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

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pandilla de Charlie Brown

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 main story line of this movie, involving Charlie Brown's participation in a spelling bee, was taken from a sequence that originally appeared in the comic strip. In that story, however, Charlie Brown lost in the first round of the competition, misspelling the word "maze" M-A-Y-S. He later loses his temper at the teacher and is sent to the principal's office; as he waits in the hall, he reflects that the reason he misspelled the word was that when he heard the word "maze," the first thing he thought of was the surname of famed baseball player Willie Mays. This last half of the story had been used in You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967), when Charlie Brown inadvertently yelled at the teacher for "missing the stupid bus" (after he overslept).

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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

During the closing credits, not only are the crew members' names seen, but the crew members themselves are also seen! The images are seen one person at a time corresponding with whatever name appears on the screen.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A good film

A Boy Named Charlie Brown is a solid film in my opinion. Great music, a good plot, and real trippy animation and montages. Vince G. really out did himself for this one.

The basic concept of this movie is that Charlie Brown is fed up with his title as a loser, a failure and a wash-out, so he gets in the class spelling bee and wins. He's finally heralded as a winner, life is sweet.

Well, after chilling out for a while, he studies for the all state spelling bee with the help of his best friend Linus, who gives him his beloved blanket for good luck. Now for the sub-plot

Linus is slowly sinking in his own personal hell because of the absents of his blue blanket, so they (Snoopy and Linus) go to the location of the bee and catch up with Charlie who is sleeping at the time. Snoopy abandons Linus and goes ice skating with the song "skating" playing in the background. To find out the end of the film, you'll just have to rent it from your local video store

Like i said earlier, I very much enjoyed the Music in this film. Very 60's, but still staying true to the peanuts style of music. I very much enjoyed the theme song to the movie and there rendition of the national anthem. So bravo Boy Named Charlie Brown, you are truly a good film