''A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' is the tenth

prime-time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

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 ent ...

based upon the popular

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' 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 extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

,'' 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 wid ...

. It was originally aired on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

network on November 20, 1973, and won an Emmy Award the following year. It was the third holiday special after ''

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. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Bill Melendez, the program made its debut on C ...

'' in 1965 and ''

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-theme ...

'' in 1966.

Plot

In a

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Americ ...

cameo,

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

entices

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 ...

to kick a football she is holding, calling it a Thanksgiving tradition; she pulls the ball away as usual, stating that some traditions fade away. The Browns are preparing to go to their grandmother's for

Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and in Canada is Thanksgiving dinner (informally called turkey dinner), a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving could be considered the largest ...

when Charlie Brown gets a phone call from

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

, who is alone for

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

and wants to come over for dinner. Two quick subsequent phone calls from Peppermint Patty add

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 ...

and

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

to the guest list for a dinner that did not exist. Linus suggests to a perplexed Charlie Brown that he could have two Thanksgiving dinners. The first Thanksgiving feast can be for himself, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and the others, while the second one can be at his grandparents's house for his family. Charlie Brown says his cooking skills are limited to "cold cereal and maybe toast," so Linus recruits

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

and

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

to help. Snoopy sets up a

ping pong Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table di ...

table and chairs (sparring with a lawn chair that comes to life); later, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock and Linus prepare a feast of toast with margarine, pan-fried

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the see ...

pretzel sticks A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical ...

and jelly beans, then Snoopy dresses himself and a reluctant Woodstock (at pop-gunpoint) in Pilgrim attire for the occasion, though Charlie Brown rejects the latter idea. The guests arrive and make their way to the backyard for the Thanksgiving feast. Linus leads the group in prayer that details the First Thanksgiving in 1621, and then Snoopy serves up the feast. While Charlie Brown happily munches, Peppermint Patty scowls about the Thanksgiving meal's food. Peppermint Patty's initial shock at the unconventional meal quickly turns to outrage and loudly complains about the meal to Charlie Brown, who timidly leaves the table in response. While Sally also happily munches, Peppermint Patty's tirade continues until Marcie quietly reminds her that she had invited herself along with Marcie and Franklin. Coming to her senses, Peppermint Patty asks Marcie to apologize to Charlie Brown on her behalf (unintentionally paralleling ''

The Courtship of Miles Standish ''The Courtship of Miles Standish'' is an 1858 narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the early days of Plymouth Colony, the colonial settlement established in America by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims. Overview ''T ...

''); Marcie reluctantly agrees, but Peppermint Patty soon follows and apologizes to him herself. Following this, Charlie Brown is reminded by the clock that he and Sally are due at their grandmother's house for dinner, so he calls her and explains his situation. When he mentions his friends are there, and that they did not eat, his grandmother invites them all to Thanksgiving dinner, which is welcomed with cheers from everyone. As they all pile into the car to go to the Browns' grandmother's, they sing "

Over the River and Through the Wood "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day", also known as "Over the River and Through the Woods", is a Thanksgiving poem by Lydia Maria Child, originally published in 1844 in ''Flowers for Children'', Volume 2. Although many people sin ...

". After they sing the final lyric(s), Charlie Brown states that there is only one thing wrong with singing that song—his grandmother lives in a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

. Snoopy and Woodstock go to the doghouse and cook up their own traditional Thanksgiving meal. They then pull the wishbone which Woodstock wins. Over the end credits, the two friends each devour a large piece of pumpkin pie then sit back with contented smiles as Woodstock pats his full stomach.

Broadcast history

The special first aired on

on November 20, 1973, and continued to air every year on that network (skipping 1982, 1983, and 1988) until November 23, 1989.

The Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company ...

and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. Its ...

returned the special for reairing in the 1990s (in the latter channel's case, under the "You're on Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown" umbrella of ''Peanuts'' productions) and then, in 2001, it moved, along with the rest of the ''Peanuts'' specials, to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. In contrast to CBS, ABC aired the special every year through 2019, on several days in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and it had regularly won its time slot. As the special runs slightly over a half-hour with commercials, ABC typically filled the remaining portion of the full hour with other ''Peanuts'' programming. From 2008 to 2019, the remaining time was filled by a slightly abridged edit of "The Mayflower Voyagers," the premiere episode of the 1988 miniseries ''

This Is America, Charlie Brown ''This Is America, Charlie Brown'' is an eight-part animated television miniseries that depicts a series of events in American history featuring characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts''. It aired from 1988 to 1989 on CBS. ...

''. Starting in 2020, the special (along with the rest of the ''Peanuts'' library) will exclusively air on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced d ...

; under the terms of the agreement, Apple TV+ must provide a three-day window in November in which the special is available for free. On November 18, 2020 Apple announced they had reached an agreement to air the special on Sunday, November 22, 2020, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, commercial free on

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 educati ...

and

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the Children's television series, children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some Public broadcasting, public television children's programs are not produced by ...

. In accordance with most PBS affiliates'

non-commercial educational A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (TV ads or radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was ...

licenses, the special was presented on PBS unedited without commercial interruption, with only a brief

underwriting spot An underwriting spot, known as sponsor credit ( ja, 提供クレジット, Teikyō kurejitto) in Japan, is an announcement made on public broadcasting outlets, especially in the United States, in exchange for funding. These spots usually men ...

before and after the special: "This special broadcast of ''A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' was made possible by Apple." Apple renewed the agreement with PBS in 2021 but did not renew it for 2022. It is also broadcast in Canada, usually in early October in line with the Canadian observance of Thanksgiving. The special is aired on Family Channel as of 2018, with the special aired on the day before Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving Day, which takes place on the second Monday of October in Canada.

Voice actors

* Todd Barbee as Charlie Brown ** Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown's screaming voice (archived) * Robin Kohn as Lucy van Pelt * Stephen Shea as Linus van Pelt * Hilary Momberger as Sally Brown *

Christopher DeFaria Christopher DeFaria (born May 20, 1959) is an American film producer. He served as president of animation and innovative technology at Warner Bros. Pictures for four years. In January 2017, he joined DreamWorks Animation in the newly-created pos ...

as Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt * Jimmy Ahrens as Marcie * Robin Reed as Franklin *

Bill Melendez José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was an American character animator, voice actor, film director and producer. Melendez is known for working on the ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Before ''Peanuts'', he p ...

as Snoopy and Woodstock This is the last TV special that uses the same cast from ''

Snoopy, Come Home ''Snoopy, Come Home!'' is a 1972 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Bill Melendez and written by Charles M. Schulz based on the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. The film marks the on-screen debut of Woodstock, who had first appeared ...

'', ''

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown ''You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown'' is the eighth prime-time animated TV special produced based upon the popular comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz, and the 10th one to air. It originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1972, nine days b ...

'', and ''

There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown ''There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown'' is the ninth prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip ''Peanuts,'' by Charles M. Schulz. This marks the on-screen debut of Marcie, who first appeared on the comic strip in 1 ...

''. In the next TV special, Kohn, DeFaria, and Momberger would be succeeded in their respective roles by Melanie Kohn (Robin's younger sister), Donna Forman, and Lynn Mortensen respectively.

Music score

The music score for ''A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' was composed 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 inclu ...

(except where noted) and conducted and arranged by

John Scott Trotter John Scott Trotter Jr. (June 14, 1908 – October 29, 1975), also known as "Uncle John", was an American arranger, composer and orchestra leader. Trotter was best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and ...

. The score was performed by the Vince Guaraldi Quintet on July 17–18, August 6 and October 1, 1973, at

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jef ...

, featuring

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

(trumpet), Chuck Bennett (trombone), Seward McCain (electric bass) and Mike Clark (drums). #"Charlie Brown Blues" (aka "Play It Again, Charlie Brown"/"Charlie's Blues") (version 1) #"Thanksgiving Theme" (version 1, opening credits) #"Thanksgiving Theme" (version 2) #"

" #"Little Birdie" (Vocal: Vince Guaraldi) #"Thanksgiving Interlude" (version 1) #"Is It James or Charlie?" (version 1) #"

Linus and Lucy "Linus and Lucy" is a popular instrumental jazz standard written by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, appearing in many ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Named for the two fictional siblings Linus and Lucy van Pelt, it was originally released ...

(with the band)" #"Fife and Drums Theme" #"Is It James or Charlie?" (version 2) #"Charlie Brown Blues" (aka "Play It Again, Charlie Brown" and "Charlie's Blues") (version 2) #"Thanksgiving Interlude" (version 2) #"

" (a cappella,

Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalist, and opponent of American expansionism. Her journals, both fiction and ...

) #"Thanksgiving Theme" (version 3, with brass) #"Thanksgiving Theme" (version 4, end credits) While an official soundtrack for the special has not been released, separate music cues have been scattered across several compilation albums beginning in 1998: *"Charlie Brown Blues" (version 1) and a composite edit of "Thanksgiving Theme" (consisting of versions 2 and 3) appeared on ''

Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits ''Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits'' is a compilation album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio) released by Fantasy Records in 1998. The album was the first of several posthumous releases containing a mix of previousl ...

'' (1998). *"Linus and Lucy" (with the band) was released on '' The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites'' (2003). *"Little Birdie" and "Thanksgiving Theme" (version 3, with brass) appeared on '' Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials'' (2007) while "Is It James or Charlie?" (version 1) appeared on '' Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2'' (2008). *"Peppermint Patty" (edited version) and "Is It James or Charlie?" (version 2) appeared on ''

Peanuts Portraits ''Peanuts Portraits'' is the fifth compilation album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released by Fantasy/Concord Records on April 20, 2010. The album contains a mix of previously released material plus alternate and extended versions of songs feat ...

'' (2010).

Home media

The special was released on

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...

SelectaVision SelectaVision was a trademark name used on four classes of device by RCA: * The Holotape, a prototype video medium * Magnetic tape * VHS videocassette recorders, and * Capacitance Electronic Disc videodisc players and the discs themselves. C ...

CED format in 1982 as part of the ''A Charlie Brown Festival Vol. III'' compilation. It was released on VHS by Kartes Video Communications (later KVC Home Video) in 1987. It was released by

Paramount Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

on VHS on September 28, 1994 and was re-released in clamshell packaging on October 1, 1996. ''A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' was released on DVD by

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

on September 12, 2000. It was re-released by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

form on October 7, 2008. It was released on a

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of stori ...

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 kin ...

Combo Pack by Warner Home Video on October 5, 2010. The special was released in a 40th anniversary deluxe edition DVD by Warner Home Video with the same features from previous editions on October 1, 2013. The deluxe edition DVD also features "The ''Mayflower'' Voyagers". The special was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 24, 2017.

References

External links

*
Recreating the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner
article on X-Entertainment {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, A Peanuts television specials Thanksgiving television specials Television shows directed by Bill Melendez Television shows directed by Phil Roman 1970s American television specials 1973 in American television 1973 television specials CBS television specials Television shows written by Charles M. Schulz 1970s animated television specials