All-New Charlie Brown Christmas Special on ABC, AND the Classic!

[Pavan]

ABC TELEVISION NETWORK RINGS IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON
WITH AN ALL NEW, ANIMATED “PEANUTS” CHRISTMAS SPECIAL,
“I WANT A DOG FOR CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!,” TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9

ABC Also Continues a Holiday Tradition with the Classic
“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Airing Tuesday, December 2


This holiday season, ABC will premiere an all-new animated “PEANUTS” Christmas special. Produced and animated by the same team that gave us the now classic “PEANUTS” specials from the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz’s famed comic strip, “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” will air TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on The ABC Television Network. Also this December, the beloved half-hour animated Christmas-themed “PEANUTS” special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, will air on ABC on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).

ABC’s most recent telecast (10/28/03) of the original, animated Halloween “PEANUTS” special, “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown,” attracted its largest audience in 12 years (since 10/30/91), leading its time period in Total Viewers (13.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.0/14) and qualifying as the highest-rated program among Kids 2-11 (7.7/23) on all of television since May. Last December, a repeat telecast of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (12/8/02) drew its largest audience ever on ABC with 11.5 million viewers.

“I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” centers on ReRun, the lovable but ever-skeptical younger brother of Linus and Lucy. It’s Christmas vacation and, as usual, ReRun’s big sister is stressing him out, so he decides to turn to his best friend, Snoopy, for amusement and holiday cheer. However his faithful but unpredictable beagle companion has plans of his own, giving ReRun reason to ask Snoopy to invite his canine brother Spike for a visit. When Spike shows up, it looks like ReRun will have a dog for Christmas after all… but then the real trouble begins.

In the digitally-remastered 1965 classic special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees everywhere during the Christmas season. Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant, and Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to
be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, Charlie Brown needs Linus’ help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is.
“PEANUTS” focuses on the anxieties and joys of childhood as expressed by an ensemble cast of children who often seem wise beyond their years. Among them are the lovable Charlie Brown, who perseveres despite continuous failure; the philosophical, blanket-carrying Linus; the fussbudget Lucy, who dispenses
psychological advice for a nickel from behind a concession stand; and toy-piano virtuoso Schroeder. Central to the comic strip is Charlie Brown’s dog, Snoopy, who first stood on his hind legs in 1956 and became extremely popular for his imaginative adventures as a number of characters.

The cast of “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” includes Jimmy Bennett as ReRun, Adam Taylor Gordon as Charlie Brown, Ashley Rose Orr as Lucy Van Pelt, Corey Padnos as Linus Van Pelt,
Hannah Leigh Dworkin as Sally, Nick Price as Schroeder, Jake Miner as Pig Pen/Franklin, Kaitlyn Maggio as the little girl and Bill Melendez as Snoopy.
“I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” was executive-produced by Lee Mendelson. The animation was produced by Bill Melendez and directed by Bill Melendez and Larry Leichlite. The music was written by Vince Guaraldi and David Benoit and performed and arranged by David Benoit. Animation is by
Eddy Houchins, Shawn Cashman and Dave Brain.

The cast of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” includes Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea as Linus, Tracy Stratford as Lucy, Chris Doran as Schroeder and Sally Dryer as Violet. The special was executive-produced by Lee Mendelson and created and written by Charles M. Schulz. Bill Melendez is the producer and director, and Vince Guaraldi is the music composer.

TV parental guidelines will be posted closer to airdate.

[EricIdlefan]

I grew up loving Charlie Brown because it wasn't just only a cartoon but it dealt with real-life issues that opened the door to cartoons dealing with real-life issues that continued with "Rugrats, Hey Arnold, " among just to name a few!!

[jayman75]

It can't beat the original, though.

I wonder how much involvement Charles Schulz had to do with it too...

[musicradio77]

Oh boy! A new Peanuts Christmas special. I can't wait to see that. I have "A Charlie Borwn Christmas" on video.

[Pug Lover]

This will be the third Peanuts Christmas special to date.As well as the ever well known A Charlie Brown Christmas,which was the very first animated Peanuts cartoon,a second Christmas special aired back in 1992,titled It,s Christmas Time Again Charlie Brown.It included Woodstock,Franklin,Peppermint Patty and Marcie.I look forward to checking out this latest Peanuts Christmas special on December 9.