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Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown is the forty-fifth Peanuts animated special. It is the first special in the series without Bill Melendez on the production team, as he died in 2008. It is also the first special without the involvement of both Lee Mendelson Productions and Bill Melendez Productions, the first special to be formatted in widescreen, and the first special for the Fox television network (all others originally aired on ABC, CBS or NBC). It is polarized on Linus.

Production of the special was first announced to the public by one of the hosts at the 84th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2010. When a balloon depicting Snoopy in his World War I Flying Ace outfit was seen passing by the audience, the host said, "Snoopy fans will be happy to know that next year, a new Peanuts animation will be flying your way."

The special is based on material that had previously appeared in the comic strip, as are all the Peanuts specials after Schulz's death. As a result of the death of Bill Melendez, this special marks the only time the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock were provided by director Andy Beall.

The title is a reference to the phrase "Happiness is a warm puppy" which appeared in the Peanuts comic strip from April 25, 1960. The phrase and variations on it went on to appear on several items of Peanuts merchandise on sale in the 1960s, became a cultural reference and was even used by The Beatles in their song "Happiness Is a Warm Gun".

Plot[]

Warm blanket 020

The unique throwback look of this special also features 1950s mainstays like Patty and Violet Gray.

Linus is pushed to his limits when he learns that his grandmother is coming to visit and plans to rid him of his security blanket. As her arrival looms closer, the other children try to help Linus learn to cope without his childish crutch. Lucy is particularly eager to cure Linus’ dependency by using her own psychiatric methods, and while Charlie Brown tries to help, he does not have the heart to see Linus suffer. All the while Snoopy is constantly agitating matters by wanting the blanket for himself. In the end, Linus points out that everyone has their own type of “security blanket” and that a little security is a valuable thing in life (much to Lucy's chagrin).

Art style[]

In terms of visuals, this special uses a style that is based on older specials, particularly ones such as Charlie Brown's All-Stars. Backgrounds haven’t changed a bit, so they are ostracized from being mentioned further.

The style of the Peanuts gang is a modernized variant of the 60s aesthetics. Other than that, there’s nothing too special to note about it.

Voice cast[]

Frieda, Faron, 5, 3 and 4 have brief cameo appearances, but are silent.

Origins[]

This special is based on several strips that concern Linus and his blanket, although the special is mainly made up of three storylines that center on Lucy trying to get Linus to rid his blanket. They are as follows:

  • The part of the special in which Lucy puts Linus' blanket in the closet until dinner was taken from a storyline that began on October 14, 1957. However, in the strip, Lucy puts Linus' blanket in the closet for two weeks.
  • A scene in the special where Lucy makes a kite out of the blanket and "accidentally" lets go of it is from the June 12, 1962 strip.
  • Lucy burying Linus' blanket is from the January 3, 1961 strip.

DVD[]

The special was released on DVD on March 29, 2011 by Warner Home Video and includes the following:

  • Deconstructing Schulz: From Comic Strip to Screenplay
  • Happiness Is...Finding the Right Voice
  • 24 Frames a Second: Drawing and Animating a Peanuts Movie
  • Deleted scene featuring an introduction by director Andy Beall

Goofs[]

  • Lucy ties the blanket to a kite. The blanket's weight does not cause the kite to fall than it does in real life.
  • Despite what it has been through, the blanket remains in perfect shape throughout the entire special (except when it appears as a tattered flag following the tussle that results in the destruction of Snoopy's doghouse).

TV broadcast[]

Although initially released on DVD, the special was later given its first televised broadcast on the Canadian station, Teletoon, on October 1, 2011. The United States premiere of the special took place on November 24, 2011 on Fox. Keeping in tradition of the 1960s styling of this special, for several Fox affiliates, such as WJBK in Detroit, WAGA in Atlanta and KDFW in Dallas/Fort Worth, this was the first time a Peanuts special had aired on these stations since they lost their CBS affiliation in favor of Fox in 1994 (CBS was the original broadcaster of the majority of the Peanuts specials until 2001, though one aired on NBC instead).

Soundtrack[]

  1. Little Birdie, Buried Blanket
  2. That Stupid Blanket
  3. Linus and Snoopy
  4. Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata)
  5. Happiness is a Warm Blanket1
  6. Vulture Snoopy1
  7. Wash Day
  8. Charlie's Kite
  9. Sonata Opus 26 No. 2
  10. Linus' House of Cards
  11. That Stupid Blanket2
  12. Sally1
  13. Blanket Troubles1
  14. Pig Pen1
  15. The Doctor is In
  16. unknown Beethoven
  17. Break the Habit
  18. Until Dinner
  19. No Substitutes!
  20. Blanket Troubles2
  21. Pig Pen2
  22. Vulture Snoopy2
  23. Run, Beagle, Run
  24. Piano Sonata No. 23
  25. Fix Him Good
  26. Life Unarmed
  27. Blanket Troubles3
  28. Happiness is a Warm Blanket2
  29. That Stupid Blanket3
  30. Star Light, Star Bright
  31. Good Ol' Charlie Brown1
  32. Good Ol' Charlie Brown2
  33. Happiness is a Warm Blanket3
  34. That Stupid Blanket4
  35. One More Day
  36. Sally2
  37. Beethoven's 9th.. Ode to Joy (clip)
  38. Happiness is a Warm Blanket4
  39. Break the Habit2
  40. No. 1 Champion Blah
  41. Vulture Snoopy3
  42. Beagle Drag
  43. Pig Pen3
  44. Sally3
  45. Happiness is a Warm Blanket5 (ending)

Notes[]

  • The special has a decidedly "retro" look, with characters primarily looking like how they looked in the 1960s, around the time of the original TV specials. The girls appear anachronistic for 2011, as they are wearing their traditional dresses rather than shirts and pants. Additionally, props and other objects appear as they would have in the 1960s, such as Schroeder's vinyl record collection and player, and the Van Pelt family's television set being an old-fashioned cathode ray tube model with an antenna.
  • The part where Snoopy uses a blue blanket at a parachute is similar to how Elmo uses his blue blanket as a parachute in the 1999 film, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
  • This is the only Peanuts TV special released in the 2010s.
  • This special was animated overseas at Yearim Productions, known for providing overseas animation for many modern Warner Bros. cartoons.
  • Additionally, Violet, Patty, and Shermy are featured (though those characters had long been absent from TV specials), while characters introduced after 1965, such as Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Franklin, Rerun, and the Little Red-Haired Girl are nowhere to be seen, while Frieda's role is only silent.
  • Despite this special focusing on Linus, Rerun is never mentioned nor seen. Presumably it takes place before his birth.
  • Woodstock only appears at the beginning, and is nowhere to be seen in the rest of the special.
  • This is the last Peanuts TV special in over 10 years. The next special would not be released until 2021.
  • Despite the special being released in 2011, the copyright date is 2010, likely it was produced late that year.
  • This special would be the last Peanuts animation in which Sally's dress was colored baby blue. Starting with the 2014 series, it would become pink.
    • After many years of sharing a shade of green, Shermy's shirt and Violet's dress in the special were recolored to be a dark green and light green, respectively. This would also be the last time their clothing would be colored green.
  • The Spanish DVD was released in Mexico on March 18, 2011, 11 days after the American release.
    • This was the first special to be released early in another country since Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!, as well as the first country to do so besides Canada and the first to be non-English, although the English audio track was included.

Gallery[]

External links[]

Peanuts Animated Features
TV Specials Released 1960s A Charlie Brown ChristmasCharlie Brown's All-StarsIt's the Great Pumpkin...You're in Love...He's Your Dog...It Was a Short Summer...
1970s Play It Again...You're Not Elected...There's No Time for Love...A Charlie Brown ThanksgivingIt's a Mystery...It's the Easter Beagle...Be My Valentine...You're a Good Sport...It's Arbor Day...It's Your First Kiss...What a Nightmare...You're the Greatest...
1980s She's a Good Skate...Life Is a Circus...It's Magic...Someday You'll Find Her...A Charlie Brown CelebrationIs This Goodbye...?It's an Adventure...What Have We Learned...?It's Flashbeagle...Snoopy's Getting Married...You're a Good Man...Happy New Year...!Snoopy!!! The MusicalIt's the Girl in the Red Truck...
1990s Why, Charlie Brown, Why?Snoopy's ReunionIt's Spring Training...It's Christmastime Again...You're in the Super Bowl...It Was My Best Birthday Ever...
2000s It's the Pied Piper...A Charlie Brown ValentineCharlie Brown's Christmas TalesLucy Must Be Traded...I Want a Dog for Christmas...He's a Bully...
2010s Happiness Is a Warm Blanket...
2020s For Auld Lang SyneIt's The Small Things...To Mom (and Dad), With LoveLucy's SchoolOne-of-a-Kind MarcieWelcome Home, Franklin
Movies A Boy Named Charlie BrownSnoopy, Come HomeRace for Your Life, Charlie BrownBon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!!)The Peanuts Movie
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Season 1 "Snoopy's Cat Fight" • "Snoopy: Team Manager" • "Linus and Lucy" • "Lucy vs. the World" • "Linus' Security Blanket" • "Snoopy: Man's Best Friend" • "Snoopy the Psychiatrist" • "You Can't Win, Charlie Brown" • "The Lost Ballpark" • "Snoopy's Football Career" • "Chaos in the Classroom" • "It's That Team Spirit, Charlie Brown" • "Lucy Loves Schroeder"
Season 2 "Snoopy and the Giant" • "Snoopy's Brother Spike" • "Snoopy's Robot" • "Peppermint Patty's School Days" • "Sally's Sweet Babboo"
This Is America, Charlie Brown "The Mayflower Voyagers" • "The Birth of the Constitution" • "The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk" • "The NASA Space Station" • "The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad" • "The Great Inventors" • "The Smithsonian and the Presidency" • "The Music and Heroes of America"
Snoopy in Space "The Application" • "Training" • "The Graduation" • "Welcome to the ISS" • "I Never Promised You a Space Garden" • "Space Sleepwalking" • "The Journey on Orion" • "Crater Crash" • "Searching for Moon Rocks" • "You're a Good Moon, Charlie Brown" • "The Next Mission" • "Mars or Bust"
Others Peanuts (2014 TV series) • Peanuts Motion ComicsThe Snoopy ShowCamp Snoopy
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