That character would be Linus and his almost evangelical-like zeal in believing and promoting The Great Pumpkin. The not-gift-giving not-gourd (didn't) make its debut in a series of strips in 1959, as Charles Schultz thought it would be funny to have one of the kids mix up holidays. So for the week leading up to Halloween, Linus enthusiastically wrote to The Great Pumpkin, encouraged his friends to let The Great Pumpkin know what toys they wanted for Halloween, and try to get people to sing pumpkin carols. The strip on Halloween itself would even provide the punchline for the special's cold open 7 years later. Even though the strips immediately after Halloween suggested that a demoralized Linus had given up his belief, his faith in The Great Pumpkin would continue to pop up annually in late October strips.
Like the annual strips, the special sees Linus hold tight to his faith, no matter what derision his friends and sister heap onto him (Charlie Brown may be a bit nicer than Lucy in this regard, but he doesn't hide the fact he too thinks Linus is bonkers). This of course eventually leads him to spending Halloween night sitting in what he is convinced is the most "sincere" pumpkin patch in all the land, waiting for The Great Pumpkin to rise and start his annual flight.
In the special, he finally has a convert in Sally, whose love for Linus gets her to forgo trick-or-treating and the party following to sit with Linus. Of course, a running gag throughout the strip is how materialistic she is, so at the end of the night, when there's no Great Pumpkin, no candy, and no fun, she turns on Linus with a fury.
While the focus is on Linus, the special's most memorable gags belong to Charlie Brown, with his multi-holed ghost costume and his all of his neighbors throwing rocks into his bag. He also has a very funny sequence at the party where the girls convince him to model, only to use the back of his head to design a jack-o-lantern. Snoopy, who had his first animated fantasy in Charlie Brown's All-Stars!, when he briefly imagined him surfing in Linus's kiddie pool, has a much longer one in this one, as he flies his Sopwith Doghouse into battle against the Red Baron, only to crash-land in the war-torn French countryside, forcing him to make his way to safety (in reality the Halloween party and eventually the pumpkin patch). This special also has a clever meta gag (check out the cover of Lucy's TV Guide) and brings up serious doubts about the parenting of Mr. and Mrs. Van Pelt, who were either OK with or oblivious to the fact that their elementary school-age son was spending a cold fall night sleeping outside in a pumpkin patch with just his thin blanket for cover.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown proved to be important in the evolution of Peanuts specials as it showed that other characters can step up and be the focus. While Charlie Brown would continue to be the main character in most specials, others would focus on Schroder, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy, and even Rerun, a diversity that probably explains why the specials remained in production for over four decades.
There was a great uproar last fall when Apple got the exclusive rights to the Peanuts specials, including It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Because Apple's deal with PBS to air A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas wasn't struck until November, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was not seen on broadcast television for the first time in over 50 years. That's a pretty astounding streak, one that speaks to how beloved the special is. I'd expect Apple to make sure that Pumpkin returns to its rightful spot on broadcast TV this fall. It would be a shame if it doesn't.
Next week: Peppermint Patty makes her animated debut, and The Little Red-Haired Girl makes her non-debut, in You're in Love, Charlie Brown.
No comments:
Post a Comment