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Peanuts animated specials | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Based on | |
Producer | |
Theme | "Linus and Lucy" |
Composer(s) | |
Production companies | Bill Melendez Productions United Media Productions Lee Mendelson Film Productions Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates (until 2009) WildBrain Studios Peanuts Worldwide, LLC Schulz Studios (from 2020s) |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (formerly) Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (current, since 2007) WildBrain Distribution |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of specials | 51 |
The successful comic strip Peanuts , by Charles M. Schulz, has been adapted into 51 animated specials since 1965, most of them released on television. This article describes the history of these programs, including notable sponsors, directors, and voice actors.
In the strip, adult voices are heard, though conversations are usually only depicted from the children's end. To translate this aspect to the animated medium, the sound of a trombone with a solotone mute, created by Vince Guaraldi [1] and played by Dean Hubbard. [2]
Eight Peanuts-based specials have been made posthumously. Of these, three are tributes to Peanuts or other Peanuts specials, and five are completely new specials based on dialogue from the strips and ideas given to ABC by Schulz before his death. He's a Bully, Charlie Brown , was telecast on ABC on November 20, 2006, following a repeat broadcast of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving . Airing 43 years after the first special, the premiere of He's a Bully, Charlie Brown was watched by nearly 10 million viewers, winning its time slot and beating a Madonna concert special. [3]
In October 2007, Warner Home Video acquired worldwide home video rights to the Peanuts TV specials from Paramount Home Entertainment and other distributors. The deal would also allow Warner Bros. to produce new direct-to-video Peanuts content and short-form digital content for release under the Warner Premiere label. [4]
Accordingly, the streaming rights to Peanuts media are scattered across multiple platforms. The Peanuts Movie , distributed by 20th Century Fox, became part of The Walt Disney Company library and is on Disney+. [5] [6]
Character | Charlie Brown | Snoopy | Lucy Van Pelt | Linus Van Pelt | Sally Brown | Schroeder | Shermy | Patty | Violet Gray | Frieda | Pig-Pen | Peppermint Patty | Franklin | Marcie |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Charlie Brown Christmas | Peter Robbins | Bill Melendez | Tracy Stratford | Christopher Shea | Cathy Steinberg | Chris Doran | Karen Mendelson | Sally Dryer | Ann Altieri | Geoffrey Ornstein | ||||
Charlie Brown's All Stars! | Sally Dryer | Glenn Mendelson | Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter | Lynn Vanderlip | Karen Mendelson | |||||||||
It's the Great Pumpkin | Glenn Mendelson | Lisa DeFaria | Ann Altieri | Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter | ||||||||||
You're in Love | Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter | |||||||||||||
He's Your Dog | ||||||||||||||
It Was a Short Summer | Pamelyn Ferdin | Glenn Gilger | Hilary Momberger | John Daschback | David Carey | Ann Altieri | Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter | Christopher DeFaria | ||||||
A Boy Named Charlie Brown | Erin Sullivan | Andy Pforsich | Sally Dryer | Ann Altieri | Lynda Mendelson | Christopher DeFaria | ||||||||
Play It Again | Chris Inglis | Stephen Shea | Hilary Momberger | Danny Hjeim | Chris Inglis | Christopher DeFaria | ||||||||
Snoopy Come Home | Chad Webber | Robin Kohn | David Carey | |||||||||||
You're Not Elected | Brian Kazanjian | Linda Ercoli | ||||||||||||
There's No Time for Love | Christopher DeFaria | Todd Barbee | Jimmy Ahrens | |||||||||||
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving | Todd Barbee | Robin Reed | ||||||||||||
It's A Mystery | Melanie Kohn | Lynn Mortensen | Tom Muller | Donna LeTourneau | ||||||||||
It's the Easter Beagle | Todd Barbee | Linda Ercoli | ||||||||||||
Be My Valentine | Duncan Watson | Greg Felton | Linda Ercoli | |||||||||||
You're a Good Sport | Liam Martin | Gail Davis | Stuart Brotman | Duncan Watson | Jimmy Ahrens | |||||||||
Race For Your Life | Greg Felton | |||||||||||||
It's Arbor Day | Dylan Beach | Sarah Beach | Michelle Muller | |||||||||||
What a Nightmare | Liam Martin | |||||||||||||
It's Your First Kiss | Arrin Skelley | Michelle Muller | Daniel Anderson | Laura Planting | Ronald Hendrix | |||||||||
You're the Greatest | Patricia Patts | Casey Carlson | ||||||||||||
Bon Voyage | Laura Planting | Annalisa Bortolin | ||||||||||||
She's a Good Skate | ||||||||||||||
Life Is a Circus | Michael Mandy | Kristin Fullerton | Rocky Reilly | Christopher Donohoe | Brent Hauer | Shannon Cohn | ||||||||
A Charlie Brown Celebration | Cindi Reilly | Christopher Donohoe | ||||||||||||
It's Magic | Sydney Penny | |||||||||||||
Someday You'll Find Her | Grant Wehr | |||||||||||||
It's an Adventure | Michael Catalano | Angela Lee | Cindi Reilly | Brad Schacter | Brent Hauer | Michael Dockery | ||||||||
Is This Goodbye | Brad Kesten | Jeremy Schoenberg | Stacy Heather Tolkin | Kevin Brando | Victoria Vargas | Kevin Brando | ||||||||
What Have We Learned | ||||||||||||||
It's Flashbeagle | Jessica Lee Smith | David Wagner | Fergie | Kevin Brando | Joe Chemay | Gini Holtzman | Keri Houlihan | |||||||
You're a Good Man | Robert Towers | Tiffany Reinbolt | Jeremy Scott Reinbolt | Michael Dockery | ||||||||||
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.
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.
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.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is the tenth prime-time animated television special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on the CBS network on November 20, 1973, and won an Emmy Award the following year. It was the third holiday special after A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in 1966.
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.
Play It Again, Charlie Brown is the seventh prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on March 28, 1971.
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 and Senator George McGovern. It was the first new Peanuts special to air since the spring of 1971.
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown is the sixth prime-time animated television special based on the popular comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. It was directed by Bill Melendez and originally aired on CBS on September 27, 1969.
There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown is the ninth prime-time animated TV special based upon the popular 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.
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.
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! is the 12th prime-time animated TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. In the United States, it debuted on CBS on April 9, 1974 at 8 PM.
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.
This Is America, Charlie Brown is an eight-part animated television miniseries that depicts a series of events in American history featuring characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It aired from 1988 to 1989 on CBS. The first four episodes aired as a weekly series in October and November 1988; the final four episodes aired monthly from February to May 1989.
ABoy Named Charlie Brown is a 1969 American animated musical comedy-drama film, produced by Cinema Center Films, distributed by National General Pictures, and directed by Bill Melendez with a screenplay by Charles M. Schulz. It is the first feature film based on the Peanuts comic strip. Starring Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, and Andy Pforsich, the film follows the titular character as he tries to win the National Spelling Bee, with Snoopy and Linus by his side. The film was also produced by Lee Mendelson. It was also distributed by National General Pictures and produced by Melendez Films
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is the 43rd prime-time animated television special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. The special first aired on ABC on December 9, 2003. The special is about Linus and Lucy's younger brother, Rerun, wanting a pet dog for Christmas.
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown is the 36th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1992.
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.
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is the 41st prime-time animated TV special based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It originally aired on ABC December 8, 2002. It was thereafter broadcast each Christmas season after that through to 2019 as a companion segment in an hour-long slot featuring an unedited version of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
He's a Bully, Charlie Brown is the 44th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the ABC network on November 20, 2006. It is the third most recent Peanuts television special and is primarily based on a story from the Peanuts comic strips originally appearing in April 1995. He's a Bully, Charlie Brown was an idea Schulz had pitched, and worked on before his death on February 12, 2000. Schulz's working title for the special was It's Only Marbles, Charlie Brown. Animation was produced by Toon-Us-In.
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.