You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown was, for the third straight time, the first new special in a year and a half. During the interterm, the second theatrical movie, Snoopy Come Home (the first piece of animated media not to have Charlie Brown as a title character) was released to grosses that were only a fraction of what A Boy Named Charlie Brown had earned three years earlier. Because of that, it would be another 5 years before the next movie, Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown would be released, and the TV specials would start arriving much more frequently.
This is arguably the most widely-seen early non-holiday special in recent years, because ABC would usually pair it with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown when the network had the Peanuts broadcast rights. It's a good pairing, both because Election Day in the United States is usually less than a week after Halloween, and for another reason which I'll talk about in a bit.
Despite the title, Charlie Brown is once again not the main character, nor is he even running for anything (it's hard to get elected when you're not even a candidate). Indeed, the original title was You're Elected, Charlie Brown, a title still reflected in the brief song over the opening credits. Apparently, it was very late in the process before anyone realized that Charlie Brown wasn't actually elected, so they didn't have time to change anything other than putting "Not" above the title on the title card (the original title comes from a line of dialogue by Linus early in the special when Charlie Brown is considering running. A better title might have been Lucy's comment a few seconds later, "You'll never be elected, Charlie Brown").
With Charlie Brown out of the running, its up to Linus to take up the banner and run for student body president, a task he enthusiastically takes up, promising, among other things, longer recess, no homework, raises for the school's staff, and that dogs who wander onto the school's playground "will not be chased away, but rather, be welcome with open arms!". Such promises put Linus far ahead of his competition, a one-and-done character named Russell, until Linus nearly blows it close to the end, when he decides to spend part of a campaign speech proselytizing about the Great Pumpkin. Amazingly, he still pulls out a narrow victory, thanks to Russell, who decides to vote for Linus after determining that he would make the better president. Of course, like all student body presidents who ride into office promising big changes in how the school is run, Linus soon discovers that the position is largely ceremonial, with the principal still firmly in charge.
This special marks a couple of firsts, as it marks the animated debut of Woodstock, and also marked the first time that composer Vince Guaraldi's voice is heard on the soundtrack, as he sings "Joe Cool" as Snoopy's alter ego tries his best to pass as a student (previous Guaraldi compositions had been either instrumentals or, in the case of "Christmastime is Here", sung by a children's choir).
It should be noted that it takes a while for the plot to kick in, as the first six minutes or so are devoted exclusively to Charlie Brown, Sally, and Snoopy, as Sally complains that she's never going back to school because she can't reach her locker dial, before she drags Charlie Brown in to be her show and tell exhibit. The locker discussion pays off in the special's final gag.
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown is a fun little special that serves as a handy introduction to politics to kids. While its brief rescue from obscurity was likely only because of the seasonal aspect and the mention of the Great Pumpkin, I'm glad this one got a second life for a while.
Next week: Charlie Brown has to get an A on his field trip report, no matter how distracting Peppermint Patty is, in There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown.
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