Review of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

There are not many movies or tv programs I watch on a yearly basis because of how ingrained in American culture they are, but this is definitely one of them. While I don't consider it quite as classic as the Peanuts Christmas special, The Great Pumpkin is still a timeless thing that people will always continue to watch whenever Halloween arrives. The story in this centers on Linus believing he is destined to come face to face with The Great Pumpkin; basically the halloween equivalent of Santa Claus who delivers presents and toys to all who have faith in his existence. First things first, he goes with his sister Lucy to a large pumpkin patch in order to pick out a suitable pumpkin to bring home. After finding one, Linus is sad once he discovers the reason his sister wanted it: to kill it and turn it into a jack o' lantern. Later on, Charlie Brown is raking leaves outside when he is approached by Lucy, the latter wanting him to take part in her infamous football gag. Charlie, convinced she's just going to pull it away right when he's about to kick it (like she always does), refuses, but Lucy produces a signed document promising not to pull it away. When Charlie tries to kick it, she pulls it away anyway, saying the document wasn't notorized. Meanwhile, Linus is hard at work trying to write a letter to his beloved Great Pumpkin, with all the other characters mocking and pitying him. Charlie Brown's sister Sally would never laugh at Linus and wants to wait in a pumpkin patch with him for the Great Pumpkin. While the other kids set out to go trick or treating, they stop by the pumpkin patch to make fun of Linus' dumb decision to stay there all night waiting for something that doesn't exist. While trick or treating, Lucy asks for an extra piece of candy for her stupid brother, and Charlie Brown gets nothing but rocks. Sally stays behind and misses trick or treating in favor of being with Linus. Snoopy, dressed as a fighter pilot from World War 1, climbs on top of his doghouse and takes off in search of Manfred von Richthofen; the Red Baron. He is shot down and forced to sneak away from his doghouse through the countryside, eventually coming upon Violet's house and a halloween party. Snoopy listens to Schroeder play the piano and then sneaks out again, this time to the pumpkin patch Linus is waiting in. He rises up from it, and Linus, thinking his savior has finally come, faints in excitement. Sally is enraged and yells at Linus for keeping her up all night waiting for a fictional pumpkin who never showed up. Halloween is gone and she missed all the fun activities. Early in the morning on November first, Lucy goes outside to retrieve her sleeping brother from the pumpkin patch and puts him to bed. When day arrives, Charlie Brown tries to cheer up Linus about the Great Pumpkin not showing up, as he's done stupid things in his life too. Linus takes great offense to this comment and says the Great Pumpkin will definitely show up next year. This is an all time classic. Being the first big halloween special to be shown on tv, this thing essentially invented a genre. During its first broadcast, nearly half of all americans with a television set tuned in to watch this. Just like the Christmas special, they got actual kids to voice the characters, which should be an indication of Schulz's attention to quality. It just wouldn't be authentic enough if they got adults to do it. Not everything you watch on or near halloween needs to be creepy enough to frighten you for a long time, and the success this has had proves that.