Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! is the 30th prime-time animated television special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It aired on the CBS network on January 1, 1986.[1] The special focuses on Charlie Brown's difficulty finishing a book report over the holidays.[2]

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!
GenreAnimation
Created byCharles M. Schulz
Written byCharles M. Schulz
Directed byBill Melendez
Sam Jaimes
Voices ofChad Allen
Jeremy Miller
Melissa Guzzi
Elizabeth Lyn Fraser
Aron Mandelbaum
Jason Mendelson
Kristie Baker
Bill Melendez
ComposersEd Bogas
Desirée Goyette
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersLee Mendelson
Charles M. Schulz
ProducerBill Melendez
Camera setupNick Vasu
Running time28 minutes
Production companyUnited Feature Syndicate
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseJanuary 1, 1986 (1986-01-01)
Chronology
Preceded byYou're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)
Followed bySnoopy!!! The Musical (1988)

Plot

With all the kids are happy that they get time off for Christmas vacation, (somehow only) Charlie Brown is made to write a book report on War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. There is one major distraction on his mind, the big New Year's party all his friends are attending, with Peppermint Patty continuously convincing him to attend. Charlie tries inviting the object of his desires, the Little Red-Haired Girl, but gets his hand caught in the mail slot. With the party on his mind, he attempts to try to find another way to write the report, even going to a bookstore to find an audiobook and computer game of it, all to no avail. While at the party, he tries to finish the book on the front porch of the house, but falls asleep and misses the clock's striking of midnight but is more devastated to find out that Linus ended up dancing with the Little Red-Haired Girl, who showed up after all. In the end of the special, Charlie hands his book report to the teacher, and gets a D minus. Despite the poor grade, Charlie Brown is proud that he made an honest effort and avoided an outright failure. However, the teacher announces that the entire class will be made to read and report on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, overwhelming him even more.

Home media

The special was released on VHS by Kartes Video Communications in 1987 and by Paramount Home Video on September 28, 1994. Paramount would re-release the VHS in clamshell packaging on October 1, 1996. Warner Home Video released the special on DVD and high definition Blu-ray Disc on October 6, 2009 as a bonus feature for the Remastered Deluxe Edition of I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.[3]

It was re-released as part of the box set Snoopy's Holiday Collection on October 1, 2013.

ABC telecast

When it was shown on the ABC network on December 30, 2008, paired with a repeat of Rudolph's Shiny New Year, the program cuts out the following parts to allow more commercials:

  • Some parts where Charlie Brown's voice is heard while reading "War and Peace".
  • A scene in which Charlie Brown goes to a store to try to find a "War and Peace" product to replace reading the book.
  • The final minutes.

In the 2010 airing, it had been paired with She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown.

Cast

Note: Franklin, the Little Red-Haired Girl, Patty, Pig-Pen, Rerun, and Violet appear but are silent.

References
  1. Solomon, Charles (2012). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials. Chronicle Books. p. 21. ISBN 978-1452110912.
  2. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays--Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 128. ISBN 9781476672939. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. "Warner announces a new 6th October release for the Charlie Brown feature". DVDActive. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
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