It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Now what would Halloween, my favorite holiday, be without Charlie

Brown and the Great Pumpkin? Not to date myself, but I remember the very first time it aired on

CBS at the ripe old age of 7! I've never missed it since! Nothing encapsulates childhood, camaraderie and the spirit of

Halloween more than this Charles M. Schultz classic. Charlie

Brown and his bag of rocks, Snoopy and the Red Baron, Linus'

ingenious use of his security blanket for a ghost costume, Vince

Guaraldi's great score, and of course, bossy Lucy and her

sarcastic voice of reason - I think we all know a 'Lucy' growing up! All the feelings of anticipation, excitement and fear so commonly

associated with this spooky holiday is captured here - even the

feeling of great disappointment when awakening the day after and

knowing one must wait another FULL year for this greatest of

holidays to come again - another year to plan and live out your

fantasy. Well, at least there's Charlie Brown Xmas to get us over

the hump! Good Grief!!

Another beloved family Classic, even if it's about as slow paced as one could imagine. Nice, light comedy with Linus's mixing of holiday traditions; although the gang (and especially Sally) can be quite cruel, ultimately the focus on the misfits is uplifting, even if lightly satyrical. Snoopy's waking dream of fighting the read barron, which ultimately leads to an encounter with Linus's vision of the Great Pumpkin in the patch, is brilliant. Just two questions: how old are these kids? And why is Charlie Brown basically bald?

Reviewed this after watching in 2020, not long after getting our Charlie Brown Halloween figures from the Bradford Exchange.

The thing I loved most about this Charlie Brown Halloween special was the sheer simplicity of it. The creators obviously aimed this at people of all ages; It is just so funny and cute, it's impossible not to love. There is no horror, thriller, or gruesome bloody scenes. It shows what Halloween is really about- the fun of trick-or-treating, and being with your friends.

Linus believes in the 'Great Pumpkin', the Santa Claus of Halloween. He misses out on Halloween to stay in the Pumpkin Patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to pick his pumpkin patch as the most sincere. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown and the gang get invited to Violet's halloween party. The gang save Sally goes trick-or-treating as well. Sally decides to stay with Linus.

Don't miss out on this! A must see for Halloween.

This special is great. I love the background music, especially the upbeat tempo played while Charlie Brown dances because he has finally been invited to a Halloween party...by mistake. The scene with Snoopy and the Red Baron is an abrupt switch from the storyline, but it is very well done; 5 minutes or so without any talking.

Did anyone notice how big the moon is in the pumpkin patch? It is huge!

After A Charlie Brown Christmas, this one came along the next fall. While it is not quite the first one, it has some good moments. Of course when this was made, Halloween was more of a trick or treat holiday as this one was originally sponsored by Dolly Madison, the maker of cup cakes. This high point of this one is Lucy talking about wearing a costume to match your personality.

Snoopy has his first major World War 1 Flying Ace segment here and it is effectively woven into the story. As a Halloween Special, Linus is always waiting for the Great Pumpkin & it is consistent with Linus that he makes a negative remarks about Santa believers. After all, in the previous Christmas Special, Santa is not mentioned in his speech of what Christmas is all about.

The Halloween party, which is a bigger staple today than ever is here though if this were to be updated, Snoopy could decorate his dog house with Halloween Lights, like he did with Christmas lights in the other special. While it is not Christmas, it did help build Charles Schultz resume so that he would do lots more television & movies with the Peanuts gang.