11 Things To Know Before Your Next 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' Rewatch
Peanuts is an iconic cartoon, seriously. The comic strip turned television series, featuring yearly reruns of holiday specials is a staple of American history, and a tradition in many homes throughout the country–the author of this post can attest to the latter.Â
In preparation Halloween, now is a great time to remember some of the most memorable moments and little known tidbits about the special: 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.' If you don't like it, "Aaugh!" What is wrong with you?!
He said, "A number of professional scholars have written me about the origination of the legend." The funny part is what his response was: he told them to take it up with Linus–the true believer of the 'Great Pumpkin.'
The show used to be subsidized by sponsors such as Coca-Cola and Dolly Madison, which would appear at the beginning and end of the show with plugs, like what you see above.
After taking a break for a shower, Guaraldi thought he heard something outside. He went out naked to investigate only to lock himself out. When he was caught by the cops climbing a ladder into the second story, he yelled, "Don't shoot! I'm the great pumpkin!" Obviously, at the time they didn't understand the joke.
CBS forced Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez to create an episode of Charlie Brown that could run every year. The network didn't care about the wildly successful baseball themed episode, and wanted something they could rerun in perpetuity. So, the two illustrators hammered out this story, and it lives on to this day.
She was just a child, and so nervous to be a part of such a hit show, she would vomit after getting her work done.
And at such a young age she was about to lose tooth. Fearing a lisp from the lost tooth would ruin the voiceover work, producers rushed her through her lines. The next day, she lost the tooth.
Well, the office in California did at least. Viewers felt sad for Charlie at the end of the episode when he opens his bag and realizes it's just all rocks, so they would send in bags of candy for him. The staff probably still hasn't gotten all the way through it.
"It's a shame that a few more dollars meant more to them than years of tradition and loyalty," as reported by Variety from an anonymous employee at the time.
The 'Great Pumpkin' is a satire of said strip in which Schulz dislikes the idea of man who delivers presents all over the world, but the fact is some families can only afford one or two presents, so they hope he'll come to save the day (he obviously doesn't, because he's not real). The same thing happens here, in which Linus is crushed by the fact the 'Great Pumpkin' fails to arrive.
The sequence with Snoopy's doghouse dogfight is one that will live on forever. The joke had appeared in the strip, but Mendelson thought it would be better in motion.
Well, it's the first time it happened in animation. Just like Snoopy's flying sequence, they had used it in the strip, but it had never been done in action before. They thought it would be a hit, and they were right.