It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin.

Director:

Bill Melendez

Writer:

Charles M. Schulz

Stars:

Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Sally Dryer

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Peter Robbins	...	Charlie Brown (voice)
Christopher Shea	...	Linus Van Pelt (voice) (as Chris Shea)
Sally Dryer	...	Lucy Van Pelt (voice)
Cathy Steinberg	...	Sally Brown (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ann Altieri	...	Frieda / Violet (voice)
Lisa DeFaria	...	Patty (voice)
Bill Melendez	...	Snoopy (voice)
Glenn Mendelson	...	Schroeder / Shermy (voice)
Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter	...	Pigpen (voice) (as Gail DeFaria)

Storyline

The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween, with Linus hoping that, finally, he will be visited by The Great Pumpkin; while Charlie Brown is invited to a Halloween party.

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Plot Keywords:

pumpkin patch | halloween | pumpkin | peanuts | trick or treating | 

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Taglines:

Peanuts, pumpkins, and pleasure for the whole family! (2008 DVD re-release)

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

ABC [United States] Snoopy.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Peanuts - Der große Kürbis

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lee Mendelson Film Productions,Bill Melendez Productions,United Feature Syndicate (UFS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lucy's signature move - pulling the football away from Chuck as he's about to kick it, causing him to fly through the air and land on his back - was animated for the first time here.

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Goofs

In the opening scene in which Lucy and Linus go out to the pumpkin patch, we see the setting sun in the background, which the children pass as they walk. However, the sun (just like the moon when we drive a car) would not be "passed" as though it were a stationary object; rather it would "move" along with the person moving. A second setting sun appears at the end of the same shot, after the children turn a corner and walk in another direction.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Lucy scoops out the innards of the pumpkin Linus brought]
Linus: [groans] You didn't tell me you were gonna kill it!
[bawls]

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Crazy Credits

Linus and Charlie Brown are at the wall and Charlie tells Linus that he's done stupid things in his life, too. Then Linus keeps on shouting during the credits about how sitting and waiting in a pumpkin patch wasn't stupid.

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Alternate Versions

The original 1966 version had longer opening credits to acknowledge the sponsors. Modern broadcast versions and home video releases have the opening fade away after an owl approaches. One scene that followed was the gang, in their Halloween costumes, being frightened by a ghost dancing on a pumpkin. They run away, and the "ghost" then throws off his white sheet, and we see it was actually Snoopy, who continues dancing.

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Connections

Featured in A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)

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Soundtracks

It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary
(uncredited)
Written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams
Arranged and Performed by Vince Guaraldi

User Reviews

Brings back a flood of memories every time I watch it...

I grew up with this and all the other Peanuts specials. I remember sitting up until 8:00pm (late for me at that age) and loving it. I remember the Mounds and Almond Joy ads. I even remember the catchy CBS "Special Presentation" intro. What can be said for this classic that hasn't been said before? From Linus and Sally in the pumpkin patch all night to the still quoted "I got a rock!" line, not many holiday specials that don't involve Charlie Brown and the gang bring a smile to my face like It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Schulz.

My grade: A+