Product: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Rating: 4.0
Ah, yes, a timeless holiday classic, but...
Warner Home Video now owns the Peanuts holiday specials, after years of ownership and video releases by Paramount. And it will sell - it's a perennial Christmas classic, and deserves every accolade. But...something is missing...The original sponsor of this special was Coca-Cola, and, like many television programs and specials of the time, had sponsor bumpers in the program. Linus crashed into a "sponsored by Coca-Cola" sign, slingshotted his blanket at Coke cans, and the end credits wished us all a "Merry Christmas from your Coca-Cola bottlers". Due to broadcast regulation changes, children's programming could no longer include direct sponsoring, and the Coke references disappeared forever after the original broadcast. Therefore, unless somebody wants to pay Coca-Cola a huge amount of money, you will never see these portions, either restored or as extras for a true collector's edition. If you own a Paramount copy, don't worry about updating your disc.Oh, and the greatest Peanuts holiday special is coupled with the very worst Peanuts holiday special - it has never aired on network television outside of its original broadcast. The more you know...A great special, but somebody needs to step up and do this program up in a true collector's edition.