A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)

Charlie Brown makes his way to the national spelling bee finals.

Director:

Bill Melendez

Writers:

Charles M. Schulz (created by), Charles M. Schulz

Stars:

Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Robbins	...	Charlie Brown (voice)
Pamelyn Ferdin	...	Lucy Van Pelt (voice)
Glenn Gilger	...	Linus Van Pelt (voice)
Andy Pforsich	...	Schroeder (voice)
Sally Dryer	...	Patty (voice)
Ann Altieri	...	Violet (voice) (as Anne Altieri)
Erin Sullivan	...	Sally (voice)
Lynda Mendelson	...	Frieda (voice) (as Linda Mendelson)
Christopher DeFaria	...	Pig Pen (voice)
David Carey	...	2nd Boy (voice)
Guy Pforsich	...	3rd Boy (voice)
Bill Melendez	...	Snoopy (voice)

Storyline

Poor Charlie Brown. He can't fly a kite, and he always loses in baseball. Having his faults projected onto a screen by Lucy doesn't help him much either. Against the sage advice and taunting of the girls in his class, he volunteers for the class spelling bee...and wins! Next, it's the school spelling bee. Once again, a winner! Good grief! Now the pressure is on as he is off to New York City for the televised national spelling bee. With Snoopy and Linus present for moral support, can Charlie Brown spell his way to a national championship?

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Plot Keywords:

cartoon | new york city | elementary school | spelling bee | loser | 

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Taglines:

The Peanuts' Gang in their First Movie!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pandilla de Charlie Brown

Box Office

Gross USA:

$13,080,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Center Films, Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Bill Melendez Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 79 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"A Boy Named Charlie Brown" was the *very first* animated film produced by CBS Films, which was known as Cinema Center Films at that time. Cinema Center would be active until late 1972, after which CBS closed their theatrical film division and didn't reactivate it until 1982, when the company would be called CBS Theatrical Films. (Ironically, the second "Peanuts" film three years later, Snoopy Come Home (1972), would be the *last* Cinema Center production). Naturally, CBS *still* owns "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," and their sister company, Paramount Home Entertainment, has released the film on DVD (along with "Snoopy Come Home").

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Goofs

(at around 48 mins) When Charlie Brown checks into the hotel, he unpacks his bag and throws a green shirt into the drawer, yet he always wears the same yellow and black shirt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lucy Van Pelt: Aren't the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud's formations. What do you think you see, Linus?
Linus Van Pelt: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean.
[points up]
Linus Van Pelt: That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there....
[...]

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the opening credits, when Snoopy plays "vulture" sitting on a tree, he slips and crashes on the "Directed by Bill Melendez" credit, which dashes into scattered black text below.

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Alternate Versions

On May 26, 1979 CBS aired a 60-minute version.

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Connections

Featured in Greatest Animated Movies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Champion Charlie Brown
Music and Lyrics by Rod McKuen

User Reviews

Charming characters, unique animation, and a great lesson...

1st watched 10/30/2004 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Bill Melendez): Charming characters, unique animation, and a great lesson. Excellent slow-paced introduction to each character in this Peanuts cartoon with all the trademark character traits being brought out one at a time. Some very psychedelic-type animation matches the era(the late 60's) during a musical piece by Schroeder as well as a well-done rendition of the national anthem initiating the baseball season for the Peanuts gang. The only down-points are some of the songs, especially a small ditty called "Failure Face" sung by the girls to Charlie. The story follows the down-in-his-luck hero Charlie and his attempts to do something as a winner by entering a spelling bee contest for his school. The lesson here, which you have to wait till the end to see, is that as long as you keep trying there will be little victories in life and that you can't change others but you can do the best for you and that's whats important. Schulz doesn't try to color-coat life, he shows that it is as it is which is another appealing trait. Aside from these deep meanings embedded, this is also a very funny and light-hearted film(with many great moments from Snoopy, of course, for comic relief) that I consider a classic since these characters very rarely made it to the big screen and this effort is done very well.