Category: Charles M. Schulz

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A Charlie Brown Anti-Christmas



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As I’ve said before, I’m an admirer of cartoonist Charles Schulz.  I’ll never decide if my favorite Peanuts cartoon is A Charlie Brown Christmas or It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  But it’s Halloween, so I’ll say it’s The Great Pumpkin.  Let’s listen to “Great Pumpkin Waltz,” by Vince Guaraldi, transferred from a wonderfully warm-sounding, but slightly-warped, LP.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Sounds/Wordpress/OCT06/pumpkinwaltz.mp3]

Here’s a comment by Charles Schulz, as recalled by Lee Mendelson in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic.

 

You know, I’ve always been ambivalent about Santa Claus.  It must be very hard for a lot of [poor] families … a lot of kids.  And, secondly, when a kid finally finds out that there is no Santa Claus, he must wonder how many other things he has been told that are not true.
 

This raises an interesting discussion topic.  A Charlie Brown Christmas plainly states who, other than Santa, there is to believe in.  And it’s Linus who articulates that belief so poignantly in the show.  But it’s also Linus who believes in the obviously non-existent Great Pumpkin.

The Great Pumpkin fabrication was intended by Schulz to be a Halloween counterpart to the Santa Claus character.  The name of the Halloween counterpart to Jesus isn’t given in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Here’s a screen shot from Friday night’s showing of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  It’s strange to see the ABC-TV logo in the corner, because in my mind the show is indelibly associated with CBS.  But at least they aired it.  The show is, after all, 40 years old!

Also, take note of the “G” rating and the blurb promoting the Harry Potter movie.  It wasn’t too many years ago that religious groups were in an uproar over Harry Potter.  Perhaps they still are.

For me, and I mean this sincerely, Christmas is about Birth (or, if you prefer, Life) and Halloween is about Death.  The symbolism is undeniable.  I admire Schulz for dealing so deftly with the always-touchy subject of Faith in his Christmas and Halloween cartoons.

Sparky

I’m a very big admirer of the late cartoonist Charles Schulz.  Someday I’ll visit The Charles M. Schulz Museum.  The museum has released a DVD of the long-neglected 1963 TV show, A Boy Named Charlie Brown.  How neglected?  It was never shown!

I’m providing 2 minutes of footage from the show as an enticement for you to buy it.  His ideas were very similar to those of Fred Rogers, don’t you think?
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Movies/Wordpress/sparky/Sparky.flv 400 300]

Order the DVD here.  Unfortunately, the museum doesn’t take orders online, and you’ll have to click the “Videos” link to see the ordering information for the DVD.

The show also includes the first Peanuts animation, done a full two years before the ground-breaking special, A Charlie Brown Christimas.  For a measly $15, anybody who is interested in the work and life of Schulz must have this unique DVD!