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The Great Pumpkin is an
unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...
in the 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 ...
. 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 toys to deliver to believing children. Linus continues to maintain faith in the Great Pumpkin, despite his friends' mockery and disbelief. The Great Pumpkin was first introduced in the strip dated October 26, 1959, and Schulz subsequently reworked the premise many times throughout the run of ''Peanuts'', notably inspiring the 1966 animated television special ''
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. A Halloween special, it was the third ''Peanuts'' special (and second holiday-themed ...
''. While Schulz usually avoided outright politics, he enjoyed his Great Pumpkin strips and incorporating religious references in many comics and animated cartoons.Lind, Stephen (2015). ''A Charlie Brown Religion'' (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.


Premise

Each year Linus awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch deemed most sincere and lacking in hypocrisy. The following morning, each year, an embarrassed yet undefeated Linus vows to wait for the Great Pumpkin again next Halloween. Linus acknowledges the similarities between the Great Pumpkin and Santa Claus (in the television special, Linus writes to the Great Pumpkin that Santa Claus has better publicity). Charlie Brown attributes Linus's belief in the Great Pumpkin to " denominational differences." In the comic strip dated October 25, 1961, Linus explains: "There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." A few days later, Linus claims previously reported official sightings of the Great Pumpkin in Connecticut and Texas, and Charlie Brown hears of a sighting in New Jersey. Linus remains faithful to the Great Pumpkin, even devising a Great Pumpkin Newsletter in comic strips dated October 1998.


Religious metaphors

The Great Pumpkin has been cited as a symbol of strong faith and foolish faith, leading to vastly different interpretations of creator Charles Schulz's own faith. As described in the book on Schulz's religious views, ''A Charlie Brown Religion'', Schulz's views were very personal and often misinterpreted. Linus' seemingly unshakable belief in the Great Pumpkin, and his desire to foster the same belief in others, has been interpreted as a parody of Christian evangelism by some observers. Others have seen Linus' belief in the Great Pumpkin as symbolic of the struggles faced by anyone with beliefs or practices that are not shared by the majority. Still others view Linus' lonely vigils, in the service of a being that may or may not exist and which never makes its presence known in any case, as a metaphor for mankind's basic
existential Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
dilemmas. Schulz himself, however, claimed no motivation beyond the humor of having one of his young characters confuse Halloween with Christmas. In the 1959 sequence of strips in which the Great Pumpkin is first mentioned, for instance, Schulz also has Linus suggest that he and the other kids "go out and sing pumpkin carols", something which he also asks the trick-or-treating kids in the special itself.


In animated adaptations

After the Great Pumpkin formed the central premise of the 1966 television special, later television specials would also reference the character. These included '' You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown'' (1972) when Linus almost blows his chances in a school election; ''
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown ''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 the Easter Beagle, Charli ...
'' (1974) in which Sally cites her previous experience with the non-appearance of the Great Pumpkin; and ''
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown ''You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown'' is the 14th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on October 28, 1975. In this special, Charlie Brown, ...
'' (1975), wherein Linus enters the pumpkin patch with Charlie Brown, who gets teased as being the Great Pumpkin. ''
The Peanuts Movie ''The Peanuts Movie'' (known in some countries as ''Snoopy and Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie'') is a 2015 American computer-animated comedy film based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts'', produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed ...
'' (2015) also namedrops the character, when Linus says he hopes the new kid in town (later revealed as 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 ...
) might be willing to believe in the Great Pumpkin.


Other references in popular culture


Dee Andros

College football coach
Dee Andros Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos (October 17, 1924 – October 22, 2003) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics He was the head coach at the University of Idaho from 1962 to 1964 and Oregon State University from ...
(1924–2003), was known by the nickname "The Great Pumpkin" as head coach (1965–75) and athletic director (1976–85) at
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...
in Corvallis. As the head coach of the orange and black
Beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
, Andros had a round physique and often wore an orange
windbreaker A windbreaker, or a windcheater, is a thin fabric jacket designed to resist wind chill and light rain, making it a lighter version of the jacket. It is usually of lightweight construction and characteristically made of a synthetic material. ...
. He was first dubbed with the nickname in 1966 by a member of the
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
press on Halloween weekend in Pullman, Washington, as his OSU team routed host
Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
's
Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...
, 41–13.


Braniff Airways

In the late 1970s,
Braniff Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
Airways painted its fleet in bright colors, for visual appeal and marketability. The airline's first 747-100 airliners were delivered painted in a striking shade of orange, causing several air traffic control centers across the US to welcome the new Braniff acquisitions with the phrase "Welcome, Great Pumpkin". The 1973 Petersen Publications annual, ''Air Progress: World's Greatest Aircraft,'' had its chapter devoted to the 747 headed "The Great Pumpkin Lives!"


BNSF Railway

In 1996,
Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...
SD60M #9297 (renumbered 8197 in 2008, renumbered 1474 in 2014) was jokingly dubbed the "Great Pumpkin" by employees because of its bold orange paint scheme, one of many prototype paint designs created by the then newly formed
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
(BNSF), a merger of Burlington Northern and the
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
(Santa Fe). This scheme eventually became the basis for BNSF's "Heritage I" paint design, while the "Great Pumpkin" nickname has stuck among
railfans A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...
for this particular locomotive.


''The Cleveland Show''

One episode from
season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...
was called " It's the Great Pancake, Cleveland Brown".


''The Simpsons''

In the opening cameo of "
Treehouse of Horror II "Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual ''Treehouse of Hor ...
" the Peanuts gang in Halloween costumes are passing in front of the Simpson house. The final segment of " Treehouse of Horror XIX" (the fourth episode of the twentieth season of ''
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 ...
''), called "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse", is a parody of ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' and contains numerous references to the ''Peanuts'' characters.
Milhouse Van Houten Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade clas ...
wears the same clothes and plays the same role as Linus van Pelt.
Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman ...
is modeled after
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 ...
, and
Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
is patterned after Charlie Brown (even saying "Good grief!" at one point). A redesigned version of
Santa's Little Helper Santa's Little Helper is a fictional dog in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. He was previously voiced by Frank Welker, and is currently voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The dog ...
can be seen sleeping atop his dog house a la Snoopy, while
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
is seen sleeping on top of the family house in a similar manner. When Marge first speaks, her voice is replaced with a muted trombone sound, a parody of the "wah wah wah" voice that is used for adults in all ''Peanuts'' specials. The dance scene during the Halloween party is a parody of the dance scene in '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'' right down to
Kang and Kodos Kang and Kodos Johnson are a duo of fictional recurring characters in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Kang is voiced by Harry Shearer and Kodos by Dan Castellaneta. They are green, perpetually drooling, octopus-like aliens fr ...
in a nonspeaking cameo as the twins "3 and 4". Parts of the segment had music by
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 ...
(best known for composing music for animated adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip), which they had obtained the rights to use.


''Robot Chicken''

A sketch in the episode "Vegetable Funfest" of the stop-motion
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
show '' Robot Chicken'' featured a ''Peanuts'' parody in which Linus tires of never seeing the Great Pumpkin. He conducts a magical ritual involving burning a chicken in a
pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...
to summon the entity, which is revealed to be Lovecraftian in nature, feeding on children. The Great Pumpkin murders Linus and proceeds to stalk the other characters with similar intentions. Charlie Brown is saved by the similarly demonic
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 consumes the Pumpkin. Charlie Brown declares that his deceased friends can now rest in peace. The murdered characters are then shown in Hell dancing with the devil 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 ...
plays his piano.


Italy and the "Great Watermelon"

When the ''Peanuts'' strip was first introduced in Italy, Halloween was almost unknown there as a festivity. The earlier translations turned the pumpkin into a watermelon ''("Il Grande Cocomero")'' because it was felt to be a more Mediterranean fruit-figure and its name sounded better. The intentional mistranslation somehow stuck in Italian pop culture, and was kept in all subsequent translations. There was also a movie named after '' Il grande cocomero'' in 1993, directed by
Francesca Archibugi Francesca Archibugi (; born 16 May 1960) is an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Life and career Born and raised in Rome in an intellectual family (her elder brother is the political and economic theorist Daniele Archibugi), she started t ...
.


Dan Johnson

The Major League Baseball player Dan Johnson is nicknamed "The Great Pumpkin" due to his orange-red beard and his notable late-season/autumn performance. Johnson was called to the majors late in three separate seasons (2008, 2010, 2011), and subsequently hit clutch home runs that propelled his team into the playoffs.


''Supernatural''

Season 4, episode 7 of the television series '' Supernatural'' is called "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester".


''Wizard of Id''

On October 30, 2015, the ''
Wizard of Id ''The Wizard of Id'' is a daily newspaper comic strip created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Beginning November 16, 1964, the strip follows the antics of a large cast of characters in a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id" ...
'' comic strip made a tribute to Linus and the Great Pumpkin. The wizard makes a spell "making a dream come true for a special little boy". The last panel shows the Great Pumpkin menacingly chasing Linus, who runs away terrified.


''Helloween''

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 ...
, Linus, and the Great Pumpkin are referenced in
Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Wei ...
's song " Halloween", alluding to the events in ''
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. A Halloween special, it was the third ''Peanuts'' special (and second holiday-themed ...
'': ''" Someone's sitting in a field, never giving yield.'' ''Sitting there with gleaming eyes.'' ''Waiting for Big Pumpkin to arise."'' ''" Bad luck if you get a stone'' ''like the good old Charlie Brown, you think Linus could be right.'' '' The kids will say it's just a stupid lie."''


''The Great Pumpkin''

In 1965 a song by The Jack-o-Lanterns was produced by
Lou Reizner Lou Reizner (born Chicago 1934, died London 26 June 1977) was a record producer, A&R executive and head of Mercury Records European operations. He produced Rod Stewart's first two solo albums, the orchestral version of The Who's rock opera Tomm ...
and released on 45. The composers were Danny and Myrna Jannson, along with Walter Keske. The song starts with the sound of a gong, a creaking door, then the voice speaks "My name is The Great Pumpkin. Whataya want sonny boy?" The singers of the song then tell The Great Pumpkin they are lonely and have no one to love. They're asking them for help saying they're his "last chance." At the end of the song the Pumpkin responds only by saying, "The Great Pumpkin he say you’ll never make the Top 40 Sunny Boy.”


Licensed use in ''Poptropica''

In October 2010, forty-four years after the initial airing of ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'', the Great Pumpkin was the topic of a licensed use by the online game ''
Poptropica ''Poptropica'' is an online role-playing game, developed in 2007 by Pearson Education's Family Education Network, and targeted towards children aged 6 to 15. ''Poptropica'' was primarily the creation of Jeff Kinney, the author of the ''Diary of ...
''. The site's 15th island is Great Pumpkin Island, and features several of the ''Peanuts'' characters interacting with players.''Peanuts'' characters interacting with the avatars of Poptropica players
virtualworlddigest.com; accessed March 3, 2016.
As the island follows the same plot as the original TV special, the Great Pumpkin does not appear, and turns out to be Snoopy with a pumpkin on his head.


See also

*
Stingy Jack Stingy Jack O'Lantern, also known as Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack, Flaky Jack or Jack-o'-lantern, is a mythical character sometimes associated with All Hallows Eve while also acting as the mascot of the holiday. The "jack-o'-lantern" may be derived ...
*
The Pumpkin King ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick (in his feature directorial debut) and produced and ...
* Treehouse of Horror XIX * David S. Pumpkins


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Pumpkin, The Comics characters introduced in 1959 Halloween Halloween in the United States Holiday characters Peanuts characters Unseen characters