HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Charlie Brown's All Stars!'' is the second
prime-time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
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 en ...
based upon the
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
''
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 ...
,'' by Charles M. Schulz. It was the second such TV special (following ''
A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...
'') to be produced by Lee Mendelson and
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 ...
(who also directed), and originally aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
on June 8, 1966, with annual re-airings on CBS through 1971.


Plot summary

The special begins with a chase of Charlie Brown trying to catch a long-shot ball he fails to get and his team shouts at him: "YOU BLOCKHEAD, CHARLIE BROWN!" After Charlie Brown's baseball team lost their first game of the season, his players quit. Linus meets Charlie Brown with good news: Mr. Hennessy, the operator of the local hardware store, is offering to sponsor Charlie Brown's baseball team, place them in an organized league, and even buy them new
uniforms A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency ser ...
. The excitement gets the better of Charlie Brown, and he eagerly tells the team the good news. Lucy then states that if Charlie Brown can get the team uniforms, they will give him another chance and return to the team. However, Mr. Hennessy later informs Charlie Brown that the league allows neither girls nor dogs to play baseball. Unwilling to exclude the girls and Snoopy, Charlie Brown reluctantly declines Mr. Hennesse's offer. Linus tells Charlie Brown his teammates will not like the news, which gives Charlie Brown an idea: he won't tell them until after the next game, hoping their lifted spirits will help them win. Despite Linus' warning, Charlie Brown goes through with it, and the team plays well until Charlie Brown fails to tie the game, resulting in a loss. When Lucy and the others claim they would quit were it not for the league deal, Charlie Brown reluctantly reveals to their fury that he severed the contract, although he avoids explaining why. After he runs off, Linus berates the team by disclosing why Charlie Brown declines the offer, prompting Schroeder to add that the team never treats Charlie Brown well despite his willingness to sacrifice his dignity for the team. The others agree and decide to make it up to Charlie Brown by making him his uniform. Lacking supplies, they use the only available material: Linus' beloved security blanket. (During the scene of it, Lucy and the other girls use Linus as a
mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...
/ dress dummy as they use the security blanket as the material to create the uniform. Linus --used as a mannequin/dress dummy-- only watches in horror.) Charlie Brown is pleased with the uniform and is confident they will win their next game. However, it rains the next day, so no one on the team or the opposing side comes to the baseball field, and no one except Charlie Brown (and Snoopy, who goes surfing in the puddles). Linus arrives as Charlie Brown stubbornly insists people will show up. Linus is unaware about his blanket being destroyed, until he nervously looks at Charlie Brown's uniform. When Charlie Brown questions Linus about it, Linus he finally cries out about the fate of his blanket (saying to Charlie Brown that his uniform was made from his blanket). This prompts a dejected Charlie Brown. And he happily lets Linus use the shirt-tail so he (Linus) can use it like a security blanket for old time's sake. The two stand together in the pouring rain, while the credits roll.


Cast

* Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown * Christopher Shea as Linus van Pelt * Sally Dryer as Lucy van Pelt * Cathy Steinberg as Sally Brown *
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 ...
as Snoopy * Ann Altieri as Frieda * Glenn Mendelson as Schroeder * Geoffrey Ornstein as Pig-Pen * Lynn Vanderlip as Patty * Kip DeFaria as Shermy * Karen Mendelson as Violet This is the first ''Peanuts'' special to not feature Tracy Stratford as Lucy van Pelt; she was replaced with Sally Dryer, who voiced Violet in the previous special. This is also the first special where Karen Mendelson voices Violet.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack for ''Charlie Brown's All Stars!'' was composed and conducted by
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 ...
and performed by the Vince Guaraldi Sextet. #"Charlie's Run" #"Charlie Brown and His All-Stars" #"Baseball Theme" #"Baseball Theme" (brass version) #"Baseball Theme" (guitar version) #"All-Stars Theme" (variation of "Oh, Good Grief") #"All-Stars Theme" (reprise) #"Air Music" (aka "Surfin' Snoopy") #"Pebble Beach" (brass version) #"All-Stars Theme" (second reprise) #"Baseball Theme" (reprise) #"Air Music" #"Baseball Theme" (reprise, brass version) #"Trumpet Fanfare" #"All-Stars Theme" (third reprise) #"Air Music" #"Baseball Theme" (second reprise, brass version) #"Rain, Rain, Go Away" #"All-Stars Theme" (fourth reprise, end credit) No official soundtrack for ''Charlie Brown's All Stars!'' was released, although select music cues have been made available on several compilation albums: * "Air Music" appeared on '' Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits'' (1998), as "Surfin' Snoopy". The song was used in ''
A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...
'' for later broadcasts when Snoopy expeditiously decorates his doghouse for Christmas. *A variation of "Rain, Rain, Go Away" appeared on '' Oh Good Grief!'' (1968).


End Credits

* Created and Written by: Charles M. Schulz * Original Score Composed and Conducted by: Vince Guaraldi * Graphic Blandishment by: ** Ed Levitt, ** Bernard Gruver, ** Ruth Kissane, ** Dean Spille, ** Frank Smith, ** Bob Carlson John Walker ** Rudy Zamora Ed Love ** Herman Cohen Beverly Robbins ** Reuben Timmons Eleanor Warren ** Russ Von Neida Faith Kovaleski * Editing: Robert T. Gillis ** Assisted by: Steven Melendez * Sound by: Producers' Sound Service * Camera: Nick Vasu * Executive Producer: Lee Mendelson * Produced and Directed by: Bill Melendez


Book vs. television special

A book about the television special was published shortly after it initially aired. In the book, Charlie Brown tells his teammates "we don't need them," then turns and walks away as they verbally abuse him until Linus defends him, in this instance without giving a reason. In the book, Schroeder is not shown berating the girls and Snoopy along with Linus, although he does in the television show: "Those uniforms meant just as much to Charlie Brown as they did to you. Probably more!" At the end, Linus just comes up to Charlie wearing the new uniform on the pitchers mound and Charlie wordlessly lets him use his shirt tail to hold up against his cheek.


Home media

The special was first released on
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
's
SelectaVision SelectaVision was a trademark name used on four classes of device by the Radio Corporation of America: * The Holotape, a prototype video medium * Magnetic tape * VHS videocassette recorders, and * Capacitance Electronic Disc videodisc players ...
CED format in 1983 as part of the "A Charlie Brown Festival Vol. IV" compilation. It was also released on VHS and Betamax by
Media Home Entertainment Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band. Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under additional labels — The N ...
in 1984, along with '' It's Magic, Charlie Brown''. It would be released again by its kids subdivision
Hi-Tops Video Hi-Tops Video was a children's home video sublabel of Media Home Entertainment (a division of Heron Communications), active from 1986 until 1991. Some of its releases include some Charlie Brown specials, ''Madeline'' and primarily some of the ori ...
in 1988.
Paramount Home Media Distribution 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 ...
released it on VHS on January 9, 1996, along with ''
It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown ''It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown'' is the 35th prime-time animation, animated television special based upon the comic strip ''Peanuts,'' by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced in 1992, but unlike previous specials, it was not shown on CBS. It ...
''. ''Charlie Brown's All Stars!'' was released in
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 ki ...
format on March 2, 2004, grouped with the similarly themed ''
It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown ''It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown'' is the 35th prime-time animation, animated television special based upon the comic strip ''Peanuts,'' by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced in 1992, but unlike previous specials, it was not shown on CBS. It ...
'' (1992) and '' Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown'' (2003). On July 7, 2009, it was released in
remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
ed form as part of the DVD box set, ''Peanuts 1960's Collection''. It was again released as part of the 4K edition of ''
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. The third ''Peanuts'' special, and the second holiday-themed special, to be created, i ...
'' in 2017.


Cancelled video game adaption

A cancelled video game titled ''Charlie Brown's All Stars'' for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
and
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
was likely going to be an adaption of the special. It was developed simultaneously with ''Snoopy vs. the Red Baron'' by
FarSight Studios FarSight Studios (formerly FarSight Technologies) is an American video game developer established in 1988 by Jay Obernolte. They are an official licensed developer for all current home and handheld consoles including the Sony PlayStation 4, Play ...
and was going to be published by
Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
. It was going to release in the spring of 2007; however, it was cancelled due to an excessive amount of projects by the studio and lack of staff.


Production notes

*The scene where Snoopy is surfing is later reanimated in '' Snoopy Come Home'', which in turn was later re-used in ''
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musical ...
'', and '' Snoopy's Reunion''. *Like ''
A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...
'' and ''
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. The third ''Peanuts'' special, and the second holiday-themed special, to be created, i ...
'' before it, this special also had sponsoring from
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
(and
Dolly Madison Dolly Madison is an American bakery brand owned by Hostess Brands, selling packaged baked snack foods. It is best known for its long marketing association with the ''Peanuts'' animated TV specials. History In 1937, Ralph Leroy Nafziger started ...
on a repeat after 1966), which was later edited out from later broadcasts and video/DVD releases. *The original music cue "Surfin' Snoopy" was later used in a re-broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". *This is the first non-holiday-oriented Peanuts special. * Even though Linus knows why Charlie Brown didn't get the uniforms, he can be seen getting mad and yelling at Charlie Brown with the others. He then explains to them why Charlie Brown turned down the offer. * This special was originally announced as ''Good Grief, Charlie Brown'' and was advertised as such in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. * The special's premiere was pre-empted in the
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...
television market due to
WIBW-TV WIBW-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Gray Media, the station maintains studios on Commerce Place (next to the interchange of Interstate 70 in Kansas, I-70, I ...
's coverage of the F5 tornado that struck Topeka that evening.


Reception

The special was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
for Outstanding Children's Program in 1967, along with ''
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. The third ''Peanuts'' special, and the second holiday-themed special, to be created, i ...
''. It lost to
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
's ''
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...
'', starring
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
.


References


External links

* {{Vince Guaraldi Peanuts television specials CBS television specials 1960s American television specials 1960s animated television specials Television shows directed by Bill Melendez 1966 television specials Baseball animation