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

The pre-credit scene and a portion of the opening titles of this movie appear on the 1991 Fox Video VHS release of The King and I (1956); a voice is eventually heard mumbling that it is the wrong movie, and then the real movie starts instead.

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Goofs

Lucy gives Snoopy Charlie Brown's red kite and he flies it. Cut to a long shot, where the kite Snoopy is holding is yellow.

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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

The movie's title, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," is shown in separate words, shot-by-shot ("A" "Boy" "Named" "Charlie Brown" in colorful text), against a black background. Charlie Brown himself appears in the next shot, with his clothes' colors inverted (with the black background), and they fade to their normal color once the background changes to yellow.

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Alternate Versions

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

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Connections

Followed by Snoopy: The Musical (1988)

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Soundtracks

A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Music and Lyrics by Rod McKuen
Performed by Rod McKuen

User Reviews

Close to the spirit of the strip in terms of content and animation but also contains imaginative additions

Charlie Brown is a young boy who cannot ever seem to do anything right. His baseball team always loses the first and last games of the season (as well as most of the ones in between) and he gets the blame. He never gets a moment's rest from his friends putting him down as the designated goat – even his dog gives him a rough ride. Determined to show that he is more than just a failure, Charlie enters the school spelling bee, aiming for victory – but can he stand up under the pressure that awaits him? Meanwhile Linus goes cold-turkey.

I have seen several of the Peanuts features and have enjoyed them as a fan but been the first to put my hands up and say that they are neither great films or totally captured the spirit of the strip. However with this feature I am pleased to report that it was pretty much spot on in both regards. The plot starts well and the first half of the film is an enjoyable collection of episodes that act like individual strips while still moving the film forward. The second half moves into more solid territory with the spelling-bee but even then it keeps it together and is well structured. The humour of the piece will appeal to those who enjoy the strip – not hilarious but it has some funny moments as well as the amusing philosophising that they all do. The film benefits from imaginative writing that adds humour in various ways – Snoopy drinking the water and Linus going cold-turkey are two such examples. Only the actual spelling bee final is a little slow as it is a couple of minutes of spelling!

The film isn't heavy with songs like other features I've seen and the animation is nicely close to the strip and pleased me as a fan. However, again an added bonus, the animation opens out every now and again to become something much more sublime (and that word is not an exaggeration). Snoopy taking to ice becomes a blur of colour, while Linus playing the piano becomes close to art! It may not be as polished as Disney but it is really cool and imaginative while still staying within the Peanuts style. The voice work is all good – a little flat at times but it suits the characters (of course I'm used to them by now so I didn't have the 'problem' of imagining them myself first).

Another reviewer has put this film on a par with Fantasia and, while I wouldn't say that, I can see what they mean. The plot moves the film forward but also manages to capture the spirit of the strip really well. Likewise the animation is very close to the strip and is pleasing to watch. Both these aspects are made better by a series of imaginative touches – in the writing it is funny little gags and the strips' usual philosophising while in the animation it is a series of imaginative fantasy sequences that really make the film feel like something special. The most pleasing Peanuts movie I have seen.