''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown'' is a 1986 American
animated short fan film directed and animated by
Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon is an American animator, storyboard artist, television writer, television director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series and was cr ...
, who would later become director and storyboard consultant for ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' and one of the co-writers of the Oscar-winning 2008 animated feature film, ''
WALL-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...
''. The cartoon was made while he was at
CalArts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
. This cartoon, done entirely in black-and-white, has a rough, unfinished-looking style.
Plot
The short film is presented as a trailer for a faux
''Peanuts'' television special. The "special" is said to be due for broadcast on
Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m., and to be
sponsored by a foods company called
Madison Barns, "makers of
Ding Dong
A Ding Dong is a chocolate cake produced and distributed in the United States by Hostess Brands and in Canada from Vachon Inc. under the name King Dons; in some U.S. markets, it was previously known as Big Wheels. The Ding Dong has been produce ...
s,
Twinkies,
pooftas and wussy cakes," but the advertisements were only announced and were not shown on the film.
The short begins with the camera moving to the left side to Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and
Snoopy
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 recog ...
, who are kneeling (except Snoopy who was seen lying on the ground) in fear to
the Great Pumpkin
The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. 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 toy ...
who smokes a cigarette in front of the cast, as he puts a
bounty
Bounty or bounties commonly refers to:
* Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing
Bounty or bounties may also refer to:
Geography
* Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...
on
Charlie Brown
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 a ...
's head on a wall, dead or alive, and thus prompting the entire ''
Peanuts
''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 infl ...
'' cast to try to kill him anyway they can. The first clip demonstrates Charlie Brown backing up while
Lucy
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...
sets up for Charlie. He tells her that she is ready, but she gives him a moment as she strikes a match as she tries to get Charlie Brown to kick a bomb disguised as a football. When she lights the bomb up and calls him a blockhead, Charlie immediately rushes off to the football but when he kicks it, it explodes, and goes to the title card.
Schroeder __NOTOC__
Schroeder is a North German language, German (from Schröder) occupational name for a cloth cutter or tailor, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German , "to cut". The same term was occasionally used to denote a gristmiller as well as ...
then appears acting like normal without his tiny piano in his hands. Charlie comes up to him and asks Schroeder what happened to his piano, only for his (full-sized, not toy) piano to fall on Charlie Brown's head while Schroeder ignores Charlie's question.
Snoopy
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 recog ...
then prepares to fly like the flying ace but ends up getting shot by machine guns, as the narrator introduces him and the "Red Baron". Charlie then holds a
York Peppermint Pattie
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
(not the character as it was mentioned, as the character does not appear in the short film), and Snoopy bites off his hand (which
gushes blood). Then it goes to the
Kite-Eating Tree
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 ...
which falls on him. Meanwhile, at a scene with a wall of bricks,
Linus
Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...
arrives next to Charlie and begins talking to him, but Linus ends up strangling him unconscious with his blanket after Charlie recognizes that everyone is after him.
Charlie attempts to finally escape, but he finds Linus, Lucy (holding a spiked bat), Schroeder, and Snoopy running towards him. Having had enough, Charlie Brown arms himself with a pump-action shotgun, a submachine gun, and an M16 assault rifle, and says to the other characters: "See you in hell!" He then violently massacres the entire ''Peanuts'' cast one by one (with an exception of Snoopy being almost shot, but with his brain being shown). Charlie then gets shot in the shoulder by Lucy with a pistol from behind, but he turns around with his shotgun, shouts "Bitch!" and shoots, making Lucy's head explode. The film then goes on a strange and darkly humorous montage in which Charlie Brown shoots and kills everyone in his way: scores of Mexican banditos, a
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
machine gun nest behind which
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
is painting a picture of a flower, and two other soldiers, and
Richard Simmons
Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is an American fitness personality and public figure, known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. He has promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his ''Swe ...
doing jumping jacks, who then falls through a window. This is followed by his sister,
Sally
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
* Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, the Allied reporting na ...
, being
decapitated
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
by an axe.
Following this is another montage, this time of Snookles the Baby Dragon calmly breathing fire, Pig Pen vomiting profusely in Violet's face, two
biplanes crashing into each other in midair,
Dagwood Bumstead
Dagwood Bumstead is a main character in cartoonist Chic Young's long-running comic strip '' Blondie''. He debuted in the first strip on September 8, 1930.
He was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune, but was disowned when he marrie ...
getting kicked in the testicles by his wife,
Blondie (which causes his head to pop off, resulting in a blood gush),
Mickey Mouse getting hit on the head with a lead pipe while laughing,
Rocky Balboa getting punched in the face by
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.[Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...](_blank)
squeezing
Dr. Pepper
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
out of a giant soda can. It then ends showing off various characters, including some taken to the hospital, some lying on the ground, one of the aforementioned crashed biplanes, and even one character resembling Billy from
Family Circus
''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and, since Bil's death in 2011, is currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son, Jef ...
hanging from a tree by a noose. Charlie Brown then announces, while holding his two guns, that "happiness is a warm
Uzi
The Uzi (; he, עוזי, Ūzi; officially cased as UZI) is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns and machine pistols first designed by Major Uziel "Uzi" Gal in the late 1940s, shortly after the establishment of the ...
" in a thick
Arnold Schwarzenegger accent, though an Uzi was never used. The screen cuts to him smoking a cigarette in bed with the
Little Red-Haired Girl
The Little Red-Haired Girl is an unseen character in the ''Peanuts'' comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, who serves as the object of Charlie Brown's affection, and a symbol of unrequited love. The character was first mentioned in the strip on Nove ...
(who, fittingly, is not fully seen), who asks Charlie Brown to turn off the bedroom light and go to sleep.
The song "
Charlie Brown
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 a ...
" by
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...
plays over the end credits (where it is incorrectly attributed to
The Platters
The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...
). The credits end with a note from Jim Reardon:
References to other media
Jim Reardon makes several references to
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...
films throughout the short. For example, the title itself – as well as the basic plot – is a play on Peckinpah's ''
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' () is a 1974 Mexican-American neo-Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, co-written by Peckinpah and Gordon Dawson from a story by Peckinpah and Frank Kowalski, and starring Warren Oates and Isela Vega, w ...
''. The title is borrowed from ''
National Lampoon''s parody of ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
''.
The Peanuts massacre is a major satire of the climax in Sam Peckinpah's classic film ''
The Wild Bunch
''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw gang on th ...
''. There are slow-motion death scenes intercut with rapid shots, much like Peckinpah's editing style. Violet's death scene, in which she spins around with her revolver, is a copy of Herrera's death scene at the start of the gun battle. The sequence in which Lucy shoots at Charlie Brown from behind and he spins around screaming and consequently kills her with a shotgun is shot-for-shot taken from the sequence where the prostitute shoots
William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
in the back. There is even a part where Charlie Brown waves his submachine gun around, screaming the famous
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...
scream, and the camera pan across several Mexican bandits being blown away. An interesting note is that Reardon actually uses sound bites from the movie in these two previous scenes.
The references to Peckinpah are made even more clear at the end of the film when Reardon dedicates it to Sam "The Man" Peckinpah.
There are some non-Peckinpah references made in the short, such as Charlie Brown's mohawk (a reference to
Travis Bickle
Travis Bickle is a fictional character and the anti-hero protagonist of the 1976 film ''Taxi Driver'' directed by Martin Scorsese. The character was created by the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader. He is played by Robert De Niro, who received an ...
in ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...
'') and Lucy's speaking in a
John Wayne drawl. Reardon also identifies Peanuts creator
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...
as "Charles M. 'Dutch' Schulz," as in mobster
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the n ...
.
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...
squeezing the giant
Dr. Pepper
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
can is a reference to the then-recent Dr. Pepper ad campaign featuring the famed monster surrounding the 1985 American release of ''
The Return of Godzilla
is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film features the fictional monster character Godzilla. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is ...
'' (retitled ''Godzilla 1985'' for that release).
When Charlie Brown's arm is bitten off by Snoopy, the screaming sound effect is
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...
's scream from the ''
Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
'' cartoons (and not
Peter Robbins's similar-sounding yell that was used in most ''Peanuts'' specials up to that point).
When Charlie Brown is being strangled by Linus, the sound effects are from the
Monty Python skit "
Farewell to John Denver".
The brief image of a small fire-breathing dragon is from ''Snookles'', an animated short by Juliet Stroud, which, like this film, was produced at the
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
in 1986.
Snookles (1986)-IMDB
/ref>
Cast and credits
*Charlie Brown – Etienne Badillo, Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American film and television animation director, screenwriter and voice actor. He has directed the films ''Wreck-It Ralph'' (2012) and co-directed ''Zootopia'' (2016) and ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' (2018) for Walt Disney A ...
, Mike Reardon, William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
*Linus van Pelt – Ethan Kafner
*Lucy van Pelt – Bret Haaland
*Great Pumpkin – Jeff Pidgeon
Jeff Pidgeon is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor at Pixar.
Early life
Influenced by Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts'', Jeff Pidgeon dreamed of becoming a newspaper cartoonist. He studied and gra ...
*Additional Voices – Ed Bell, Bruce Johnson, Mike Reardon, Bret Haaland
*Narration – Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American film and television animation director, screenwriter and voice actor. He has directed the films ''Wreck-It Ralph'' (2012) and co-directed ''Zootopia'' (2016) and ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' (2018) for Walt Disney A ...
*"Aided and Abetted by" – Ed Bell, Dale McBeath, Bob Winquist, Mike Giaimo, Craig Smith, Bret Haaland, Nate Kanfer, Doug Frankel, Mike Reardon, Rich Moore, Russ Edmonds, Hal Ambro, Dan Hansen, Jim Ryan, Tony Fucile, Jeff Pidgeon, Bob McCrea, Sarge Morton, Mom, Eileen, and Beverly
* Dedicated to Sam "The Man" Peckinpah
* "Peanuts Theme" – Vince Guaraldi
Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this series includ ...
* "Charlie Brown" – The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...
* A Jim Reardon Cartoon – Made at Cal Arts, U.S.A.
References
External links
*
''Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown''
at YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown''
on Dailymotion
{{Peanuts
1986 films
Fan films
Parodies of comics
Parodies of films
Unofficial works based on Peanuts (comic strip)
1980s parody films
1986 animated films
American student films
American animated short films
Cultural depictions of Dutch Schultz
1986 short films
1986 comedy films
1980s rediscovered films
Rediscovered American films
1980s English-language films
1980s American films
Films released on YouTube
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