It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown is the sixteenth animated television special based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. It first aired on CBS at 8:00pm on Monday, October 24, 1977.
Plot[]
It is homecoming at Charlie Brown's school, and Charlie Brown and Linus are among the consorts for the Homecoming Queen and her court. During the Homecoming Parade, when Linus tells Charlie Brown that he will be the consort for the Queen, the latter is surprised when he learns that the Queen is the Little Red-Haired Girl, whose name is revealed to be Heather. After Linus tells him about the Homecoming traditionāthat the queen's consort must escort her and give her a kiss on the cheek before the first dance, Charlie Brown becomes more horrified and hyperventilates, fainting off the float.
The Homecoming Game begins with Snoopy as the referee and Charlie Brown on the team as kicker. Unfortunately, even in a real football game with many spectators (and Woodstock as a TV cameraman), Lucy, also on the team as the placekick setter, is unable to resist humiliating Charlie Brown, pulling the ball away just as he tries to kick it. She tells Charlie Brown that she would never pull a prank so low or even embarrass him in front of everyone; but apparently, her actions do not seem to match her words. Even later when he brings her a kicking tee and she tosses it aside and he reminds her of her prank, she again reminds him she would never do such a thing. To make matters worse, even though Lucy is clearly the guilty one, the team (particularly Peppermint Patty) blames Charlie Brown for the failed kicks. With just 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Charlie Brown has a chance to become a hero and kick a field goal for the win, but Lucy again pulls the ball away, and the team loses by only one point as Charlie Brown instead ends up being the goat.
Despite the humiliation, Charlie Brown still arrives at the dance to the surprise of his teammates, some of whom (including Lucy herself, now!) think it would have been better if he did not show up at all. Remaining faithful to his duty, Charlie Brown shows up to escort Heather to the middle of the dance floor. Naturally, Charlie Brown becomes very nervous. He is extremely nervous while walking up to her, and becomes more nervous with every step he takes. Eventually he makes it up to her, and somehow finds the courage to kiss her on the cheek. From that moment forward everything is a composite blur, with Charlie Brown having euphoric visions that he is flying, and doing many impossible things.
Charlie Brown wakes up the next morning, and walks to the wall, his usual hangout. He meets up with Linus, who proceeds to tell Charlie Brown that though he might have lost the game, he definitely took the honors at the dance, when he kissed Heather, and he was the life of the party, to which Charlie Brown says "I did what?" It is then revealed that Charlie Brown has no memory as to what happened the previous night.
In disbelief, Charlie Brown says "What good is it to do anything, Linus, if you can't remember what you did?" Regardless, Linus reminds him that at least it was his first kiss and the story ends with Charlie Brown smiling with quiet satisfaction.
Voice cast[]
- Arrin Skelley ā Charlie Brown
- Daniel Anderson ā Linus van Pelt
- Michelle Muller ā Lucy van Pelt
- Laura Planting ā Peppermint Patty
- Ronald Hendrix ā Franklin/"Pig-Pen"/Shermy
- Casey Carlson - Marcie
- Roseline Rubens ā Frieda (laughing only)
- Bill Melendez -Snoopy/Woodstock
Sally, Violet, Schroeder and the Little Red-Haired Girl appear but are silent.
Notes[]
- Although the Little Red-Haired Girl is shown and has a name (Heather) in this special, Charles M. Schulz considered the TV specials to exist in a different continuity to the comic strip, so, technically, the Little Red-Haired Girl in Peanuts remains unseen and unnamed. Schulz later came to regret having given permission for the character to appear and to be named in the special.
- Lucy pulls the football gag on Charlie Brown four times in this one special, making this special the one in which the football gag is pulled the most times.
- Suffice it to say, among Peanuts fans, no other special caused more controversy than this one did, when Charlie Brown's teammates and friends, even Linus, somehow fail to catch that it is Lucy's fault Charlie Brown misses the football. The ultimate travesty is that Lucy herself says "Yeah, you've got some nerve, Charlie Brown... Haha, what a laugh! Who would want to be your date, after today's game! If you're smart, Charlie Brown, you'd get out of here fast, and spare yourself more embarrrasment!" As a result, in later broadcasts and all home video releases, the worst of Peppermint Patty chewing out Charlie Brown for something that is plainly not his fault is edited out. CBS received actual letters of protest over this. However, these quotes, in Spanish, were retained on the Warner Home Video DVD release's Spanish audio. The quotes were edited out by reversing the audio tracks and reducing it in volume significantly, therefore, one can hear Peppermint Patty's original quotes if the audio is recorded and played backwards.
- The lines that were edited out are: "OK, Chuck, you really goofed up on that play." (at about the 7:30 mark) and "Chuck, you can't do anything right!" (at about the 15:30 mark.)
- The differences can be viewed here.
- This is also the second and last special Peppermint Patty's dialogue is backmasked in later broadcasts and all home video releases.
- The scene where Charlie Brown kisses the Little Red-Haired Girl on the cheek and then flies around was spliced into the "Poor Sweet Baby" scene in the TV version of Snoopy!!! The Musical.
- This special gave Peanuts fans the answer to the age-old question, "What does the Little Red-Haired Girl look like and what would happen if she actually appeared on screen?"
- This is the first Peanuts special with music composed by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen.
- This is the first Peanuts special that aired as part of You're On Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown.
- This is one of two specials to recycle the Football gag sequence from 1973's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the first being You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, two years earlier.
Goofs[]
- Peppermint Patty's sandals turn brown while she is waiting for Charlie Brown. As she turns away, they become green again.
- Charlie Brown's team scores 14 points in the second half to bring the score from 21-6 to 21-20. To have scored the 14 points Charlie Brown would have to have successfully kicked 2 extra points, which would have meant that either Lucy didn't hold the ball for those two kicks or she didn't pull the ball away on those two kicks. It can be likely Charlie Brown's team could have scored two touchdowns with missed extra points and a safety against their opponents, which would be 12 points for the touchdowns and 2 points for the safety.
- When Lucy pulled the football away from Charlie Brown, the play did not end, even as Charlie landed on the opposing team. It's still a live ball (think of the 'fake field goal' plays in games).
Soundtrack[]
- Linus & Lucy, First Kiss Opening Theme
- Football Strategy
- Kick Off
- Touch Down
- Patty's Team Gets The Ball
- Chance To Be A Hero
- Field Goal Missed
- She Wouldn't Dare Pull That Ball Away
- Is It Baseball Season Yet?
- Let's Get Em
- Peppermint Patty Runs With The Ball
- Field Goal Missed Again
- Linus and Lucy2
- I'm The Escort For The Queen
- This Is It Charlie Brown
- Charlie Brown Kisses Her
- That Game Was A Heartbreaker
- First Kiss Closing Theme
Gallery[]
External links[]
- It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown on the Internet Movie Database.
- It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown on the Big Cartoon Database.
- It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown on AllMovie.