Nov 09 2008
The Essential Christmas Movies (2)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Forty-three years have passed since this delightful Christmas special brightened the air- waves in 1965 on CBS; almost 50% of the TV viewing audience saw the premiere. Its lasting popularity is a confirmation of its wonderful story and a tribute to the writing ability of Charles Schulz. His characters are developed with their own temperaments and a certain goodness of heart wins out in the end.
Charlie Brown is upset because commercialism has eroded the true meaning of Christmas all around him. All of his friends have forgotten and even his dog Snoopy is into decorating his doghouse with lights; he wants to win the contest for the best Christmas lights in their neighborhood. As it opens Charlie Brown spills his heart to his friend Linus telling him about his doubts of the meaning of Christmas. Charlie understands that he will participate in the usual Christmas festivities, but something important seems to be missing. He sees that everyone is interested in Christmas cards, presents, letters to Santa Claus, decorating, and the Christmas pageant.
Charlie Brown gets involved in the Christmas pageant, but gets a rebuff from his friends and even Snoopy when he brings a Christmas tree for the pageant that spoke to his emotions, but which the gang thinks is just a puny useless twig. Before it is over the other children begin to like the tree and Linus reads from Luke’s Gospel, which tells the true meaning of Christmas.
In 2004, A Charlie Brown Christmas garnered an audience of 13.6 million. This movie presents charm, heart, comedy, and a little boy’s struggle with loss of the meaning of Christmas, which he ultimately helps to revive.
