Cover to the DVD release by Warner Home Video.
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is a 2002 animated Christmas special based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. It was the third Peanuts Christmas special following A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown. It was created to pad out the hour for whenever the full unedited version of A Charlie Brown Christmas aired on ABC.
Synopsis
The special consists of a series of vignettes, each one starring a different member of the Peanuts gang in various Christmas time situations.
"Happy Holidays from Snoopy"
Lucy is ice-skating at the pond and mentions that her skating club is having a Christmas show this year. She figures she could participate if she could get a partner, preferably one who is "handsome and graceful." Snoopy skates by, seemingly offering to be her partner, but she tells him to get away from her. She then tries to ask Schroeder, who is currently playing hockey, if he would be her partner, but he refuses. Snoopy skates by again and accidentally knocks her down. Lucy angrily tells him there isn’t enough room for both of them on the pond.
Later, Snoopy is working as a street corner Santa when Rerun shows up, demanding to know why Santa didn't bring him all the things he wanted last year. Snoopy responds by barking angrily at him, and is later seen playing "Oh! Susanna" on the accordion, which Lucy comments "isn't very Christmasy" as she and Linus walk by. Upon hearing that, he quickly switches to "Christmas Time Is Here", with Woodstock whistling in unison.
Sometime later, Snoopy is sleeping on top of his doghouse and gets buried by snow. Upon awakening, he kicks the snow off of his roof only for it to land on the ferocious cat who lives next door. Charlie Brown suggests that Snoopy should try to make peace and show some holiday spirit to the cat, but when Snoopy tries to do so, the cat takes a ferocious swipe and leaves a Christmas tree-shaped hole in Snoopy's house.
"Yuletide Greetings from Linus"
Linus tries to write a letter to Santa Claus, stating he doesn't really want any presents and wouldn't mind if Santa skipped their house this year. Lucy criticizes his letter and crumples it up, telling him to try again. Linus starts another letter, asking if Santa's sleigh is ready, but then throws it away. He begins yet another letter, admitting he's not sure what he wants for Christmas, and suggests Santa send him a catalog.
At school, Linus confides in Charlie Brown that he's a bit smitten with a new girl who sits behind him, but her always-changing name is confusing him. When the girl in question announces her name today is Jezebel, Linus points out that was the name of King Ahab's evil wife in the Old Testament. She immediately changes it, saying her name is now Susan. Later, as Linus works on his Christmas card list, he asks the girl for her home address. She asks, "Aren't you kind of old for me?" which completely annoys Linus. He snaps that he's not asking her to marry him, but that outburst lands him in the principal's office. "Joy to the World," Linus responds.
Later, at lunchtime, the girl gives Linus her home address and then announces her name is now Lydia, adding that last week it was Rebecca, though she also likes being called Rachel. Linus, exasperated, decides he'll just address the girl as "Her" on his card. A few days later, Lucy tells Linus that the Christmas card he sent to the girl was returned because the address was nonexistent. Linus is aggravated by this, complaining that the girl is going to drive him crazy. When Lucy asks why he bothers with her, Linus responds, "She fascinates me."
"Season's Greetings from Sally"
Sally announces to Charlie Brown that she's making paper airplanes for everyone this Christmas and gives him an early one. She then starts writing a letter to Santa, who she believes is a woman named Samantha Claus. In her letter, she includes a request for "Samantha" to bring Charlie Brown a new bicycle, but quickly takes that back after Charlie Brown jokes about her mistake. Later, Sally comes home from school, upset and embarrassed because the kids laughed at her for thinking Santa's name was Samantha, convinced she made a complete fool of herself.
After addressing her Christmas cards and hearing Linus' story of the Three Wise Men, Sally announces she's going out to "fall down a Christmas tree." When Charlie Brown questions her, she explains, "I don't know how to cut down a Christmas tree. When I look at it, I hope it'll just fall down." She finds a small tree outside a neighbor's yard. The kid who lives there questions her presence, to which she responds she's waiting for the tree to fall down. The kid laughs, saying she can have it if it really falls over — at which point it does.
After Sally brings the tree home, the kid shows up on their front porch, demanding she return it. Sally refuses, threatening to send Snoopy (who's currently decorating the tree) after him if he doesn't leave. That night, however, Sally can't sleep and asks Charlie Brown if she should return the tree, despite not feeling guilty. That is, until Charlie Brown reminds her that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The next morning, Sally and Snoopy arrive at the kid's house to bring the tree back, but he surprises them by saying she's allowed to keep it.
Later, as Charlie Brown is helping Sally redecorate the tree, he tells her about how their grandmother always hung her stocking up on Christmas Eve and would always find it full of apples and oranges. Sally grabs a sock out of her dresser drawer and, noticing how small it is, observes, "I can see it now - three grapes." She then decides to hang a lot of socks on the chimney.
"Peace on Earth from Lucy"
Lucy wishes Charlie Brown a merry Christmas, saying she believes they should put aside their differences and try to be kind at this time of the year; when Charlie Brown asks why they cannot be like this all through the year, she calls him a fanatic.
Later, while visiting Schroeder, Lucy gives him a list of things that "you might want to give me," which he promptly throws away. Lucy then remarks that she does not want Schroeder to buy anything for her, because she knows that he hates her; when Schroeder points out that he has never said that, she loudly screams "Then buy me something!!"
At home, Lucy gets Linus to write her letter to Santa as she dictates. She claims to have been perfect all year, a claim that Linus immediately questions; she responds by punching him out and then saying she has an opening for a new secretary. She then starts writing the letter herself, saying she hopes Santa is in good health and telling him to drive safely.
Later, when Lucy asks if Linus would like to know which things she would like for Christmas, he declines, saying he wants his gift for her to be a surprise. Lucy is pleased at that thought, but Linus apparently has no intention of giving her a present. Lucy insists to Linus that he has to give her a Christmas present, claiming that it says so in the Bible. Linus tells her it doesn't actually say that in the Bible, but Lucy claims he does have to give her a present anyway because the word "sister" is mentioned in the Bible.
"Merry Christmas from Charlie Brown"
Charlie Brown is working on a card for the Little Red-Haired Girl and asks Linus for advice. Sally then comes by and calls Linus her "Sweet Babboo", much to his annoyance. After Linus complains about Sally always calling him that, Charlie Brown shows him the finished card, which is signed "Merry Christmas from your Sweet Babboo." (Charlie Brown says that it is a family expression.)
When Charlie Brown points out that they should leave a snack for Santa Claus, Sally initially suggests broccoli before deciding on putting a plate of cookies by the tree, and then hiding someplace so she can see Santa. A few minutes later, Sally thinks to have seen Santa, but it is actually Snoopy in his Santa outfit.
On Christmas Eve, Sally wakes up Charlie Brown in the middle of the night, saying she was dreaming about sugarplums and needs to know what they are. He tells her they are a type of hard candy. The next morning, she wakes him up, saying Santa didn't leave him anything, and then adds "April Fool!" Later, Charlie Brown receives a call from Lucy, asking if Snoopy likes the sweater she made for him. Charlie Brown then tells Sally that he had ordered a toy bicycle for her doll set, but it never came, as it was likely delivered to the wrong address. Sally angrily hopes that whoever got it likes it; it is then shown that Woodstock received the toy bicycle.
Voice cast
- Wesley Singerman – Charlie Brown/"Ugly kid"
- Serena Berman – Lucy van Pelt
- Corey Padnos – Linus van Pelt
- Megan Taylor Harvey – Sally Brown
- Christopher Ryan Johnson – Schroeder
- Lauren Schaffel – Lydia
- Bill Melendez – Snoopy/Woodstock
Soundtrack
- "Holiday Interlude"
- "Skating"
- "Oh, Susannah" (traditional, accordion variation)
- "Christmas Time Is Here" (instrumental, accordion variation)
- "Christmas is Coming"
- "Charlie Brown Theme"
- "Pebble Beach"
- "Oh, Good Grief"
- "Oh, Tannenbaum" (traditional, arranged by Benoit)
- "You're in Love, Charlie Brown"
- "Fur Elise" (Beethoven)
- "Blue Charlie Brown"
- "Christmas Time is Here" (instrumental)
- "Linus and Lucy"
Trivia
- At 18 minutes, this is the shortest Peanuts special to date.
- This one of the two specials not to have a cold opening at the beginning, the other being Snoopy!!! The Musical.
- This was the only special before 2006 to not get a VHS release.
- In the original comic strip, Snoopy played "Lady of Spain" on the concertina as Santa, but due to music rights issues, the public domain song "Oh, Susannah" was used instead.
Gallery
External links
- Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales on Christmas Specials Wiki.
- Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales on the Internet Movie Database.
- Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales on AllMovie.