'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!'—A Movie Review

Hey, look everybody! I think I see the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch!

It is Halloween night! Charlie Brown and the gang are ready for trick-or-treating. However, Linus has different plans in mind. Linus and Sally spend Halloween in search of The Great Pumpkin as the other kids have a festive evening.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was the number one most-watched program in 1966! Charles Schulz The Peanuts are always a nostalgic wave of energy. I love catching the Halloween special of Charlie Brown every year. It is funny, gets into the Halloween spirit, and has more tender moments than I noticed before!

The special focuses on Linus, giving him a chance in the limelight. I wish Linus’ belief in the great pumpkin could have been explained more. He goes to great lengths expressing his belief and all sorts of theories. How did this belief come about? That would have been an interesting field to explore.

While Lucy is portrayed as a bossy and selfish girl who refuses to let Charlie Brown kick the football (which was the first time she does in this special) Lucy has a caring side. The special contained tender moments where Lucy gets candy for Linus while trick-or-treating and even goes out to the pumpkin patch late at night to bring her little brother home.

Dressing up as spooky ghosts, the children take over the neighborhood, scouting for candy. One of the funniest moments is that Charlie keeps getting a rock as a treat. Charlie’s delivery each time makes me laugh.

Children who viewed this special felt so bad for Charlie that they actually sent candy to him out of sympathy! And he is only a cartoon character! That says a lot though. Whether the comics, or specials, Charlie Brown has had a positive impact on people.

I adore the subplot between Sally and Linus. It’s cute how Sally would rather keep Linus company in the pumpkin patch instead of going on her first trick-or-treating expedition. And Linus is actually okay with it. Normally, he cannot stand Sally, especially the crush she has on him. While things don’t turn out as Sally (or Linus) planned their side-story was my favorite part of the special and had a different impact on me than I had in years prior.

You can never go wrong with Snoopy! In his own fantasies, Snoopy dresses as an aviator, mimicking a World War 1 battle. However, his own subplot felt as if it should have been a part of a different episode.

His segment is the most memorable part of the episode and is considered to be the best animation! While I do agree, most of his scenes don’t have much to do with the special. Snoopy’s segment takes away from the kids. I would have liked to have seen more scenes involving the kids enjoying Halloween night and Linus’ origin of the great pumpkin.

Actual children voice the Peanuts gang. Since some of the children were very young, most of the child actors didn’t understand what they were saying resulting in choppy deliveries. An interesting story that happened behind the scenes is that six-year-old Cathy Steinberg (Sally) lost her tooth during her final recording session!

While there are some hitches in the animation, that does not ruin the special. I loved all the orange and red coloring that marked fall. The backgrounds were beautiful, especially the neighborhood which is decorated for the spooky holiday. Animation has come a long way.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a sentiment of childhood. I love watching this special every year! It’s the right short film to get into the Halloween spirit.