It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown

''It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown'' is the 36th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1992.

The program is composed of various storylines from the comic strip. It was the first Christmas-themed ''Peanuts'' special since the inaugural ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' in 1965, though an episode of ''The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show'' featured a new Christmas vignette in 1985.

The animation for the special was done by Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, making it the only ''Peanuts'' special to be animated by an overseas studio rather than Bill Melendez Productions.

This was the final "new" ''Peanuts'' animated special to air on CBS. The network cancelled all future animated specials in 1990, even though they still aired in re-runs until 2000.

Plot

''It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown'' is composed of several Christmas-themed story lines, all taken directly from the ''Peanuts'' comic strip:

* Linus van Pelt tries unsuccessfully to use a cardboard box as a sled.
* Charlie Brown unsuccessfully tries to sell wreaths door-to-door before Thanksgiving. Franklin points out that Charlie Brown is adding to the commercialism of Christmas, but Charlie Brown disagrees "until I sell one." (Violet and the original Patty make cameos in this sketch, a rare 1990s appearance for the two.)
* Peppermint Patty worries about her Christmas book report.
* Peppermint Patty and Marcie attend a performance of Handel's ''Messiah''. The following day at school, Peppermint Patty writes about the performance. Neither her nor Marcie know Handel's first name, so Peppermint Patty credits the piece to "Joe Handel."
* Snoopy becomes a Santa on the street, Lucy and Sally beg to differ.
* Woodstock and his bird friends play chamber music inside a snowman's hat.
* Charlie Brown tries to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Sally, who is convinced that the true meaning of Christmas is getting all you can get while the getting is good when she is writing a letter to Santa, but she tunes them out. She also writes to Mrs. Claus, Mary Christmas.
* Snoopy, Woodstock and his friends dance with the candy canes that were on Charlie Brown's tree.
* Sally goes to Linus's house for the meaning of Christmas and complains to Linus about calling birds in "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Linus tells Sally about Albert Schweitzer and how he does not like Christmas presents because he hated to write thank-you notes. Sally asks who Albert Schweitzer was.
*Charlie Brown sells his entire comic book collection in order to buy Peggy Jean a nice pair of gloves, only to find that she has already bought a pair.
* The kids participate in a Christmas play, where Marcie plays The Virgin Mary, Franklin gets the role of Gabriel, Peppermint Patty reluctantly plays a sheep, and Sally, who has to say the line "Hark!" in the same play to summon a herald angel, inadvertently yells "Hockey stick!". Later, Harold (herald) Angel drops by to visit Charlie Brown, looking for Sally.

Cast

* Jamie E. Smith as Charlie Brown
* John Christian Graas as Linus van Pelt
* Marnette Patterson as Lucy van Pelt
* Mindy Ann Martin as Sally Brown
* Matthew Slowik as Harold Angel
* Phillip Lucier as Peppermint Patty
* Lindsay Benesh as Marcie
* Sean Mendelson as Franklin
* Deanna Tello as Peggy Jean/Violet/Patty
* Brittany M. Thornton as Frieda
* Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock

Production notes

Music score

Rather than having a new musical score composed for ''It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown'', jazz composer Vince Guaraldi's musical scores were reused and performed by jazz pianist David Benoit. It was the first time Guaraldi's music had been used in a ''Peanuts'' special since ''It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown'' (1976).
Guaraldi composed music scores for the first 16 ''Peanuts'' television specials and one feature film (''A Boy Named Charlie Brown'') before his untimely death in February 1976.

Benoit previously had scored an episode of ''This Is America, Charlie Brown''.

All songs written by Vince Guaraldi, except where noted.

#"Linus and Lucy"
#" Charlie Brown Theme" (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
#"Classical Horns"
#"Christmas Is Coming" (opening credits)
#" Blue Charlie Brown"
#"Hallelujah" (George Frideric Handel)
#"Blue Charlie Brown"
#"Classical Violins"
#"Charlie Brown Theme"
#"O Tannenbaum" (Ernst Anschütz)
#"Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental)
#"Blue Charlie Brown"
#"Skating"
#" Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (Charles Wesley)
#"Blue Charlie Brown"
#"O Tannenbaum" (Ernst Anschütz)
#"Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (Charles Wesley)
#"Linus and Lucy"
#"Linus and Lucy" (end credits)

Release

Broadcast history

''It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown'' was first shown on CBS on November 27, 1992, and was the last ''Peanuts'' special to have its television premiere on that network. The show received a 10.0 rating and was watched by about 9.3 million households.

The special no longer airs on American television as both CBS and its successor ''Peanuts'' broadcaster, ABC, abandoned it in favor of other specials. In Canada, YTV still airs it as a standalone special as of 2012.

Home media

A VHS release was made available at Shell gas stations a few months prior to the TV airing, which would make this the first ''Peanuts'' special released directly to video.

Paramount gave it another video release in 1996, and it was later included as a bonus special on the DVD and Blu-ray of ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' by Warner Home Video, who currently owns the rights to both specials.

References

External links

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{{Messiah (Handel)

1990s American animated films
1990s American television specials
1990s animated television specials
1992 in American television
1992 television specials
American Christmas television specials
Animated Christmas television specials
CBS television specials
Peanuts television specials
Television shows directed by Bill Melendez
Television shows written by Charles M. Schulz