A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

The other night I got to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with my friends and I want to give you my thoughts:

This show is a classic and always a must watch for every thanksgiving. The story goes that Charlie Brown is supposed to go to his grandmas for Thanksgiving. This was the plan until Peppermint Patty called and invited herself, Marci, and Franklin over to Chucks house. So, what happens next? Linus, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Woodstock all get Thanksgiving dinner ready. (I should note that Thanksgiving in Charlie Brown terms is Toast, Popcorn, Pretzels, and Jellybeans. Quite honestly it is a simple and clever idea, my family has been known to throw traditions out the window and enjoy something that we would like and not the traditional meal for Christmas, or Easter)

Snoopy helps a lot by setting up the table, playing Ping Pong (it is particularly important to make sure that the table is good to go by playing Ping Pong on it) and getting the chairs. I forgot about the music that was in the show. Vince Guaraldi Quintet created all the music for the series, and it is all a masterpiece. There is the iconic Charlie Brown theme, and a lot of songs that are amazing, especially if you pair it with a subwoofer and a proper set of speakers. One of the songs that is a classic is “Little Birdie”. While the song plays Wood Stock and Snoopy are setting up the table. The song also calls out Snoopy in the most casual way where Quintet says “Little birdie things just fascinate you so. and your friend there, likes to show you what he knows”, as this is being said, Snoopy is playing Ping Pong and on both sides never missing a beat. Linus then shows up and yells at Snoopy for playing around and needs to get chairs out. When he is no longer embarrassed, he goes and gets the chairs that all have minds of their own (Snoopy gets beat up by a lawn chair). Don’t believe me? Here is a link to the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U9_RZJMQyo&t=116s

When Snoopy is done, he went in to make the food for the feast. He made sure that everything was prepared and came out on time and looked amazing, he would catch the toast on a knife then butter every single slice at a speed that seems that it should not be possible, but it is. It’s Snoopy the fighter of the red baron and someone who (in my opinion) is the best character of the entire show.

In true Peanuts fashion he makes popcorn in mass amounts, but of course he failed to put the lid on, and the popcorn stuck to him like cheese dust will stick to me (it’s a thing)

After the gang gets together, they all sit down and enjoy a meal that was put together by a dog (yet no one questions it, I would not question it if I were them). Peppermint patty then throws a fit claiming that this is not a feast, they are missing the turkey, cranberry sauce, and other things. The crew chimes in with as long as they are together than that is thanksgiving. With that knowledge Patty has Marci apologize to Chuck for the way she acted.

When Charlie realizes that he is late for grandmas he calls her to see if they can postpone, in a true grandma move she invites them all. Next scene is the crew singing “Over the river and though the woods” while the car is driving itself. As I was watching this with friends they asked, “if you’re singing, and I’m singing… then who’s driving the car????” I respond with “its 2100 self-driving cars are a thing” (in reference to The Orville)

With the entire show watched I decided to sit back and reflect on the show that I just witnessed. I loved it, the way that the show was hand drawn then remastered for Apple TV (it is genuinely nice that Apple allows anyone to watch these shows for free certain days of the year)

There was also a strange part where Snoopy and Woodstock have a thanksgiving feast but if you know, you know…

We then found out that there was an educational version of the show, watched that and it was not that good. I still enjoyed it as I got to spend time with my friends, but I didn’t enjoy the show itself.

It retold the story of the Mayflower, and I felt that it was more for educational settings and not for the fans who love to sit back and watch classic films. It was a good show but not for me.

With all this knowledge I come to this verdict: I love Charlie Brown, there are a lot of iconic scenes in it and a lot of memories that are attached to it, the famous Charlie Brown Tree (a topic for later). If you are someone who wants a tradition for the holidays, then you should watch the Charlie Brown series each time it’s available and I recommend getting the holiday pack for anyone who wants the flexibility and required to adhere to Apples timeline.