Did over thirty-five years of Valentine’s Day rejection turn Charlie Brown into a nicotine-addicted arsonist?! Either that, or Banksy’s back in town…

I’ll never know how exactly people in the press are so quick to attribute art to a guy who struggles fiercely to retain his anonymity while producing work in secret. But the reports are in: Banksy’s is in LA! And he’s got a good publicist who’s letting the world know he’s turned several of our cherished animated characters into of awe-inspiring acts of vandalism!

Mickey and Minnie, in a full on drunken grope-fest

If there’s anything I love more than unwanted “Street Art” that ruffles local feathers, it’s the stuff that actually looks good. (Seriously, your signature is interesting to nobody but you, kid.)

Napalm: A previous Banksy, featuring Mickey, Ronald McD, and the fleeing, naked girl made famous in an iconic Vietnam War photo

I won’t pretend to know much about Banksy. At least not any more than anybody else who’s seen his hilarious documentary / pretentious prank film, Exit Through the Gift Shop – which I thoroughly recommend and would absolutely lose my shit should it pick up that Oscar for Best Documentary!

In the film, Banksy and pals pull a hilariously disturbing guerrilla art installation right outside Disneyland’s Thunder Mountain to celebrate the magic of Guantanamo Bay’s detainment center

I don’t know from art, unfortunately… However, I do know this: This isn’t the first time Banksy’s employed classic cartoon characters to make, what I assume, “A Statement!” (Don’t mean to trivialize, but I’m not ashamed to say I enjoy these on a profoundly juvenile level.)

Whatever’s doing this to Tweety, I propose it stop immediately!

Above you can see an animatronic Tweety Bird molting morosely at a New York art installation.

Guess their attempt to become legitimate business men failed

An original acrylic painting of Baloo and the Jungle Book gang bound for execution, apparently commissioned by Greenpeace to condemn deforestation, yet went unused due to complaints from Disney and was recently put up for auction.

“Oh bother. I’ve become shackled to the pursuit of materialistic gain.”

The guy’s also notorious for this stencil art piece involving a pre-Disney Winnie the Pooh caught in a bear strap, seemingly after a losing battle with The Man brand Hunny. But my favorite animated stab by this mysterious artist is actually just that: Animated!

Evidently, the folks behind The Simpsons found Exit Through the Gift Shop as compelling and hysterical as I did, and commissioned Banksy to produce a “Couch Gag” for the 2010 season. What bothered me about it was the Internet’s knee jerk response of “Dude, Banksy really pulled one over on The Simpsons. lol!” Uh, dude, apparently the guy’s not easy to find… so assuming the producers went to all that trouble, and Bansky didn’t animate the thing himself, I’m fairly certain several dozen people saw the thing before it aired.

An enslaved unicorn using his horn to punch holes in Simpsons DVDs? Classic!

It was unarguably hilarious, albeit a bit harsh, I’ll admit. However, I’d argue that it was actually far closer to a “classic” Simpsons gag than anything I’ve seen air on this once controversial program in the last ten years. A perfect fit, IMO.

BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN
Original Air Date: January 28, 1975

It’s Valentine’s Day, and no one is spared from the Holiday heartbreak

BACKSTORY:
Although Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown was hardly the first time Peanuts had tackled issues of the heart in an animated special, it was the first time Schulz and company had addressed Valentine’s Day after success with Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, Election Day, and of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Not to be confused with these, which aired in 1967 and 1973

By 1975, production on Peanuts specials had kicked into high gear following two successful theatrical films and had been premiering not one, but two CBS specials each year. As such, Be My Valentine was nominated for an Emmy alongside It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Strangely enough, they both lost to Yes, Viginia, There is a Santa Claus directed by the longtime Peanuts producer, Bill Melendez.

BREAKDOWN:
Ahh… another morose Charlie Brown tale, featuring a Holiday with even more depressing potential than that of Christmas! And it never ceases to surprise me just how much melancholy entertainment Schulz can wring from any American tradition.

You’re doing it wrong. But then, so is everyone else

I’m not a sports fan, but I can only compare the look on my face as I watched Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown to the pre-rage expression of a superfan watching the opposing team run an interception into their end zone. “No… this can’t be happening?”

An image synonymous with Valentine’s Day

Obviously, I love these specials to death, and given that Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown contains the most memorable scenes right behind A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, it’s safe to say scores of other Peanuts fans do too. I’m just not sure why…

Snoopy and Woodstock violently exchange Valentines

Honestly, rewatching these has really made me (shudder to) think: Do I like seeing horribly depressing things happen to children? The Peanuts Gang isn’t a band of bratty, smart-mouthed kids who speak like adults and beg for bad things to happen to them.

The downside of being “Hot for Teacher”

Theirs is certainly a darker humor, usually childlike revelations stemming from a naive perception of the world around them. This makes it easy for kids to relate to, sure, however almost cripplingly depressing for adults like myself who realize they never bothered to find the answers. “You’re right, Lucy/Linus/Chuck. That is another shitty aspect of LIFE.”

Pretty much…

Of course, it’s not all schadenfreude at the expense of preteens, that’s just what I’m choosing to fixate on. For what was, even at the time, a slower paced cartoon, there are more than a few A+ instances of animated gaggery sprinkled throughout Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, with Snoopy and Woodstock bringing the comedic levity throughout. See?

Perhaps my heart has swollen on the eve of this Holiday, where I’m miraculously NOT single this year, so I couldn’t help but obsess over the opinions and attitudes expressed by these children and the nature of love, which are strangely cynical beyond their years.

“Holla at me?”

As Lucy tries to gain the attention of maestro Schroeder, she winds up exploring the entire course of a failed relationship. All the pain and all the anguish. The only problem is, she does so out loud… and quite violently.

“You can’t eat! You can’t sleep! You want to smash things!”

Then, Lucy’s always been a short-fused bitch. But hey, that’s what we all love about her, right? As the Peanuts’ default “Hot Piece of Ass,” we have no doubt the temperamental gal in the blue dress will inevitably find dudes banging down her door for the rest of her days, men uncontrollably attracted to the forceful demeanor of this black-haired firebrand… Perhaps I’m projecting too much? Whatever!

A speechless cameo from Shermy, one of the original Peanuts characters Schulz retired from the strip in 1970

The rest of the gang plunge doe-eyed and naively into crushes the audience knows right from the beginning, will yield nothing more than traumatic and repressed anecdotes that’ll be forever pondered by psychiatric professionals who specialize in the treatment of Rockwell-ian Caucasians with enormous heads.

“Bitch please”

Linus futilely decides to thrust his affection towards Mrs. Othmar, the kids’ teacher and siren-voiced, offscreen trumpet blat. Anyone watching can tell this isn’t going to pay off with the statutory hotness of a modern-day news story… But the fact that Linus parades his obsession around Sally, the one who so desperately desires to be the object of his affection, exacerbates the heartbreak to levels I’m never entirely prepared for.

Screw love

This is the romantic equivalent of how most people watch horror movies. Each and every smiley step these kids take towards inevitable rejection, I’m watching through crooked fingers, screaming “NO! Don’t go in there!” at the screen.

Right… this is should end well

But none of them come close to the bleakness, as always, embodied in Good Ol’ Charlie Brown. He’s not even pining after The Little Red Headed Girl this time around. Instead the romantic idol his heart adventurously seeks is that of… just a Valentine’s Day card, man! He’s checking his mailbox every day, while grinning from ear to ear merely at the notion of being the object of someone’s – ANYONE’S! – affection.

Look closer, maybe you missed something

What did you think was going to happen?! Ever wonder why kids in public schools have to bring Valentines for the entire class? Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown is that reason. And the nightmarish scenario of not receiving a single heart-shaped well-wish from his classmates actually prompted viewers all over the nation to flood Charlie Brown with very real Valentines of very real pity after this special aired.

Oh yeah, Vince Guaraldi is back to score the sadness!

So how does the special make it up to us? Well… compared to the way the children banded together at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas to realize Chuck’s vision of the Holiday while reevaluating their own outlook, the resolution in Be My Valentine is a bit more… low rent. Just a real bummer of a payoff.

Or, is it more aptly suited to a Holiday in question, in that it confuses love with that of a popularity contest… hmmm. Either way, Schroder is 100% correct. However, Charlie Brown is so starved for some kind of acceptance, he gobbles up their halfassed act of pity like the four course meal he was originally expecting. So, not the Valentine’s Day Chuck was expecting, just the one he deserved? I dunno… how do you feel now?

Snoopy acts out the closing credits with puppet versions of the entire cast. Guess who the one on the left is?

PRODUCT INFORMATION:

Be My Valentine Charlie Brown is available on the Peanuts: 1970′s Collection Volume 2 DVD along with FIVE other digitally remastered specials from that era and an all new featurette entitled You’re Groovy, Charlie Brown: A Look at Peanuts in the 70′s. You can still purchase Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown on a standalone DVD, which features You’re in Love Charlie Brown and It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown as bonus specials, but IMO, completists will save money purchasing the decade sets. And because we always need a third, lemme just say I probably wouldn’t like you unless you own A Charlie Brown Christmas on Blu-ray or DVD.

Okay, the headline is obviously a joke, and a cynical one at that. But seriously, what capitalistic titan could you possibly imagine assembling Marmaduke, Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Dick Tracy, Garfield, Peanuts, Little Orphan Annie, Brenda Starr, and Spider-Man as pitchmen for their product? Hint: You DID NOT see this during the Super Bowl…

The NEWSPAPER?! Or more specifically, the Sunday Comics. Man, if this doesn’t say something about the decline of print, then I don’t know what does. Even if the commercial didn’t fork over the cash for the likenesses of all the characters animated exclusively to hock “The Funnies,” the star-studded roster stands as an even further testament to how powerful newspapers once were, not to mention the mega-franchises who once called it home.

“We must, can, and will flip passed World News to get to Hagar the Horrible!”

Because as best I can tell, this ad takes place sometime after 1979 and isn’t for any one newspaper in particular. In fact, the comic strip characters featured were (and still are) the property of multiple distribution syndicates, and the the only commercial I glimpsed during this year’s “Big Game” that even came close to packing this much star power was for the NFL itself, and that was just existing footage culled together with added effects that bordered on insulting.

Moving pictures on a TV? An odd choice for advertising a newspaper

Either way, the commercial is fucking righteous! Even better, the spot features recording legend Stan Freberg, the voice behind Looney Tunes characters like Junyer Bear, Pete Puma, on certain occasions, Wile E. Coyote, as well as one of my all-time favorite cartoons, “Three Little Bops!”

Other highlights include, a far more elderly sounding Spider-Man (also Freberg?) with incredibly awkward crawling sound effects, a joke that never would’ve flown during the Clinton/Lewinski days, and one of the laziest excuses for a “tag” you ever did see: “If you’re not reading the Sunday Comics… WHY NOT?!” Guess these Mad Men couldn’t foresee the answer being that they’d be marginalized to the point of becoming unfunny and irrelevant.

A GARFIELD CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Original Air Date: December 21, 1987

Everyone’s favorite fat cat heads to the farm for the Hoildays

Nominated for an Emmy in 1998. Wanna see what it lost to?

BACKSTORY:
After creating an unsuccessful comic strip involving insects, Jim Davis set about creating the most marketable and appealing illustrated character his brain could assemble, and Garfield was born in June of 1978.

Garfield’s first comic strip

The fat orange tabby would go on to become one of the most recognizable characters in the world, as his daily comic would go on to become the world’s most syndicated strip and resulting Garfield merchandise generates close to $1 billion in income every year.

Garfield’s first TV special and TV show

Garfield’s international stardom launched him into other mediums almost immediately, starting with his first CBS special Here Comes Garfield in 1982. Although it took him a while to get his own show, Garfield and Friends was also an astounding success, culminating with an extraordinary six year run starting in 1988.

Other stuff most of you could take or leave

Garfield has also starred in two theatrically released film, numerous direct-to-DVD offerings, video games, and even has a new cartoon show while his old one still runs throughout the globe in syndication.

BREAKDOWN:

How most people my age remember this special kicking off

Contrary to what I thought going into A Garfield Christmas Special, it wasn’t the fat cat’s first animated appearance. Far from it actually, since I believe it was 7^th, and it looks as though he’d already been starring in TV primetime one-offs for about five years at the time this aired.

The Arbuckles are doin’ it up right!

I’d always felt like the Garfield specials, were in fact just that: Special. Airing only about twice a year, there was nothing else quite like them on TV at the time. Sure, Jon Arbuckle was a loser of catastrophic proportions, but I’m hardpressed to think of a primary protagonist with a worldview as cynical as Garfield’s in animation at the time. Our hero, in laziness and gluttony united.

Can you tell the opening is a dream sequance?

Even compared to other primetime cartoon specials, Garfield’s were some of the only animated television programs adults could dig on beyond the eye-catching animals reeling in the kids. It’s a cool bit of hindsight I’ve only just discovered having just rewatched Garfield for the first time not being 10, but it makes total sense in a pre-Simpsons/Cartoon Network world, where cartoons ran Saturday mornings, in the afternoons, or not at all.

How ’bout now?

Okay now, two things: As with my struggle reviewing A Chipmunks Christmas, I did my damnedest to not let nostalgia, nor my immense (and admittedly unnecessary) distaste for the horrific, yet wildly popular, more recent movies impact my experience with Garfield’s little Xmas show.

Baby Jon and Doc Boy

Sure, I believe Garfield & Friends has held up remarkably well for an animated program that straddled the 80s and 90s, yet I think I can still say that A Garfield Christmas Special holds up even better. Although, that could’ve been because my expectations were very, very low… Which leads me to the other thing.

Off to the farm to see the family

Garfield and Jim Davis take a lot of crap on the internet these days for… well, being terrible. And while this Christmas special is anything but, I feel my generation has all but written off Garfield, seemingly happy to pass him down to another generation like an old sweater to enjoy, then forget.

Meet mom

People love to call out Davis for being as lazy and cynical as his own creation for any number of things: Whoring out mountains of merchandise, the Bill Murray movies, no longer solely writing/illustrating his own material, and the general banality of the comic strips that should remain his most important showcase. And they certainly have a point.

Dad and Doc Boy

I used to love collecting Garfield books, however, I’ve certainly laughed at Lasagna Cat and Garfield minus Garfield more than the last decade of his official newspaper appearances, but I’d urge others not to write off some his older stuff. Instead let’s agree to split them into two separate phenomena, shall we?

Snow bound

I had to go back and look at them, but I can confirm semi-objectively that both the Garfield strips and the animated productions used to be funny. Often times, uproariously so. Yes, Garfield are and Jim Davis are probably past their prime, but they also appear to have entered a new one (mostly made of halfassed CG) so if that doesn’t gel with your memories: lock ‘em up, and ignore the new show, don’t watch A Tale of Two Kitties, and rewatch A Garfield Christmas Special dammit!

An Ode to Odie

Jim Davis is given a “Written & Created” by credit at the beginning, and it’s a warm reminder of the brilliance he used to unspool before deciding he’d rather sit back and oversee his orange global PAWS Inc Empire, or whatver. Or maybe, this is an exception because Garfield actually makes jokes, and isn’t always standing in front of a periwinkle kitchen wall doing nothing?

Love this scene!

I’m just going to quickly impart three things I love most about A Garfield Christmas. First off, the songs. Like the animation, the sax-heavy jams have a dated quality, however, it’s of an +A 80s caliber that I enjoyed immensely, penned by husband and wife songwriting duo, Ed Boga and Desiree Goyette (who also happened to score a ton of other Garfield and Peanuts tunes!)

Second: ODIE! I’ve always loved the look of the hapless mutt considerably more than Garfield, but this special actually gives him a place to shine. Maybe my memory’s a bit selective but I feel like Odie rarely got to be anything but a comic foil or kicked off tables.

Nice hand! Why are you walking on all fours again?

Here, Odie gets to shed a bit of his moronic exterior, to reveal a beating heart and soul every bit as big as his tongue! Not only does he not fall victim to any torture, he pulls off a remarkable sweet Holiday gesture.

Misunderstood genius

While, everyone on the farm sleeps, Odie rigs up what I can only assume to be one of the greatest gifts a domesticated animal could ever give to another: A Human-less Scratcher!

I’d put a patent on that shit quickly, Odie

But that’s hardly the most touching sequence this special has in store for the Holiday heartstrings. Third thing I love about A Garfield Christmas Special: Garfield and Granny’s exchange.

Everyone loves a cat in their lap

Every Xmas special lays it on thick with the sentimentalism, but this isn’t of the “If I could only afford the perfect gift!” or “Will Santa make it in time?” variety. It’s not even all that sad truth be told, yet it’s one of the more emotionally moving, relatably real moments I’ve seen in almost anything covered on A Cartoon Christmas.

Single on Christmas

Having solidified a bond together, mostly forged through cynicism and taking pleasure in the pain of others, Granny confides to Garfield how much she misses her departed husband.

Beautiful

Granny explains that he was a hard working man, and although they were never rich, he was always a great provider. She goes on to say that he, like other men of his generation, kept an emotional distance in regards to expressing love and affection. That is, except around Christmas, when Grandpa’d drop the year-long “tough father” façade and unleashed warmth and feeling on the family he genuinely loved so dear. She’s not even all that teary, or even mushy speaking of it, just candid about that emotional display being the thing she misses most around the Holidays.

Letters… From the Past?! (Technically, aren’t all letters?)

So… while stumbling around in the barn, Garfield comes upon a stack of unopened envelopes dating back fifty or so years. Obviously, Granny’s the best person to verify their authenticity, so he gives them to her on Christmas morning.

“Hope these were for you and not some other broad”

As it turns out, inside the envelopes are dozens of love letters written by Grandpa. You could argue that since they were hidden away, they weren’t intended to be read. However, I refuse to entertain the notion they were written for Grandpa’s mistress, gay lover, or anyone but Granny exclusively! While I’m projecting, I’m going to go ahead and say that they were also written from the frontlines of Iwo Jima (WOW!)

D’awwwwww

What a beautiful moment to close the show on. If that doesn’t do it for you, then you probably just don’t like Christmas. Or really hate Garfield.

Not a mention.

Other than the wish-granting Santa Bot in the opening credits, nada thing. Yet in spite of the low scores here, look what I’m gonna do…

If you like Christmas Specials, you’re going to love Garfield’s because it’s absolutely impossible not to. Even though it’s almost twenty years old, A Garfield Christmas Special feels like one of the most modern specials I’ve seen in some time. It’s charming, well written, funny, and often times, gorgeous to look at. More importantly, I’d like encourage people my age who hate Garfield, but used to love him, to give this a watch stat! Much like Granny, it’ll most assuredly remind you that all your invested affection were well worth the time.

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Shop Amazon through us – it helps!)

A Garfield Christmas Special is available on the reasonably-priced Garfield: Holiday Celebrations DVD, bundled with two other primetime CBS specials, Garfield’s Thanksgiving and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure. If you want to continue remembering Garfield at his animated finest, then you should’t be afraid to delve back into Garfield and Friends, which genuinely hold up as awesome, plus the five DVD volumes present all episodes uncut and as they originally aired, without all the cuts you’ll find in syndication. For more Yuletide Garfield joy, this adorable new ornament featuring the fat cat and Pooky will make the perfect addition to any tree.

Yesterday’s Christmas Special
RUDOLPH’S MISSING 1964 FOOTAGE!

2009′s Dec. 23th Christmas Special
A MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS

IT’S CHRISTMASTIME AGAIN, CHARLIE BROWN
Original Air Date: November 27, 1992

SYNOPSIS:
For the their 36th primetime animated special, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang revisit Christmas for the first time in almost 30 years!

BACKSTORY:
Does anybody really need to tell you that A Charlie Brown Christmas was huge?

Since its first airing in 1965, it’s been broadcast every year since, on multiple networks, and has pretty much become synonymous with the entire concept of the Christmas Special. To that end, it’s almost odd that it took Charles Schultz and Bill Melendez three decades to return to the well.

Seriously, this special made its debut at a gas station

Instead of forging an all new tale, It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown was adapted directly from numerous Holiday-themed “Peanuts” strips. This special also marked the first time a Peanuts special premiered direct-to-video – it was sold exclusively on VHS at Shell gas stations beginning in September of 1992?!

BREAKDOWN:
In case it isn’t obvious, I’m far less motivated to cover the “classic” Christmas Specials everyone remembers. They’re generally well worn territory, and often above reproach. Which is why so far, I’ve gotten more of a kick out of dredging up the ones that, whether good or bad, have fallen through the cracks. It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown makes for a great entry because it’s all of the above criteria, rolled into one.

Linus’ cardboard sled is filled with Yule Tide FAIL

Who among us doesn’t have a soft spot for Charlie Brown and Christmas?! By my count, fucking everybody. It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown, though, certainly isn’t the reason why.

However, I’d like to stipulate right of the bat: It’s not that It’s Christmas Time Again is bad – far from it, actually. In fact, should you have an interest in any of the other Charlie Brown specials that have aired over the last 50 years, you’ll find plenty to love here.

Santa’s helpers

Bill Melendez once again employed children instead of actors in the speaking roles, so there’s little-to-no change to the quaint Peanuts style of minimalist animation and low-fi sound. Plus, they’ve even resurrected Vince Guaraldi’s immortally jazzy score for its first appearance in a Charlie Brown animated special since the composer’s death in 1975.

Peppermint Patty refuses to do her homework

It bears all the earmarks of its classic precursor, so why did it fail to resonate with audiences and receive only a single airing on CBS? Well, popular older brother aside, It’s Christmas Time Again just doesn’t have much of a story.

Charlie Brown’s pathetic tree makes a brief cameo at the very end

The original Charlie Brown Christmas has surely benefited from being one of the first Christmas specials, but you also can’t deny its remarkable distinctness, especially in the way it revels in the depressing nature of the Holidays, abject failure, and the cruelty of children.

Sally rehearses her single line in the Christmas play…it doesn’t go well

It’s Christmastime Again doesn’t even bear the benefits of having poor Charlie Brown as a central character to constantly kick in the teeth. And since it was adapted directly from multiple three-panel jokes ripped from several years worth of newspaper funnies, there’s not even a central theme here; instead, you’re presented with a series of vignettes which, while funny and quintessential Schulz, don’t give you a lot to hold onto.  I’ll lay out an example for you:

“Where are all the candy canes?”
“Have you looked outside?”

HA!

The entire special simply rolls along with brief, dare I say Robot Chicken-esque, gags like the above, but it’s rather charming nonetheless. Even though there’s no unifying thesis at work, I’d still like to believe these are see some of Schulz’s personal thoughts on the nature of Christmas, updated for (slightly) more modern times.

A “credit card” is referenced as a rare reminder that this isn’t the 1950′s

Charlie Brown undergoes typical misfortune while trying to buy the “Little Red-Head Girl” a pair of gloves for $25 (a price I’d like to think was more reflective of current times).

Some punk ass kid mangles his inventory

And I couldn’t help but sympathize with him when he tried to sell his entire comic book collection to raise the funds.

We find out that the object of Chuck’s affection is named Peggy Jean

Whoops, turns out she already got the gloves! Now I’ll admit that that’s failure, it’s just nowhere near what we’ve come to know as Charlie Brown-level failure.

At least the gloves find a good home.

Chuck isn’t even the star here, actually. His sister Sally gets far more screen time, and she seems to be the one struggling with the meaning of Christmas, caught between her role in a Christmas play and the materialistic outlook of the Holidays.

Linus reads the Good Word from an unmarked Bible

Only Peppermint Patty’s parts retain that old-time Peanuts brand of melancholy, albeit mainly by way of her own ego issues wrapped in a Holiday shell, and you could say it’s more of a lesson in humility than humiliation.

Now that’s a Peanuts special!

Finally, A legitimate showing on the Crucifix Meter, which in fact was only included as criteria in the first place after rewatching A Charlie Brown Christmas. Once again, this one finds Linus reading lengthy passages to Sally straight from the Good Book.  Score one for Jesus at last.

None. Unfortunately, Santa’s an adult, so there’s no place for him in the Peanuts world. They’re consistent, to say the least, and I know I didn’t want to hear the guy “Ho, Ho, Ho!” through a trombone mute.

Plenty, although it’s still rather disjointed when compared with the special everyone knows by heart. I’d like to think, though, that the internet could embrace It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown in the same way they would a Watterson-approved adaptation of Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen comic strips. After all, it’s warm, and it should still feel altogether new since only the most comprehensive Peanuts fan would be familiar with its source material.

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the Site!)

It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown has been largely relegated to a supporting role as a bonus feature on the many DVDs of A Charlie Brown Christmas – good news for those who don’t already own that Holiday staple. I’ve included the Blu-Ray just because I’m deliriously overjoyed that the thing exists in the first place. The stand-alone disc, Blu-Ray and Holiday bundle all feature both A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s Christmastime Again Charlie Brown, as well as a documentary entitled, A Christmas Miracle: The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Any way you slice it, you’re getting a lot of Holiday bang for your minimal Christmas buck.

Yesterday’s Christmas Special
CHRISTMAS COMES TO PACLAND