Dalbert Pringle After watching this adorable, animated, feature film (from 1965), yet again, it's so easy to see why it's rated as the second most popular and successful Christmas special, ever, next to Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, of course.Created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has the entire Peanuts Gang excitedly preparing themselves for the up-coming Holiday Season.As our story opens we find that onion-headed, little boy named Charlie Brown in a very depressed state of mind all because of the way that Christmas has been so over-commercialized these days.Even good, old Snoopy is getting into the act when he decides to decorate his doghouse, all glitter and glitz.I guarantee you - "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (which is all voiced by children and contains no laugh-track) is one of the sweetest movies that you're ever gonna see, no matter what age that you might happen to be.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) This Emmy-Award-winning Charlie Brown Christmas special has its 50th birthday this year and it's the beginning to a very successful franchise.. I have to say I have never been that big on the Peanuts. I like the animation style and Snoopy is usually fun, but the interactions of the gang rarely do a whole lot for me. So it should be no surprise that I am actually underwhelmed by this short film, one of their most famous. The subject is the contrast between traditional and commercialized Christmas and Charlie struggles with the commercial wishes of the other Peanuts here. This film has one massive flaw: Charlie stands for the traditional idea of Christmas and yet he joins in in the Christmas tree idea. Trees are a consequence of commercialism as well, even without bright colorful ornaments on them. Apart from that, Lucy is as annoying as always and I always thought the whole gang was fairly unlikeable: no friends I would like to have as a child really as almost all they do is disagreeing with each other or even bullying (especially Charlie Brown). Another problem I have with this particular episode is that the middle part centered around the play really almost entirely loses the Christmas reference. Humour was certainly something entirely different back in the 1960s as there was hardly any scene I found funny in this movie, maybe the closest was Lucy's reference between bubblegum and Beethoven. And some of the music was okay too. But other than that, it was pretty underwhelming. Also the whole message does not make sense as this film implies that you cannot find a healthy mix of commercialism and tradition, which is absolutely the right way to go in my opinion. Strict differentiating between Black and white is never good. Stay away. Schulz and Melendez worked on an uncountable number of Peanuts films. i hope most of the other ones are better than this beginning.

Mr-Fusion One year away from the 50th anniversary of A CHARLIE BROWN Christmas and it's continuing relevance it's impressive. I'm always (even just a little) surprised at how strongly I identify with Charlie Brown's struggle with the meaning of Christmas. He's trying to get at the fundamentals of the holiday, and it's increasingly difficult in our world to hold onto those. And even Linus' quoting of scripture at the end feels right (and I'm not a religious person). There's a purity of message here that's extremely refreshing. That said, this annual special is just another reason to hear Vince Guaraldi's iconic score. That guy's a national treasure and his work has only enriched the holiday music this country has to offer.7/10

bayardhiler Anyone who loves Christmas as much as I do knows that the number of TV Christmas specials out there is infinite, be it series having their own special episodes or stand alone events. Many of these specials are good but there are a select handful that rise above all the rest and one of these is 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Written by the legendary Peanuts creator Charles M. Schultz himself, it follows Charlie Brown being down in the dumps (As usual) during what should be the happiest time of the year. He tries to find out why this is and through a series of events (Including a "therapy session" with Lucy) ends up the director of the school's annual Christmas pageant. The problem is, Charlie just doesn't know what in the world Christmas is all about and worse nobody seems to respect his authority since they go about dancing to that iconic Peanuts theme. In an attempt to set the right mood, Charlie gets that famous loopy Christmas tree and of course, everybody only mocks poor Charlie (Again, as usual). But just as it looks like all is lost, a wonderful miracle happens: people come to their senses and realize what Christmas really means. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" will go down in television history for many reasons, including its comedy, sarcasm, truth about human nature, commercialism versus the true meaning of the holidays, and splendid animation were the colors seem to just jump out at you. But above the show deserves to be celebrated for its truth; unlike many similar specials, Mr. Schultz is not afraid to bring in what Christmas is really all about, the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. For without him, this thing called Christmas would never be and we should never forget that. Of course, it always helps to have that adorable Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang around to add some much needed comedy. Credit should also go to Vince Guaraldi for that lovable theme and beautiful "Christmas time is here". It all combines everything to form a special that never fails to make me laugh and cry just a little bit at the end. So gather around folks and watch this Christmas classic. Oh and before I forget, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!!!!!