A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Stratford, and Bill Melendez. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Melendez, the program made its debut on the CBS television network on December 9, 1965. In the special, Charlie Brown (Robbins) finds himself depressed despite the onset of the cheerful holiday season. After Lucy van Pelt (Stratford) suggests he direct a neighborhood Christmas play, his best efforts are ignored and mocked by his peers when he chooses a puny Christmas tree as a centerpiece.
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 get out of bed because he is unable to face the world, but on others, he hopes for the best and is determined to accomplish things. Charlie Brown is easily recognized by his round head and trademark zigzag patterned shirt.
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.
"Linus and Lucy" is a popular instrumental jazz standard written by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. It serves as the main theme tune for the many Peanuts animated specials and is named for the two fictional siblings, Linus and Lucy Van Pelt. The jazz standard was originally released on Guaraldi's album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown in 1964, but it gained its greatest exposure as part of A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack the following year. It is one of the most recognizable pieces by Guaraldi and has gained status as the signature melody of the Peanuts franchise.
José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez was an American animator, director, producer, and voice actor. Melendez is known for working on the Peanuts animated specials, as well as providing the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock. Before Peanuts, he previously worked as an animator for Walt Disney Productions, Warner Bros. Cartoons, and UPA.
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show is an American animated television series featuring characters and storylines from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts as first presented for television in the Peanuts animated specials. It aired Saturday mornings on the CBS network from 1983 to 1985.
Film Roman, LLC, is an American animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and currently by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of producer Steve Waterman.
Snoopy, Come Home! is a 1972 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Bill Melendez and written by Charles M. Schulz based on the Peanuts comic strip. The film marks the on-screen debut of Woodstock, who had first appeared in the strip in 1967. It was the only Peanuts film during composer Vince Guaraldi’s lifetime that did not have a score composed by him. Its music was composed by the Sherman Brothers, who composed the music for various Disney films like Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). The film was released on August 9, 1972 by National General Corporation, produced by Lee Mendelson Films, Bill Melendez Productions and Cinema Center Films. Despite receiving largely positive reviews, the film was a box-office flop, grossing only $245,073 against a production budget of over $1 million.
You're in Love, Charlie Brown is the fourth prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on June 12, 1967. This was the second non-holiday-oriented Peanuts special, following Charlie Brown's All Stars!.
Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown is a prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on January 5, 1979.
Melendez Films is a film animation studio. It was founded in 1962 by Steven C. Melendez, the son of Peanuts animator Bill Melendez.
You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown is the 37th prime-time animated television special based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. It premiered on January 18, 1994 on NBC. It was the last new Peanuts special to air on television until A Charlie Brown Valentine in 2002, and the last before Schulz's death in 2000.
Leland Maurice Mendelson was an American animation producer and executive producer of many Peanuts animated specials.
Lynda Mendelson is an American former child actress noted for providing the voice of Frieda in several Peanuts animated specials during the late 1960s and the early 1970s.
Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown is an animated TV documentary that celebrates 25 years of the Peanuts comic strip. The special first aired January 9, 1976 on CBS. The special includes clips from the previous 14 Peanuts specials and interview segments with creator Charles M. Schulz, with narration by Carl Reiner.
A Boy Named Charlie Brown is an unaired television documentary film about Charles M. Schulz and his creation Peanuts, produced by Lee Mendelson with some animated scenes by Bill Melendez and music by Vince Guaraldi.
Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown is the 45th Peanuts animated television special, released in 2011. It was the final primetime special based on the comic strip, before the franchise moved to Apple TV in 2020. The special is the first one produced without Bill Melendez on the production team, following his death in 2008. It is also the first special without the direct involvement of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, Lee Mendelson Productions or Bill Melendez Productions. In addition, it is the first Peanuts special produced in part under Warner Bros. Television, which holds the home media distribution rights to the Peanuts specials.
The Garfield television specials are a series of twelve half-hour long American animated television specials based on the Garfield comic strip of the same name created by Jim Davis. All twelve specials were directed by Phil Roman, written by Davis, and featuring the voice of Lorenzo Music as the character. The specials were originally broadcast on CBS from 1982 to 1991. Although the first two specials were produced by Lee Mendelson Films, this boutique studio was fully committed to the production of the Peanuts animated specials and could not allocate resources for the Garfield specials. All of the remaining Garfield specials were produced by Roman's own production company and namesake Film Roman.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording is a soundtrack album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released on October 12, 2018 in the U.S. by Craft Recordings/Concord. A reissue containing original recordings and alternate takes sourced from the master reels was released on August 26, 2022.
Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits is a compilation album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released by Fantasy Records in 1998. The album was the first of several posthumous releases containing a mix of previously released material in addition to nine previously unavailable songs featured in prime-time animated television specials based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz.
