Thread:17cfaust/@comment-33056804-20170908153039

Charles Schulz's Happiness is the 1960s, Charlie Brown! is the animated compilation with the first six television specials, written & created by Charles Schulz, produced by Lee Mendelson & Bill Melendez, and directed by Bill Melendez.

Synopsis
A compilation of the first six Peanuts television specials, based on the comic strips by Charles M. Schulz.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Most of the Peanuts characters are skating on a frozen pond as the song "Christmas Time is Here" plays. On his way to join them, Charlie Brown confides in Linus that even though the holidays are approaching he is starting to feel depressed despite all the presents and cards and tree decorating. His depression and aggravation only get exacerbated by the goings-on in the neighborhood. Though his mailbox is empty of Christmas cards, he tries sarcastically to thank Violet for the card she "sent" him, though Violet knows she did no such thing. Charlie Brown (shouting after Violet as she walks away): "Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?!?"

Ultimately Charlie Brown visits Lucy in her psychiatric booth. On her advice, he gets involved in directing a Christmas Nativity play. She also sympathizes with Charlie Brown about holiday depression, always getting "a lot of stupid toys" instead of what she really wants; real estate. On the way to the theater, Charlie Brown is drawn to Snoopy, who is frantically and gleefully busy decorating his doghouse. Demanding an explanation, Snoopy hands Charlie Brown a flyer about a neighborhood Christmas lights and display contest. Charlie Brown walks away in frustration at his own dog having being bitten by the Christmas commercialization bug. He then gets accosted by Sally, who wants Charlie Brown to dictate a letter to Santa. Sally ultimately asks Santa to "just send money," particularly tens and twenties, causing Charlie Brown to run away in exasperation of even his sister's secularization.

Charlie Brown arrives at the rehearsals, but try as he might, he cannot seem to get control of the situation. The uncooperative children are more interested in modernizing the play with dancing and lively music. Charlie Brown, on the other hand, is determined to not let the play become secularized by focusing on the traditional side of the story.

Thinking the play requires "the proper mood," Charlie Brown decides they need a Christmas tree. So Lucy takes over the crowd and dispatches Charlie Brown to get a "big, shiny aluminum tree... maybe painted pink." With Linus in tow, Charlie Brown sets off on his quest. But when they get to the tree market, Charlie Brown zeroes in on a small baby tree which, ironically as well as symbolically, is the only real tree on the lot. Linus is reluctant about Charlie Brown's decision, but Charlie Brown is convinced that decorating it will be just right for the play. They return to the auditorium with the tree, only to be verbally castigated by everyone, especially Lucy, about the choice of tree. Second guessing himself, Charlie Brown begins to wonder if he really knows what Christmas is about, loudly asking in despair. Linus quietly says he can tell him, and walks to center stage to make his point. Under a spotlight, Linus quotes the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 8 through 14 from the King James Bible, in which angels from heaven tell a group of initially frightened shepherds of the birth of the baby Jesus, and instruct them as to where they can "find the babe." Charlie Brown now realizes he does not have to let commercialism ruin his Christmas. With a newly-found sense of inspiration, he quietly picks up the little tree and walks out of the auditorium, intending to take the tree home to decorate and show the others it will work in the play. On the way, he stops at Snoopy's decorated doghouse, which now sports a first prize blue ribbon for winning the display contest. Letting his dog's commercialism roll off his back, Charlie Brown takes an ornament off the doghouse and hangs it on his tree, but the ornament's weight is too much for the small branch and pulls it to the ground much to Charlie Brown's shock.

Charlie Brown, seeing the ornamented branch droop to the ground, screams, "I've killed it. AUGHH!! Everything I touch gets ruined!" and walks away without taking the ornament off, his head hanging in shame. Unbeknownst to Charlie Brown, the rest of the gang, having also heard Linus' recitative, began to realize they were a little too rough on Charlie Brown and quietly followed him from the auditorium. Linus goes up to the little tree and gently props the drooping branch back to its upright position, ornament and all: Linus says, "I never thought it was such a bad little tree," he wraps his blanket around the base of the trunk and adds, "It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love." The rest of the children grab the other decorations off of Snoopy's doghouse and add them to the tree. When they have finished, even Lucy concedes to Charlie Brown's choice, saying, Charlie Brown is a blockhead, but he did get a nice tree." The children then start humming the traditional Christmas Carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." When Charlie Brown returns, he demands to know what is taking place. When he sees what they have done with the tree, he cannot believe his eyes,and all the children shout, "MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!" At this point, the children, now with Charlie Brown, begin singing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" as the end credits roll and the snow begins to fall.

Charlie Brown's All-Stars
After Charlie Brown's team lose their first game of the season (123–0), all the players, except Charlie Brown, throw down their caps in disgust and quit.

Frustrated and depressed, Charlie Brown wanders around aimlessly until he ends his meandering by sitting down on the sidewalk, putting his back against Hennessy's Hardware Store and staring into space. Just then, Linus exits the hardware store and tells Charlie Brown good news: Mr. Hennessy, the owner of the store, wants to sponsor Charlie Brown's team, outfit them with baseball uniforms and incorporate them into Little League.

The excitement gets the better of Charlie Brown, and he eagerly tells the team the good news. Lucy is apprehensive, but states that if Charlie Brown can really get the team uniforms, they will give him another chance and return to the team. Charlie Brown says he can promise them uniforms. Later at home, Charlie Brown, gets a phone call from Mr. Hennessey, and is told he will be able to make a uniform for the boys on the team, but the league does not allow girls or dogs. This means he can't make Charlie Brown's team uniforms unless he drops the girls (namely Lucy, Violet, Patty, and Frieda) and the dog (Snoopy). Charlie Brown tries to reason with Mr. Hennessey, but is told that the stipulations are the league's rules, not his. Unwilling to sacrifice his friends, Charlie Brown is left with no choice but to turn down Mr. Hennessey's offer.

Moments later, Charlie Brown relays the news to Linus, who tells him that Lucy and the team will most likely be angry with his decision. However, Charlie Brown has an idea. He will not tell them figuring their lifted spirits will drive them to a great win. Then after the game, they will be so happy about the win, they will forget about the uniforms Charlie Brown promised. Linus says this may not be a good idea, but Charlie Brown feels it will work.

The game starts off slowly, but as it picks up, the team begins to play spectacularly. Unfortunately, they lose the game in the end when, in the last inning, Charlie Brown's bid to tie the game by stealing home fails.

Having failed to win them the game, Lucy and several others tell Charlie Brown that if it were not for the uniforms and the league deal, they would quit. Charlie Brown then tells the team (leaving out the reasons why) that he told Mr. Hennessey that the deal was off. This causes the team to yell in anger and storm off, including Linus (though his reason was his disagreement with Charlie Brown for concealing the truth). As the girls complain about their misfortune (and Snoopy is shown sharing their disgust), Linus speaks up telling them the real reason why Charlie Brown turned the offer down. Both Linus and Schroeder berate the girls and Snoopy for their selfishness; pointing out that Charlie Brown was not willing to sacrifice them just to get the uniforms. This causes the girls and Snoopy to feel terrible for being so hard on Charlie Brown. They are uncertain what to do, until Lucy comes up with an idea to make up for the insults: make a special uniform for Charlie Brown. And they do just that, using the only fabric available: Linus' beloved security blanket.

The girls and Snoopy present the newly-made uniform (complete with the words "Our Manager" on the front) to Charlie Brown, who is very pleased with it. He is determined that his team will win the next day, but the next day, it rains, so there is no ball game. Charlie Brown just stands in the rain on the pitcher's mound, where Linus finds him and tells him that nobody will come to the field. He then looks nervously at Charlie Brown, and tells him that his uniform was made from his blanket. So Charlie Brown lets Linus hold the shirt-tail against his cheek and suck his thumb. The two of them stand together in the pouring rain, while the credits roll.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The story opens with Linus and Lucy going out into a nearby pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin to use as a jack-o'-lantern. After rejecting a couple of smaller choices by Linus, Lucy points to the biggest pumpkin in the patch, which Linus clumsily rolls back home. When they get home, Lucy takes a big knife and slices into the pumpkin to gut it, at which point a horrified Linus says, "Ohhhh, you didn't tell me you were going to kill it!", and starts crying.

This is followed by an opening sequence, in which trick-or-treaters (dressed as Mr. Hyde, a witch, and three ghosts; most likely the children in the special) get pursued by sinister-looking phantoms representing Halloween. The trick-or-treaters are forced to hide in a near-by pumpkin patch until the coast is clear, at which point the title is shown on screen along with Charles M. Schulz's creator credit, followed by an owl hooting as it flies off a tree branch and towards the audience.

With autumn already in full swing, Charlie Brown is busy raking leaves with Snoopy's help. Linus sees the pile and jumps right in the middle of it, forgetting he had a wet lollipop (called a sucker in this special) in his possession. Moments later Lucy comes with a football for Charlie Brown to kick. He initially refuses but Lucy shows him a contract, which she says promises she will not pull the ball away, but when Charlie Brown is about to kick the ball, she does pull it away, which sends him landing flat on his back, like always.

Later, Linus writes a letter to The Great Pumpkin, to Charlie Brown's disbelief, Snoopy's laughter, Patty's assurance that the Great Pumpkin is a fake, and even to Lucy's violent threat to make Linus stop ("You better cut it out right now or I'll pound you!"). Linus laments in the letter that "more people believe in Santa Claus than in you (The Great Pumpkin), but let's face it; Santa Claus has had more publicity. But being number two, perhaps you try harder" (a tongue-in-cheek jab at Avis Rent-A-Car's popular slogan of the day). Only Sally, Charlie Brown's younger sister, who is in love with Linus, supports him before Charlie Brown takes her away.

After Linus mails his letter to the Great Pumpkin (using his blanket to open the mailbox after Lucy refuses to help), Charlie Brown dances when he receives an invitation to go to Violet's Halloween party. His bubble is quickly burst by Lucy who mentions there were two lists, people to invite and people not to invite; Lucy is certain Charlie Brown's name was on the wrong list.

On Halloween night, the gang gets their costumes ready. Lucy dresses as a witch, while the other kids dress up as ghosts. "Pig-Pen" is easily recognized by his trademark cloud of dust, while Charlie Brown has eyeholes cut out all over his sheet, matter-of-factly stating he had a little trouble with the scissors. Sally asks if she can join the gang trick-or-treating. Lucy explains how to trick-or-treat and Sally asks if it is legal.

Before going trick-or-treating, the gang stops off at the pumpkin patch to make fun of Linus's missing out on all the fun as last year (especially when he asks if they came to sing "pumpkin carols"). Linus remains convinced that the Great Pumpkin will indeed come because he thinks the patch he is in is sincere enough and even convinces Sally to stick around and wait with him. The rest of the gang go off leaving Sally and Linus behind.

During trick-or-treating, everyone else gets assorted candy, gum, apples, cookies, popcorn balls, and even money. However, at every house, Charlie Brown gets the same thing — a rock. After tricks-or-treats, and another quick stop at the pumpkin patch to rib Linus and Sally again, the gang all go off to Violet's Halloween party.

Meanwhile, Snoopy, wearing his World War I Flying Ace gear, climbs aboard his Sopwith Camel (in reality, his doghouse) to do battle with the Red Baron. After being shot down, Snoopy makes his way across the countryside, before briefly crashing the Halloween party.

He then makes his way to the pumpkin patch where Linus and Sally are still waiting for the Great Pumpkin to show up. Linus hears Snoopy's rustling, and believes it is the Great Pumpkin. When Snoopy (still hidden in the shadows) rises above the pumpkins, Linus promptly faints. When Sally sees it is only Snoopy, she becomes outraged over missing tricks-or-treats and the Halloween party, and threatens to "sue" Linus. She storms out of the pumpkin patch with the other children, leaving Linus by himself, still convinced the Great Pumpkin will come. When promising to put in a good word for them, he accidentally says "If the Great Pumpkin comes", instead of When. After he realizes his mistake, he declares that he is doomed and that "one little slip like that can cause the Great Pumpkin to pass you by." The camera then zooms out to reveal the entire pumpkin patch as he calls out, "OH GREAT PUMPKIN, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Lucy takes off Linus' shoes before he passes out. When 4:00 a.m. rolls around on November 1, Lucy gets up to check on Linus. Seeing his bed empty, she goes out to the pumpkin patch to find him lying on the ground shivering, covered in his security blanket. Lucy grudgingly walks him home and to his room, taking off his shoes and socks. He passes out in his own bed as Lucy puts the covers on him before angrily walking out of his room.

Later on that day, Linus and Charlie Brown are at the wall talking about the previous night's events. When Charlie Brown tries to console Linus saying "I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, too", Linus blows a fuse and angrily vows to Charlie Brown that the Great Pumpkin will come next year, his ranting continuing as the end credits roll.

You're in Love, Charlie Brown
It is late spring, school is about to let out for summer vacation, and Charlie Brown is upset about everything, and very stressed. On the way to school, he meets Linus and tells him he is frustrated that he cannot enjoy himself like all the other children at school. Then he notices The Little Red-Haired Girl, sitting on a passing bus, he gets very excited, and wonders why he can never eat lunch with her. Linus exclaims "I know what the problem is. You're in love Charlie Brown."

During the second to last day of school, Charlie Brown agonizes over The Little Red-Haired Girl, trying to think of different ways to get her attention, only to have each attempt fail embarrassingly. First he writes her a love note, but he gets called on by the teacher to read a report in front of the class, and accidentally reads the note aloud to the raucous laughter of the class. Then he goes to the pencil sharpener which is right behind The Little Red-Haired Girl's desk, but accidentally sharpens his ball-point pen. Lunch hour is just as frustrating. He tries to get up the courage to go and talk to the girl, only to fail at the last moment. Then he panics when The Little Red-Haired Girl approaches, tying his peanut butter sandwich in a knot and pulling his lunch sack down over his face. When lunch is over, Charlie Brown is mad at himself for what happened. He tells Lucy, that pretty faces make him nervous, to which Lucy replies "How come my face doesn't make you nervous?" On the way home, Lucy and Violet teases Charlie Brown for the ridiculous book report he gave in class. Linus defends him by telling them he is madly in-love with The Little Red-Haired Girl, but it only provides the girls another way to humiliate Charlie Brown.

That afternoon, Charlie Brown meets Peppermint Patty and talks about the girl at school, but before he can mention her red hair, Peppermint Patty jumps in and tells "Chuck" that she knows exactly who he is talking about, and will set up a meeting with her. She then tells Lucy that "Someone" wants to meet her at the ball park that night. Lucy agrees, thinking the "Someone" is Schroeder, and Peppermint Patty returns to tell Charlie Brown everything is all set. When the two meet each other at home plate, they respond with "You! Bleah!"

The next morning, the last day of school before summer vacation, Charlie Brown plans to get up early in the morning, so he can take the bus (he normally walks to school) and meet The Little Red-Haired Girl at the bus stop. He actually sets his alarm for 4:30 in the morning, but is so tired, he fells asleep on the bench, and when the bus comes, it leaves him behind. He arrives late for school and is sent to the principal's office. When he comes back to class, the teacher calls on him to solve a math problem on the blackboard. Thinking he will finally impress The Little Red-Haired Girl, he struts to the blackboard and works hard, but when the teacher asks him if he knows what he is doing, he admits he does not have a clue. He is once again laughed at, and once again goes slowly back to his desk.

When school is finally over, Charlie Brown realizes he can go on the bus, and finally meet The Little Red-Haired Girl. Charlie Brown beats everyone out to the school bus to meet her but a clamoring crowd of fellow students pushes him away. The last student gets on the bus, and it pulls away again, leaving Charlie Brown behind. He shouts out that he missed his last chance to meet the Little Red Haired Girl, until he notices a sheet of paper that had gotten slipped into his hand. It reads:

''I Like You, Charlie Brown. signed Little Red Haired Girl'' Charlie Brown's anguish quickly turns into delight and hope as he dances up the hill toward home as the end credits roll. At the very end, he stops and asks himself, "Good grief! How will I live until September?"

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
Snoopy has caused a lot of mischief and upset most of the children. They demand that Charlie Brown does something about Snoopy's behavior. Charlie Brown calls the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm asking if they will take Snoopy back to learn some obedience.

It is a long way to the farm, therefore, Charlie Brown asks Peppermint Patty to look after Snoopy for a day. She agrees to have the dog over. But the next day, Snoopy does not go to the farm. On the spur of the moment, he decides to change his mind, packs a suitcase, and starts walking around the neighborhood. Worried that he has been found out already, he still proceeds out of town on his way to the house where Peppermint Patty lives. While there, he relaxes and pretends that he is a soldier on leave in Paris. This angers the girl as he does nothing but lounge by her pool while she serves him root beers and does the dishes.

A week later Charlie Brown receives a phone call from the farm saying that Snoopy never arrived there. He soon discovers that the dog has been staying at Peppermint Patty's all week. He comes by and attaches a leash to Snoopy's collar in order to bring the dog home. Snoopy escapes from Charlie Brown's leash and heads back to Peppermint Patty's house. However, instead of going back to rest and relaxation, the girl forces Snoopy to do all of the household chores as payback for her cleaning up after him.

Later on, the other children start to miss Snoopy. Charlie Brown tries to bring Snoopy back again. However, since he brings the leash again, Snoopy just tears it up and refuses to come back. Later that day, while cleaning dishes, Snoopy ends up being infuriated by all of the chores, and to get rid of his anger he starts breaking the dishes. However, Peppermint Patty comes into the kitchen and immediately banishes Snoopy to the garage in anger for punishment.

That night Snoopy realizes that he is better off living at Charlie Brown's house. As Peppermint Patty had not locked the garage door, he escapes, gathers all his belongings, and heads home to be reunited with his owner. The next day, all of the children in Charlie Brown's neighborhood rejoice in Snoopy's return.

It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown
School is out for the summer and Charlie Brown, Linus van Pelt, Schroeder, and "Pig-Pen" are planning to spend it reading every comic book, watch television, practicing baseball, and classical music. However, Lucy tells them that she signed them up for camp. The girls are eager to go, but the boys hate the idea. (Charlie Brown adds that it's like finding out that he was drafted.) The boys shove each other to get on the bus, while the girls get lined up in order. At camp, Charlie Brown is chosen captain of the boy's camp. The boys and girls have a swim race and the girls win easily. Then they have a softball game, which the boys lose with only one run. Other competitions are just as lopsided.

Afterwards, the boys sit around a campfire and reflect on how miserable they are. In one scene, the colors of the shirts of Schroeder and Linus are mixed up.

Charlie Brown and Shermy, disillusioned by their continued defeat, see Snoopy arm wrestling with some boys. They realize that the boys might get even with an arm wrestling game, with, The "Masked Marvel" (Snoopy) as their champion. Snoopy goes into training, eating the camp's awful food, doing exercises, and drinking a nutritious and noxious concoction. In the contest, Snoopy goes against Lucy. They both get sweaty and tired in the match, which ends when Snoopy kisses Lucy. He pins her hand: but she says that kissing her was a foul, and she is the winner.

Back at school, Charlie Brown only came up with 13 words on his first essay that he and Linus were forced to write on the first day. Linus got an A but Charlie Brown got a C-, Linus then says, "Oh, well, it was a short summer, Charlie Brown", followed by Charlie Brown saying gloomily, "And it looks like it's going to be a long winter".

TV Specials

 * A Charlie Brown Christmas
 * Charlie Brown's All-Stars
 * It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
 * You're in Love, Charlie Brown
 * He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
 * It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown

Voices

 * Peter Robbins
 * Christopher Shea
 * Sally Dryer
 * Kathy Steinberg
 * Glenn Mendelson
 * Gail DeFaria
 * Ann Altieri
 * Lisa DeFaria
 * Matthew Liftin
 * Glenn Gilger
 * Hilary Momberger
 * Christopher DeFaria
 * David Carey
 * Pamelyn Ferdin
 * John Daschback
 * Bill Melendez
 * Phil Harris

Note

 * This compilation has the first six Peanuts television specials.

Cultural References

 * The spectacular showstopping song resembles Phil Harris' Minnie the Mermaid performed by Phil Harris as the singer, Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Glenn Gilger as Linus van Pelt, Matthew Liftin as Roy and Christopher DeFaria as Peppermint Patty.