Well, since the crew behind these specials successfully pulled off a Christmas special, it’s only fitting that they go on to tackle Halloween shortly afterward. As it turns out, this special is just as charming. Immersed in the simply, yet nicely designed atmosphere that captures the spirit of the holiday, this special really specializes in what makes Peanuts as a whole so appealing. It takes simple aspects of childhood and utilizes them to make them feel like something special that will never leave your mind no matter how old you get.
When it comes to Halloween, there’s a lot to it that provides a lot of
childhood moments to work off of. There's trick-or-treating, dropping in on
Halloween parties, or in Linus’ case, worshiping a figure known as the Great
Pumpkin. These moments
are shown in three different subplots with a lot of memorable moments
from the characters.
One features Charlie Brown getting a rare moment of happiness by being invited to a Halloween party. He still gets struck with bad luck as usual. He cuts too many holes in his ghost costume, is humiliated by the girls who use his round head as a jack-o-lantern model, and or course, getting rocks while trick-or-treating. The “I got a rock” part of this subplot is easily the funniest part mostly due to the way Charlie Brown reacts to getting them. Nevertheless, I’m sure that for all the 50 years this special has been airing, people have been wondering what kind of people would even consider giving rocks as a Halloween treat.
Another subplot features Snoopy get up to a highly memorable fantasy as the WWI flying ace facing against the Red Baron, and later seeking shelter after being shot down. It’s a great demonstration of how wild Snoopy’s imagination is. There are some honestly awesome action sequences and even some suspense through visuals that depict him in WWI-era France. It’s an interesting look that can be attributed to someone getting into the spirit of the Halloween costume they’re wearing. Plus, what Snoopy gets up to greatly blends into the other events of the special without feeling out of place. His fantasy leads him to crash the Halloween party where we get two memorable comedic scenes. One being a classic “dog germs” gag with Lucy, and another involving him reacting to the WWI-era songs Schroeder plays on piano.
Then, there’s the subplot to give the special its name about Linus’ mission to meet the Great Pumpkin. Everyone constantly calls him out for believing in something that isn’t real, but despite the animosity, Linus keeps true to his beliefs, and you can really feel his determination. He goes through with writing his letter, and sets himself up in a pumpkin patch and gets Sally to join him. We’ve all had our childhood fantasies we wanted to prove were real. What Linus goes through here is not just really relatable to that, but also shows what happens when you go to such extremes to do that. All he manages to see out in the pumpkin patch is Snoopy who makes his way out there from the party. This results in another comedic highlight in the form of Sally ranting about how she missed out on all the Halloween fun because of Linus’ beliefs. Even after that, Linus begins to obsessively hold to his beliefs by staying in the pumpkin patch late into the night. As a nice turn of events, this leads to a strong rarely-seen moment of caring from Lucy. She goes through the trouble of going out to bring her cold, tired, and unsuccessful brother home. It’s an impactful albeit depressing message about the consequences of obsessing over one’s childhood fantasy, but still a very honest one. For Linus’ sake though, it’s a good thing the following decade would feature a special that would show that there’s a positive side of childhood fantasies.
It’s once again easy to see why so many people hold this special in high regard. It features many characters getting up to relatable childhood moments and allowing them to shine with strong comedy, creative visuals, and honest impactful messages. Truly you don’t need to celebrate Halloween to get caught up in this great display of Peanuts entertainment.
One features Charlie Brown getting a rare moment of happiness by being invited to a Halloween party. He still gets struck with bad luck as usual. He cuts too many holes in his ghost costume, is humiliated by the girls who use his round head as a jack-o-lantern model, and or course, getting rocks while trick-or-treating. The “I got a rock” part of this subplot is easily the funniest part mostly due to the way Charlie Brown reacts to getting them. Nevertheless, I’m sure that for all the 50 years this special has been airing, people have been wondering what kind of people would even consider giving rocks as a Halloween treat.
Another subplot features Snoopy get up to a highly memorable fantasy as the WWI flying ace facing against the Red Baron, and later seeking shelter after being shot down. It’s a great demonstration of how wild Snoopy’s imagination is. There are some honestly awesome action sequences and even some suspense through visuals that depict him in WWI-era France. It’s an interesting look that can be attributed to someone getting into the spirit of the Halloween costume they’re wearing. Plus, what Snoopy gets up to greatly blends into the other events of the special without feeling out of place. His fantasy leads him to crash the Halloween party where we get two memorable comedic scenes. One being a classic “dog germs” gag with Lucy, and another involving him reacting to the WWI-era songs Schroeder plays on piano.
Then, there’s the subplot to give the special its name about Linus’ mission to meet the Great Pumpkin. Everyone constantly calls him out for believing in something that isn’t real, but despite the animosity, Linus keeps true to his beliefs, and you can really feel his determination. He goes through with writing his letter, and sets himself up in a pumpkin patch and gets Sally to join him. We’ve all had our childhood fantasies we wanted to prove were real. What Linus goes through here is not just really relatable to that, but also shows what happens when you go to such extremes to do that. All he manages to see out in the pumpkin patch is Snoopy who makes his way out there from the party. This results in another comedic highlight in the form of Sally ranting about how she missed out on all the Halloween fun because of Linus’ beliefs. Even after that, Linus begins to obsessively hold to his beliefs by staying in the pumpkin patch late into the night. As a nice turn of events, this leads to a strong rarely-seen moment of caring from Lucy. She goes through the trouble of going out to bring her cold, tired, and unsuccessful brother home. It’s an impactful albeit depressing message about the consequences of obsessing over one’s childhood fantasy, but still a very honest one. For Linus’ sake though, it’s a good thing the following decade would feature a special that would show that there’s a positive side of childhood fantasies.
It’s once again easy to see why so many people hold this special in high regard. It features many characters getting up to relatable childhood moments and allowing them to shine with strong comedy, creative visuals, and honest impactful messages. Truly you don’t need to celebrate Halloween to get caught up in this great display of Peanuts entertainment.
Highly Recommended
Ranking
1) A Charlie
Brown Christmas
2) It’s the
Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
3) Charlie
Brown’s All-Stars
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next Peanuts special, "You're in Love Charlie Brown."
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