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:

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

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Taglines:

It's hobgoblins and treats galore. Join the "Peanuts" gang as they await the arrival of the legendary Great Pumpkin who is bringing gifts for good little boys and girls. How will Charlie Brown come out?

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

When writing a letter to the Great Pumpkin, Linus states, "You must get discouraged because more people believe in Santa Claus than in you. Well, let's face it, Santa Claus has had more publicity, but being #2, perhaps you try harder." This is a reference to an advertising slogan for Avis Rent-a-Car that was well known in the 1960s.

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Goofs

Linus and Sally have the moon behind them in the pumpkin patch while Snoopy has the moon behind him as well. They are facing each other, therefore making it seem as though there are two moons.

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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

Referenced in Fresh Off the Boat: It's a Plastic Pumpkin, Louis Huang (2017)

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Soundtracks

Breathless
(uncredited)
Written by John Scott Trotter
Performed by The Vince Guaraldi Sextet

User Reviews

Excellent film

This special is great. I love the background music, especially the upbeat tempo played while Charlie Brown dances because he has finally been invited to a Halloween party...by mistake. The scene with Snoopy and the Red Baron is an abrupt switch from the storyline, but it is very well done; 5 minutes or so without any talking.

Did anyone notice how big the moon is in the pumpkin patch? It is huge!

Details

Official Sites:

Snoopy.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3