Frieda is a fictional character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She is known for having naturally curly hair, of which she is extremely proud.

Woodstock (<i>Peanuts</i>) Peanuts comic strip character

Woodstock is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. He is a small yellow bird and Snoopy's best friend. The character first appeared in the April 4, 1967, strip, though he was not officially named until June 22, 1970. He is named after the Woodstock festival of 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kite-Eating Tree</span> Peanuts comic strip character

The Kite-Eating Tree is a fictional tree in the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz. In the comics, when Charlie Brown attempts to fly a kite, the kite always ends up tangled in the tree. In an editorial from 1964, the U.S. Catholic stated that Charlie Brown's encounters with the Kite-Eating Tree represent "defeat, but not capitulation" because Charlie Brown "refuses to concede that the impossible won’t someday happen—that he will manage to get the kite in the sky, where it belongs."

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

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown is the eighth prime-time animated TV special produced based upon the popular 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 (R-CA) and Senator George McGovern (D-SD). It was the first new Peanuts special to air since the spring of 1971.

<i>Snoopy! The Musical</i> (TV special) 1988 animated television musical

Snoopy! The Musical is the 31st prime-time animated TV special, based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It is an animated adaptation of the musical of the same name, and originally aired on the CBS network on January 29, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XIX</span> 4th episode of the 20th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XIX" is the fourth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 2, 2008. This is the nineteenth Treehouse of Horror episode, and, like the other Treehouse of Horror episodes, contains three self-contained segments: in "Untitled Robot Parody", Transformer robots run amok in Springfield; in "How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising", Homer is hired by advertising agents to kill celebrities so their images can be used for free; and in "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse", Milhouse summons a man-eating pumpkin in a parody of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Bob Anderson. Shortly after airing, the episode was criticized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) because a Nelson Muntz uses "gay" as an insult.

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

Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the Peanuts films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the comic strip and is considered more famous than Charlie Brown in some countries. The original drawings of Snoopy were inspired by Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs.

<i>Weapon Brown</i> Comic book

Weapon Brown is a 2002 comic book published by Death Ray Graphics and written by Jason Yungbluth, the author of Deep Fried, an anthology comic also published by Death Ray Graphics, in which the Weapon Brown character and story first appeared split across four issues in a story called A Peanut Scorned. The entire story was compiled from these four issues of Deep Fried, had new content added, and was then released as a one-shot issue in December 2002.

References

  1. ↑ Cavna, Michael (October 27, 2011). "'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown': 7 Things You Don't Know About Tonight's 'Peanuts' Special". The Washington Post blogs. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ Farago, Andrew (2017). The Complete Peanuts Family Album: The Ultimate Guide to Charles M. Schulz's Classic Characters. Weldon Owen. p. 100. ISBN   978-1681882925.
  3. ↑ Schulz, Charles (May 31, 1972). "October 26, 1959 strip". GoComics. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Lind, Stephen (2015). A Charlie Brown Religion (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
  5. ↑ Schulz, Charles (1961). Peanuts comic strip details, gocomics.com, October 25, 1961.
  6. ↑ Schulz, Charles (October 29, 1961). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for October 29, 1961 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  7. ↑ Schulz, Charles (November 1, 1961). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 01, 1961 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. ↑ Schulz, Charles (October 20, 1998). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for October 20, 1998 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ↑ Atkinson, Michael (October 18, 2012). "Viva Mabuse! #10: Oh, Great Pumpkin, Where Are You?". blog.sundancenow.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ Koresky, Michael (February 19, 2004). "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Book of Linus". Reverse Shot.
  11. ↑ Schulz, Charles (1959). Peanuts comic strip dated October 28, 1959.
  12. ↑ ""The Great Pumpkin" of Oregon State passes away". Fox Sports. June 6, 2014. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013.
  13. ↑ Sellard, Dan (October 31, 1971). "They love him in Corvallis". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 3–Emerald Empire.
  14. ↑ Missildine, Harry (October 30, 1966). "Dee rolled in like the Great Pumpkin". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1–sports.
  15. ↑ Missildine, Harry (February 23, 1987). "Whats in a name? It's love". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 9.
  16. ↑ Maxwell, G (June 20, 2010). "Braniff International Airways Boeing 747 Fleet". Jet Age. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013.
  17. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (July 26, 2008). "SDCC 08: Simpsons Footage Screened". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  18. ↑ Ponywether, Ariel (November 3, 2008). "Review – The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XIX"". Firefox. Archived from the original on November 7, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  19. ↑ Bentley, Rick (October 31, 2008). "A mixed bag of parody on "Simpsons Treehouse of Terror XIX"". The Seattle Times . Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  20. ↑ Topel, Fred (September 10, 2008). "Simpsons Parodies Transformers". SciFiWire.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  21. ↑ metarockstar (November 9, 2007). "Robot Chicken - Charlie Brown Peanuts & The Great Pumpkin". MetaTube. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  22. ↑ (in Italian)The Complete Peanuts, Panini Comics, 2012, p. VI. ISBN   978-88-6589-647-1
  23. ↑ Grosnick, Bryan (March 7, 2016). "Transaction Analysis: Dan the Man". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  24. ↑ Jeff Parker; Mason Mastroianni (October 30, 2015). "Wizard of Id" . Retrieved October 25, 2016– via GoComics.
  25. ↑ "The Jack-O-Lanterns - the Great Pumpkin".
  26. ↑ Peanuts characters interacting with the avatars of Poptropica players [ permanent dead link ], virtualworlddigest.com; accessed March 3, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.