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This half-hour Christmas show is one of the truly lovable animated specials in TV history, a status proved by its annual network telecast since 1965.
A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first, and best, of a series of programs based on the Charles M. Schulz cartoon strip "Peanuts." Hapless hero Charlie Brown finds himself depressed at Christmastime, searching for the true meaning of the holiday amidst the glitz and commercialism of the modern age. Appointed director of the school holiday pageant, Charlie Brown ventures out with Linus to buy "a great, big, shiny aluminum Christmas tree." Instead they bring back a miserable tree--a real one.
A Charlie Brown Christmas shows off the "Peanuts" gang doing what they do best: Lucy is bossy, Snoopy is crazy, Linus is sweet, and Pig Pen is, well, filthy. Instead of using adult actors trying to sound like kids, the production features real children providing the voices, an endearing effect. The jazz music score, composed by Vince Guaraldi, has become a classic in its own right; like so much about this program, it's an unexpected but perfectly right choice.
--Robert Horton
Review
"Peanuts" was already a phenomenally popular comic strip when A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired, but there was no guarantee that a short animated film based upon the strip would work. Over the years, as many strips had been poorly adapted ("Li'l Abner," "The Little King") as successfully transferred ("Popeye," "Superman") to the six-minute cartoon format, and "Peanuts" was a strip whose appeal was based more on subtlety, nuance, and character development than straight gags. But Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, working from a witty and insightful script by creator Charles M. Schulz, managed to make a film that was always true to the subdued spirit of the strip. Using "real" children rather than veteran child actors for the voices resulted in some occasionally stilted line readings, but it also captured the innocence and heightened naturalness that is so much a part of the strip's appeal. Although the plot is essentially a number of incidents strung together around a general idea, the looseness works to its benefit. The animation, while not up to Disney standards, has an appeal all its own and effectively translates the characters to the screen. A delightful blend of poignancy and humor, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a treasure to be enjoyed during any season. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
