A Charlie Brown Christmas
logline: Depressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.
Some films stand the test of time better than others, and one example of this is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I always seem to come back to it and it’s one of my favorite Christmas movies, though its 25-minute run time makes it more of a TV episode than a film. To start, the music is calming and amazing - I have played both “Skating” and “Christmas Time Is Here” on the piano and I love both of them (much love to the lesser known, but 10/10, “Happiness Is”). The animation is a little wonky, and the main message that Linus puts out is basically Christianity™, but the whole film gives me the feeling of reading Calvin and Hobbes in bed on a cold morning and I love it. Overall, it is the characters that really set this movie apart from other children’s films, other films in general. Linus’ dialogue seems so sophisticated for a child but his speeches always sound so realistic, and his support is wholesome af. Lucy is petty and clever and always steals the spotlight in whatever scene she’s in. Most of all, Charlie Brown is so real that his character is almost autobiographical. He’s so unique in his mundane-ness, and watching him be a little pathetic and get knocked down makes him so much more interesting than a lot of protagonists I’ve seen in children’s films. Charlie Brown embodies our negative side and it’s easier to connect to him, and therefore this movie, because we’ve all had bad stuff happen to us. Not something absolutely terrible like being orphaned (a common theme in kid’s movies for some reason), but something that just… sucks. There’s not much we can do but move on, and watching Charlie Brown move on again and again was one of the biggest “life will continue” lessons when I was younger. A Charlie Brown Christmas never fails to help me just a little bit during the holiday season, and it’s one of my favorite holiday watches.
Fun Fact - A version was made with a laugh track, which was later removed due to the success of the broadcasted one. It would have been a whole different movie, and not in a good way...
I talked about My Favorite Characters above, so here are a few Honorable Mentions:
Chris Doran as Schroeder - He’s aloof and petty, isn’t even amazingly cool and yet Lucy fawns over him. Not to mention he’s great at the piano. He’s my role model. *wipes tear*
Bill Melendez as Snoopy - Snoopy is a dog. He is funny. He can skate and play the cello(??). And apparently wins Christmas Decoration Contests. Basically he’s the coolest character and it’s always hilarious to watch him do everything perfectly and see Charlie Brown mess up. Man’s best friend, and all that.
Rated TV-G for that family friendly content >:)
Where to Watch:
IMDb and Reddit links!!!
