A Charlie Brown Christmas (Bill Melendez, 1965)
This short film has always been a favorite of mine while
preparing for Christmas since my childhood. Not having cable TV until I was 25
years old forced me to watch shows on standard television. The Charlie Brown
specials were some of my favorites. Fond memories of those little shorts of
minimalism filled with Charles M. Schulz’s
great characters will follow me all my life.
The original A Charlie
Brown Christmas is by far my favorite. Directed by Bill Melendez, in fact he directed every Charlie Brown special,
Charlie Brown is tired and depressed because Christmas has become
over-commercialised and he lost the true spirit of the festivities. He goes to
Lucy’s psychiatrist booth and she hires him to direct their Christmas play.
With his new mission Charlie Brown hopes to get the true spirit. Helped by all
his friends and his dog, Snoopy, he will find the real spirit of this holiday.
After rewatching this classic lately, I thought to myself
how much sarcasm and cynicism there was in the message of its main character.
Enough, for me to say that it related even more to me since I am an adult now
and that I see more what has become the whole Christmas thing. Just like Frank Capra’s
It’s A Wonderful Life, it is not the
most cheerful movie or short but its ending and the whole meaning behind it
reminds us why we like to celebrate and get together. Even if, Charlie Brown
stands on the fact that catholic beliefs are the main reason why we get
together, it is also a Holiday where we try to all get along and take some free
time to be with the people we love and care.
One cannot write about this and forget to mention its iconic
soundtrack conducted by Vince Guaraldi with the Lucy and Linus song, O
Tannenbum, and Hark! Ye Merry
Gentlemen amongst other masterpieces of this soundtrack. It is a must have
and if you don’t own a copy on CD or vinyl of this album you must buy it right
away to get it in time for Christmas. It is jazzy and it captures Charlie Brown
and Christmas at the same time. Without its soundtrack A Charlie Christmas wouldn’t have worked as well as a classic. This
is why it is by far better than let’s say Frosty
the Snowman. Now go to your local record store and buy. If they don’t have
it order it!
With Charlie Brown, there’s always a feeling of bittersweet
moral that takes even the most cynic and the brownest of us to joy and
celebration. I have a great admiration for Schulz’s work and for me Charlie
Brown might be the most iconic comics trip of all time. I just hope that the
tradition of A Charlie Brown Christmas
won’t end soon because it remembers us how timeless Christmas and more
importantly how Charlie Brown is timeless.
I found it quite melancholic, which is not what I would usually associate with Christmas, but I guess as you said the C Brown character is kind of depressed, so makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's rewatchable, whether a kid or grown-up, and I like the social commentary how the season has become too commerical. I still prefer You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967) if I had to pick out my favorite Charlie Brown short.