''Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown'' is the 42nd
prime-time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
television special
A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
based upon the popular
comic strip ''
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 ...
,'' by
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 ...
. It originally aired on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
network on August 29, 2003.
It was released on
VHS and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on March 2, 2004, and again on May 1, 2012, as part of a single disc called ''Happiness is...Peanuts: Team Snoopy''.
Happiness is... Peanuts(TM): Team Snoopy DVD - Warner Bros.: WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios
/ref>
Plot
It's the beginning of baseball season, and 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 ...
is looking forward to the new season with a mixture of joy and apprehension. The apprehension is mainly due to 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 ...
, who is constantly bothering him with idiotic questions, sarcastic remarks and non-sequiturs, to the point where Charlie Brown literally becomes physically ill on the pitcher's mound.
After his team loses their first game to Peppermint Patty
Peppermint Patty is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts''. Her full name is Patricia Reichardt, which is very rarely used in the strip. She is one of a small group in the strip who live across town from C ...
's team, Charlie Brown then thinks of a great idea of trading one of his team players to Peppermint Patty. He decides to trade 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 ...
for five of Peppermint Patty's players (because Snoopy is the only player Patty would want). However, the team is angry with Charlie Brown for this, and Charlie Brown finally decides to rip up the contract made for the trade, which is just as well, as it turns out the five players whom Patty was to trade would rather give up baseball than play for Charlie Brown.
The team continues to play throughout the season normally until Peppermint Patty suggests that they should trade right-fielders, which Charlie Brown does. Peppermint Patty gets Lucy, while Charlie Brown gets Marcie
Marcie is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz.
Marcie is a studious girl who is sometimes depicted as being terrible at sports. She is friends with the ...
(and a pizza). Marcie, however, chooses to not play at her position but spend the entire game next to Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound. Meanwhile, Lucy, over on Peppermint Patty's squad, gets into her usual fuss-budget business by failing Peppermint Patty at every game the team plays by doing something stupid. Peppermint Patty finally has had enough and asks Charlie Brown for the trade to be reversed, which Charlie Brown agrees to do, though he admits that he had already eaten the pizza included in the trade. Once Lucy is returned, Charlie Brown starts to regain confidence before the game is suddenly brought to an end by a flood-inducing rain.
Source material
The storyline involving Snoopy's botched trade to Peppermint Patty's team was based on a lengthy ''Peanuts'' storyline from the fall of 1967. The storyline involving Lucy's and Marcie's trades originated in a storyline from 1988.
Of note is the fact that Peppermint Patty refers to Snoopy as "that funny-looking kid with a big nose," which is in line with the content of ''Peanuts'' in 1967 when the original strips were drawn. In the actual strip, Peppermint Patty did not learn Snoopy was a dog until 1974 and never referred to him as a "kid with a big nose" afterwards.
Voice cast
* Serena Berman as Lucy van Pelt
*Wesley Singerman
Wesley Steven Singerman (born August 23, 1990) is an American guitarist, record producer, songwriter and former child actor.
Early life
Singerman was born in Tarzana, California on August 23, 1990.
Career
As a record producer, songwriter and ...
as 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 ...
*Corey Padnos as Linus van Pelt
*Daniel Hansen as Peppermint Patty
Peppermint Patty is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts''. Her full name is Patricia Reichardt, which is very rarely used in the strip. She is one of a small group in the strip who live across town from C ...
*Melissa Montoya as Marcie
Marcie is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz.
Marcie is a studious girl who is sometimes depicted as being terrible at sports. She is friends with the ...
* Megan Taylor Harvey as Sally Brown
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 appeara ...
*Christopher Ryan Johnson as 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 ...
*Bill Melendez
José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was an American character animator, voice actor, film director and producer. Melendez is known for working on the ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Before ''Peanuts'', he p ...
as 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 ...
and Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
Frieda and Pig-Pen
Pig-Pen is a fictional character in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. While amiable, he is a young boy who is, except on rare occasions, extremely dirty and attracts a permanent cloud of dust.
History
"Pig-Pen" is a nickname. I ...
also appear, but are silent.
References
External links
*
{{Peanuts television specials
Peanuts television specials
Television shows directed by Bill Melendez
American Broadcasting Company television specials
2003 television specials
2000s American television specials
2000s animated television specials
Baseball animation
American baseball films