Released: October 1966
Director: Bill Melendez
Not Rated
Run Time: 25 Minutes
Genre: Animation/Short/Comedy
Cast:
Peter Robbins: Charlie Brown
Christopher Shea: Linus Van Pelt
Sally Dryer: Lucy Van Pelt
Cathy Steinberg: Sally Brown
This October has been a very fulfilling month when it comes to talking about horror movies and films that are most associated with Halloween. As promised, here is my Halloween special review. However, instead of my usual dark, dreary, and gory horror movies, I have decided to tackle something far more family-friendly. I figured that since I spent most of the month talking about dark and depressing films, I thought I would close out the month with something positive and uplifting. There are a large number of family-friendly Halloween movies out there, but I wanted to cover the one that everybody is familiar with: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! This isn’t going to be a particularly large post as the film is only 25 minutes long, but it’s become such an important part of the cultural zeitgeist, so I thought I would do my best to try and deliver my opinion on this one.
The short opens with young Linus writing a letter to “The Great Pumpkin,” a Halloween spirit that he believes will rise from a pumpkin patch to deliver toys and presents to all the good children of the world. While that one line that I wrote pretty much sums up the plot of The Great Pumpkin, there’s a lot more to the film than I think most people would see. As a kid, I would enjoy watching this short film every time it showed on TV during Halloween. I’ve seen it every year since I can remember. I’m a huge fan of the Peanuts comic strip by the late Charles M. Schulz. It was a comic strip that featured the likes of Charlie Brown, Linus Van Pelt, Snoopy, Sally Brown and company. What I loved about The Great Pumpkin as a kid, was all the colorful imagery and wonderful animation. The story may be simple, but the themes that are present throughout the 25 minutes are surprisingly thoughtful. There is a message about the power of belief that would be lost on most children these days, but as adults, we see stuff like this and remember how simple things used to be when we were younger. As kids, we believed in things like The Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause. Linus’s belief in The Great Pumpkin is just another extension of that childhood innocence that many of us have since left behind, because as we get older and begin to understand the world more, the less likely we are to believe in such things. Watching The Great Pumpkin is a great way to remind ourselves of a much simpler time.
There’s not much in the way of action here, it’s not that kind of short film. The action that does come, comes in the form of Snoopy pretending to be a World War I ace pilot hunting down the Red Baron. This sequence is incredibly fun, because the camera shifts the camera whenever Snoopy is climbing or going low. The sound effects are pretty standard, but they do make for a fairly exciting experience for kids. This sequence highlights another theme present within the film: The power of imagination. As adults, we often spend far too much time thinking about real-world affairs. We no longer spend enough time looking at the sky and just…daydream. Throughout the film, Linus is ridiculed for believing in The Great Pumpkin, but he has the best response to his critics: “I’ll stop believing in him, when you stop believing in that big red fella that goes ‘Ho, Ho, Ho.'” To me, that really speaks volumes about the value of belief. I think in the back of his mind, Linus knows that his belief is a little silly, but it’s no more silly than believing in Santa Clause. The message is oh, so clear: Just because you don’t believe in something, doesn’t mean you should stop others from believing in it regardless of how ridiculous you think it is, especially as a child when believing in something can be extremely important.
The humor of the Peanuts comic strip is very much present here. There is definitely some social commentary, but it’s not overly mean-spirited and is something that children can understand. The character designs and animations all add to the humor, especially when Snoopy is laughing at Linus. Sally tricking Charlie Brown into kicking the football only to take it away is a running gag that has been a part of Peanuts since the very beginning. It’s a part of what makes these characters so special. Watching The Great Pumpkin now, as opposed to 30 years ago, I see a number of insights into what makes this short such a wonderful film. It’s fun, it’s imaginative, and it has a great message for youngsters. Is it the greatest Charlie Brown special? No…but I don’t see anything really wrong with it, either. This is a film for people of all ages and it something to say to each and every one of us. So….do I recommend It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Yes. Yes, I do.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! is one of the best Halloween specials ever made, as far as I’m concerned. It’s uplifting, positive, and just a lot of fun. So, with that I’m going to close out the month of October. For the youngsters who plan on going Trick Or Treating tonight, be safe and definitely travel in groups or with parents. For the parents, please keep an eye on your kids and make sure they stay out of the streets and out of trouble. Aside from that, have fun and Happy Halloween to all!