''This Is America, Charlie Brown'' is an eight-part animated television

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

that depicts a series of events in

American history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

featuring characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

''. 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. Due to the nature of the events portrayed and the historical figures included — such as the

Wright Brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

and

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

— many adults were shown in full view along with the Peanuts gang, something that happened rarely in the animated films and specials and in only one early sequence in the comic strip. These adults were drawn in a style similar to ''

It's Only a Game ''It's Only a Game'' was a sports-and-game-oriented comics panel by Charles M. Schulz, creator of ''Peanuts''. Stephen D. Becker, ''Comic Art In America''. New York : Simon and Schuster, 1959, (p.159, 366) This panel feature ran for 14 months, f ...

'', another comic strip by Schulz that featured adults, as well other productions that were overseen by ''Peanuts'' regular

Bill Melendez José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) 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 Sno ...

. All eight episodes were subsequently rerun by CBS in the summer of 1990. The series as a whole subsequently aired in the U.S. on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

between 1993 and 1997, then included in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

series '' You're on Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown'' between 1998 and 2003. A slightly abridged version of "The Mayflower Voyagers" returned to television in 2008 as companion material to pad the 1973 special '' A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' to a full one-hour time slot, airing in that arrangement until 2019, after which

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

withdrew the entire ''Peanuts'' filmography from traditional television (the airings of ''A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' sublicensed to

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in 2020 and 2021 did not feature "The Mayflower Voyagers," since the excision of commercials allowed the older special to fit in a half-hour slot).

Music

The series included music by many composers and performers including ''Peanuts'' regular Ed Bogas,

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

, David Benoit (who would later take over scoring the specials starting with '' It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown''), George Winston,

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

and

Dave Grusin Robert David Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, incl ...

. This continued a tradition of using jazz musicians for the musical score; original composer

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, 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 s ...

had died in 1976, though several of his music scores were reused, notably his signature tune, "

Linus and Lucy "Linus and Lucy" is a jazz instrumental composed by American pianist Vince Guaraldi. Named after the ''Peanuts'' characters Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, it debuted on Guaraldi's 1964 album '' Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown'' and rose to ...

". This miniseries featured The Winans,

Desirée Goyette Desirée Goyette-Bogas (''née'' Goyette) is an American singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pig, Honey Bunny a ...

, and Lou Rawls as the singing vocals (Goyette and Rawls had previously worked with Melendez on the ''

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

'' TV specials).

Cast

Regular voice actors

*Erin Chase as

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the Protagonist, principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown ...

*Erica Gayle as Lucy van Pelt *Brittany M. Thornton 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 appea ...

*Brandon Stewart as Linus van Pelt *Jason Mendelson as

Peppermint Patty Peppermint Patty is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts''. Her full name, very rarely used in the strip, is Patricia Reichardt. She is one of a small group in the strip who live across town from Charlie ...

*Marie Cole 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 ...

(in The Great Inventors, The Smithsonian and the Presidency and The Music and Heroes of America) *Curtis Andersen as Schroeder * Hakeem Abdul-Samad as Franklin *Tani Taylor Powers as

(in The Mayflower Voyagers and The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk) *

Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He also appears in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of ...

and

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

*Jason Riffle: Charlie Brown (in ''The Birth of The Constitution'') * Jeremy Miller: Linus van Pelt (in ''The Birth of The Constitution'') *

Ami Foster Ami Foster (born August 5, 1975) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Margaux Kramer in the TV series ''Punky Brewster''. Biography Foster, a native of California, won the National Tap Dance Championship after ...

: Lucy van Pelt (in ''The Birth of The Constitution'') *Christina Lange: Sally Brown (in ''The Birth of The Constitution'') *Keri Houlihan: Marcie (in ''The Birth of The Constitution'') * Cameron Clarke: Snoopy (singing voice in ''The Music and Heroes of America'') *Sean Mendelson: Pilgrim Boy (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers'') *Grant Gelt: Franklin (in ''The NASA Space Station'')

Pig-Pen Pig-Pen is a fictional character in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz, syndicated in Daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspaper, Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. While amiable, he is a young boy who is, ...

, Violet, and other characters appear a few times but are silent.

Additional voice actors

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

- Captain Smith (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''), Pilgrim Explorer 2 (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''),

Squanto Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – November 30, 1622 Old Style, O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe of Wampanoags, best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southe ...

(in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''),

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

(in ''The Birth of The Constitution''),

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the ...

(in ''The Birth of The Constitution''),

Wilbur Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

(in ''The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk''), Jason Welker (in ''The NASA Space Station''),

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

(in ''The Great Inventors''),

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

(in ''The Great Inventors''),

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

(in ''The Smithsonian and the Presidency''),

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

(in ''The Smithsonian and the Presidency'') *

Gregg Berger Gregory Alan Berger (born December 10, 1950) is an American voice actor. He is known for his roles as Jecht from ''Final Fantasy X'' and the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' games, Grimlock from ''The Transformers (TV series), The Transformers'', Myste ...

- Pilgrim Leader (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''),

Myles Standish Myles Standish ( – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer and colonist. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony), Pilgrims. Standish accompan ...

(in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''), Pilgrim Explorers (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''),

Orville Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first succes ...

(in ''The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk''), NASA Mission Control (in ''The NASA Space Station''), Thomas Watson (in ''The Great Inventors''), Samuel (in ''The Smithsonian and the Presidency'') * Chris Collins as ''Mayflower'' Watchman (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers''), Samoset (in ''The Mayflower Voyagers'') * Hal Smith as

(in ''The Birth of the Constitution''), James Wilson (in ''The Birth of The Constitution''),

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

(in ''The Birth of the Constitution''),

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

(in ''The Smithsonian and the Presidency'') * Julie Payne - Mrs. Holiday (in ''The Great Inventors'') *Bud Davis *Chuck Olson * Shep Menken *Brandon Horne *Marie Wise *Alissa King

Episodes

Home media

The 8 episodes, originally released individually on videocassette, were released in a two-DVD collector's set on March 28, 2006, by

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...

. However, the DVD set went out of print once

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

purchased the rights to all ''Peanuts'' television specials.

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

has since reissued the miniseries on DVD as of June 17, 2014, with all the episodes presented in remastered form. It was also released on the digital format.

References

External links

*
This is America, Charlie Brown
from Kim Cartoon {{Peanuts television specials 1988 American animated television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American animated comedy television series 1980s American children's comedy television series 1980s American animated television miniseries American animated television spinoffs American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated education television series Animated television series about children Animation based on real people Peanuts television series American English-language television shows American historical television series Television series about the history of the United States Television series by WildBrain Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Fiction set in 1620 Fiction set in 1787 Fiction set in 1869 Fiction set in 1903 Television series set in the 17th century Television series set in the 1780s Television series set in the 1860s Television series set in the 1900s Cultural depictions of the Wright brothers Cultural depictions of George Washington Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt Animated television series set in the United States CBS animated television series