Why, Charlie Brown, Why? (TV 1990)

Linus falls for a new girl who soon must go to the hospital for cancer treatment.

Director:

Sam Jaimes

Writer:

Charles M. Schulz

Stars:

Kaleb Henley, Brandon Stewart, Olivia Burnette

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kaleb Henley	...	Charlie Brown (voice)
Brandon Stewart	...	Linus Van Pelt (voice)
Olivia Burnette	...	Janice Emmons (voice)
Adrienne Stiefel	...	Sally Brown (voice)
Jennifer Banko	...	Lucy Van Pelt (voice)
Dion Zamora	...	The Bully (voice)
Brittany Thornton	...	Little Sister (voice)
Lindsay Sloane	...	Big Sister (voice)
Bill Melendez	...	Snoopy / Woodstock (voice)

Storyline

A new girl comes to the neighbourhood school and Linus is smitten with her. Unfortunately, she develops the symptoms of leukemia and must go to the hospital for cancer treatment. Linus and Charlie Brown help her through the traumas of chemotherapy as best they can while Snoopy plays at being the world's greatest doctor.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | cancer | leukemia | chemotherapy | school | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family

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Details

Official Sites:

Snoopy.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Por qué, Charlie Brown, por qué?

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, United Feature Syndicate (UFS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally planned as a 5-minute educational video to be shown to young cancer patients, Charles M. Schulz suggested that the project be expanded to a full half-hour special. CBS and producer Bill Melendez initially balked at the idea, but went ahead with it, due to Schulz's enthusiasm of the project. Schulz was touched by the idea, as his mother Dena succumbed to cancer on the night he was drafted for WWII.

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Goofs

Sally claims she left her lunch sitting on the curb. However, there is no sign of a lunchox in the scene beforehand, when the kids get on the bus. It doesn't show up until after the bus pulls away and Snoopy rushes for it.

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Quotes

Linus van Pelt: [sad about Janice at the hospital] Why, Charlie Brown, why?

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #4.1 (1991)

User Reviews

She's Got Cancer, Charlie Brown!

This one will probably continue to hold the award for Most Annoying Shouting By An Aggrieved Child until the 5th Harry Potter book is filmed. These Charlie Brown cartoons always had an unpolished speaking style for the kids' voices, which in the early days was cute and winning. The stilted shouting was funny when it was Linus ranting about the Great Pumpkin. But they use the exact same phony-sounding style when the issue being discussed is cancer, so the whole thing comes off as hokey. The worst part is when Linus lectures an insensitive kid on his cruel comments about the girl who's lost her hair through chemotherapy. It's loud, toneless, and self-righteous, and just made me want to belt him in the mouth, rather than making me feel sympathetic.