C'est la grosse citrouille, Charlie Brown

Although thousands of Halloween TV specials bombard us each October, one stands out as a can't-miss for anyone with children or anyone who ever was a child. The complete lack of scariness makes this the classic feel-good movie of the season. It is one film that is appropriate for children of every age, even very young children. It brings up the same nostalgic feelings that the Peanuts comic strip does, and gets me in the Halloween spirit every year. If you haven't seen it yet, spend some time this October to watch it with the children in your life. It's perfect with warm popcorn and orange candy corn. So for a change from the movies that give you nightmares, try the Halloween special that will give you sweet dreams of great pumpkins.

I was born in 1966. Since I can remember, I've been a Peanuts fan. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown was a must watch show for me every Halloween since about the age of 4. Eating a TV dinner and watching it in the den was the highlight of Halloween. It got me primed to go trick or treating.

As an adult with children in their 20's, I still stop what I'm doing to watch Linus sit in the pumpkin patch with Sally. I know that its silly but at the end of the show, I always feel let down just like Linus. My kids shake their heads when I start going off that by now he should know better.

I will be an old woman and still watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. It reminds of a simpler time when kids could off in groups to trick or treat. You could get popcorn balls and candy apples along with other goodies. If Halloween fell on a school day, teachers kept you busy working a cool project in hopes of keeping you calm.

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.

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.

I always loved watching this on CBS when I was a kid. I even loved the commercials. They were always either Dolly Madison or McDonald's commercials. That seems like a strange thing to mention but I felt it added something extra to this special. I loved the look of the show. All the oranges and reds and other fall colors. From the pumpkin carving opener, the pumpkin patch, Snoopy's fantasy World War I adventures as he makes his way across the French countryside, to the beautiful musical score, it all adds up to one great Halloween experience. Taking you back to a simpler time when the world seemed more innocent. We'll miss you Charlie Schultz.