Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!
Encyclopedia
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! is the 30th prime-time animated
TV special based upon the popular comic strip
Peanuts
, by Charles M. Schulz
. It was originally aired on CBS
on January 1, 1986. This is a semi-musical program, following the lead of It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
.
is assigned a book report that is due on the first day back from the break. The book: War and Peace
, by Leo Tolstoy
. Charlie Brown struggles to find time to read the book but keeps getting distracted, first by dance lessons, then by a New Year's party that all his friends are attending. At one point he goes to a store and unsuccessfully tries to buy the book in comic book form, then as a "tape or cassette," a computer game, and finally a film strip.
Things get worse for Charlie Brown when he tries to invite the object of his desires, the Little Red-Haired Girl
, by getting his hand caught in the mail slot while delivering an invitation to her house (to which she doesn't respond). At the party, during a game of musical chairs
, he and Peppermint Patty are the only ones left; but at the very last second, she beats him. He leaves the party and sits on the front porch of the host's house to read his book, but falls asleep while everyone is watching the Times Square Ball
drop on TV and singing Auld Lang Syne
.
He is awakened after midnight by an indignant Peppermint Patty and Sally, Patty because Charlie Brown did not dance with her and Sally because Linus danced not with her, but with the Little Red-Haired Girl, who had arrived while he was on the porch. Marcie makes it all better though by kissing him on the cheek and whispering, "Happy New Year, Charles!" Then, Snoopy's friends come in with signs that read "NEW", "HAPPY", and "YEAR!", with Snoopy growling at them to get the phrase right; it mixes "HAPPY" and "NEW" into their proper positions.
Charlie Brown eventually finishes his book report - on the last day and night before Christmas break ends. He hands it in to his teacher, and receives a grade of D-minus (the teacher says that "it looks like it was written on the very last night of Christmas vacation"). Linus then prepares Charlie Brown for his next assignment—reading Crime and Punishment
by Dostoyevsky, causing him to faint in his desk.
has announced a DVD and high definition Blu-ray Disc
release for October 6, 2009 as a bonus feature for the Remastered Deluxe Edition of I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
.
, on current Peanuts rights holder ABC
.
In order to save room for Rudolph's Shiny New Year, ABC made edits to the show:
In a 2010 airing, it was paired with She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
TV special based upon the popular comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
, by Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
. It was originally aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on January 1, 1986. This is a semi-musical program, following the lead of It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown is the 27th prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. The show is presented as an original musical which features parodies of the early 1980s breakdancing craze, the movies Saturday Night Fever and Flashdance,...
.
Plot
Over the Christmas holidays, Charlie BrownCharlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie...
is assigned a book report that is due on the first day back from the break. The book: War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
, by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
. Charlie Brown struggles to find time to read the book but keeps getting distracted, first by dance lessons, then by a New Year's party that all his friends are attending. At one point he goes to a store and unsuccessfully tries to buy the book in comic book form, then as a "tape or cassette," a computer game, and finally a film strip.
Things get worse for Charlie Brown when he tries to invite the object of his desires, the Little Red-Haired Girl
Little Red-Haired Girl
The Little Red-Haired Girl is an unseen character in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, and is a symbol of unrequited love. While never seen in the strip, she appears onscreen in several television specials. Her name is sometimes cited in these as Heather. She serves as the object of...
, by getting his hand caught in the mail slot while delivering an invitation to her house (to which she doesn't respond). At the party, during a game of musical chairs
Musical chairs
Musical chairs is a game played by a group of people , often in an informal setting purely for entertainment such as a birthday party...
, he and Peppermint Patty are the only ones left; but at the very last second, she beats him. He leaves the party and sits on the front porch of the host's house to read his book, but falls asleep while everyone is watching the Times Square Ball
Times Square Ball
The Times Square Ball is a time ball dropped each year during the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. The ball is made by Waterford Crystal and electric lights is raised to the top of a pole on the One Times Square building at 6:00 pm and then lowered to mark the...
drop on TV and singing Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
.
He is awakened after midnight by an indignant Peppermint Patty and Sally, Patty because Charlie Brown did not dance with her and Sally because Linus danced not with her, but with the Little Red-Haired Girl, who had arrived while he was on the porch. Marcie makes it all better though by kissing him on the cheek and whispering, "Happy New Year, Charles!" Then, Snoopy's friends come in with signs that read "NEW", "HAPPY", and "YEAR!", with Snoopy growling at them to get the phrase right; it mixes "HAPPY" and "NEW" into their proper positions.
Charlie Brown eventually finishes his book report - on the last day and night before Christmas break ends. He hands it in to his teacher, and receives a grade of D-minus (the teacher says that "it looks like it was written on the very last night of Christmas vacation"). Linus then prepares Charlie Brown for his next assignment—reading Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. This is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his...
by Dostoyevsky, causing him to faint in his desk.
DVD release
Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
has announced a DVD and high definition Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
release for October 6, 2009 as a bonus feature for the Remastered Deluxe Edition of I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is one of the Peanuts made-for-television specials. The hour-long special first aired on ABC on December 9, 2003...
.
ABC Telecast
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! returned to television for the first time in several years on December 30, 2008, paired along with Rankin-Bass's Rudolph's Shiny New YearRudolph's Shiny New Year
Rudolph's Shiny New Year is the 1976 stop-motion animated sequel to the 1964 television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, produced by Rankin/Bass.-Plot:...
, on current Peanuts rights holder ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
In order to save room for Rudolph's Shiny New Year, ABC made edits to the show:
- Some parts where Charlie Brown's voice is heard while reading "War and Peace" were cut.
- A trip to a store where "War and Peace" products are "sold" was canceled.
- The final minutes was removed entirely.
In a 2010 airing, it was paired with She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown is the 19th prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz...
.
Cast
- Chad AllenChad Allen (actor)Chad Allen is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of seven, Allen is a three-time Young Artist Award winner and GLAAD Media Award honoree, best known for rising to prominence as a teen idol during the late 1980s as David Witherspoon on the NBC family drama,...
: Charlie BrownCharlie BrownCharles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie... - Jeremy MillerJeremy MillerJeremy James Miller is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Ben Seaver on Growing Pains and its two reunion movies...
: Linus van PeltLinus van PeltLinus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt. He first appeared on September 19, 1952; however, he was not mentioned by name until three days later.... - Melissa Guzzi: Lucy van PeltLucy van PeltLucille "Lucy" van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip :Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is a crabby and cynical eight-year old girl, and often bullies the other characters in the strip,...
- Kristie Baker: Peppermint PattyPeppermint PattyPatricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. A freckle-faced auburn/brunette, she is one of a small group in the strip who lives across town from Charlie Brown and his school friends...
- Elizabeth Lyn Fraser: Sally BrownSally BrownSally Brown is the younger sister of Charlie Brown in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She was first mentioned in early 1959 and throughout a long series of strips before her first appearance in August 1959.-Appearance:...
- Bill MelendezBill MelendezJosé Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
: SnoopySnoopySnoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
and WoodstockWoodstock (Peanuts)Woodstock is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. He is Snoopy's closest friend and, after Snoopy, the most recognized non-human in the strip.-History:... - Aron Mandelbaum: SchroederSchroeder (Peanuts)Schroeder is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. He is distinguished by his precocious skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of classical music and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in particular...
- Jason Mendelson: Marcie
- Desirée GoyetteDesirée GoyetteDesirée Goyette is a singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pig, Honey Bunny and numerous others for radio, television and toys...
: Singer ("Slow Slow Quick Quick")
Production credits
- Executive Producer – Lee MendelsonLee MendelsonLee Mendelson is an American television producer. He is best known as the executive producer of the many Peanuts animated specials....
- Produced by – Bill MelendezBill MelendezJosé Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
- Directed by – Bill MelendezBill MelendezJosé Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
and Sam Jaimes - Written by – Charles M. SchulzCharles M. SchulzCharles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
and Warren FosterWarren FosterWarren Foster , was a writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera.... - Music by – Desirée GoyetteDesirée GoyetteDesirée Goyette is a singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pig, Honey Bunny and numerous others for radio, television and toys...
and Ed BogasEd BogasEd Bogas, born Edgar Noel Bogas, and sometimes credited as Edward Bogas, is an American rock musician and composer and whose work has been featured in films, animations, and video games.-Career:...