Product: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Rating: 5.0
"Oh that we could always see such spirit through the year!"
Yes, indeed, particularly as we stumble around uncertainly in this brand new year! "A Charlie Brown Christmas" along with "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" remain the three most favorite Christmas specials of my childhood. I was lucky enough to view all three of them on their initial airdates, and each year thereafter including this past year. I was already a big "Peanuts" enthusiast for several years, besides reading it in the daily paper; I also collected paperback anthologies of the comic strips that I believe cost all of $1.25 per copy. So, when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted on CBS on Thursday December 9, 1965, I was right there in front of the television set, even though I was seeing it in glorious black and white. My parents didn't buy a color set for another couple of years. Regardless, I loved it and still do; it wouldn't be Christmas without viewing it at least once. This past Christmas I both watched it on network television just to keep my hand in so to speak, and also on this DVD. Commercial free and unedited the DVD wins hands down!What makes this a timeless classic that remains evergreen fresh over 46 years past it's original showing? To begin at the beginning, let's credit cartoonist Charles Schulz who cobbled together some scenes from past Christmas strips along with some fresh, original ideas into a sweet, simple story that had a universal appeal. He wanted the snowy background, remembering his boyhood winters in Minnesota. More importantly he was a deeply religious man. It also was he who insisted on retaining Linus' glorious recitation of the Christmas Gospel of St. Luke, even though Bill Melendez, the animator/director was nervous that it might be considered "too religious" for network television. Schulz's frank, firm response settled the issue once and for all, "Bill, if we don't do it, who else can? We're the only ones that can do it." Thank goodness, he prevailed that soliloquy is the heart and soul of the special.Schulz was also concerned that the simplicity and integrity of his comic strip characters be retained; he didn't want them elaborately animated or "Disneyfied". Here Executive Producer Lee Mendelson and Animator/Director Bill Melendez stepped in making sure that Charlie Brown and Company would move and speak but remain as close as possible to their appearance in the strip, not be fleshed out and three dimensional with lots of detail. The background settings were simply drawn and executed as well.The third element was a memorable, beautifully executed musical score by renowned jazz musician Vince Guaraldi that perfectly caught the mood of the piece, enhancing the action and that has become a modern classic. Besides the wonderful opening song "Christmastime is Here", the most renowned composition is "Linus and Lucy" which accompanies all the gang as they dance joyously on the stage of the school during the rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. I have a fond memory myself of a company Christmas party about twenty years ago when a group of friends and myself were on the dance floor and the DJ played this cut, and someone shouted "Hey, everyone dance like "Peanuts"!" and instantly we all started dancing like the different characters! I took the part of the nameless boy with the spikey hair that turned to the right and left while shrugging his shoulders up and down.Another important factor was that actual kids the approximate ages of the "Peanuts" gang were used to supply the voices. this was quite refreshing, most times up to now adults had supplied the vocals for children in animation with the exception of the Disney films. Having real children added immersurably to the authenticity and naturalness. Kudos all round to this young group of actors but most especially to Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea as Linus, Tracy Stafford as Lucy and Kathy Steinburg as Sally Brown, who all captured the essence of their characters. They were all marvelous actors as well, particularly young Master Shea who brought a wellspring of emotion and depth of feeling to his recitation of the Nativity Gospel. I can pay them no higher compliment than to say they sounded just the way I'd imagined their characters would. The lone adult to lend his voice was Mr. Melendez who proved to be an inspired choice for the unique sound of Snoopy and later Woodstock as well.One of my own personal reasons that this remains my favorite of all the "Peanuts" specials and movies is that it features the original characters from the first years of the strip: Charlie Brown, Patty, Shermy, Violet, Schroeder, Lucy, Linus, Pig-Pen and of course Snoopy. Regrettably, in a few years time Mr. Schulz would phase out Patty, Shermy, Violet and to a leser degree Pig-Pen, replacing them with Peppermint Patty, Marcy, Woodstock and Rerun whom I personally didn't find as amusing.Now about the bonus featurette "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown". It's a collection of several short vignettes that are all right I suppose, but don't measure to the high standard set by the original, and of course that's why you're buying this DVD.There are many other reasons I love "A Charlie Brown Christmas", along with "Rudolph" and "The Grinch",one being it is a touchstone to the Christmas' memories of my childhood, and more recently of my own son's. Not to be hokey, but also I love that it does explain beautifully what Christmas is all about in it's purest essence, and this is an key fact to remember when one is overwhelmed by the sheer commercialism of the holiday. Words somehow seen inadequate to describe it properly, sufficent to say you will laugh merrily, perhaps brush away a tear and feel all warm inside afterwards, don't miss it, either on television or on DVD!