History WesternAnimation / WhyCharlieBrownWhy

* ShooOutTheClowns: Snoopy and Woodstock are only in a handful of scenes and have mostly a minor role due to the specials subject matter.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Linus, all the way! You know he's way out of character when he finds it in himself to actually yell at Lucy, a person who usually intimidates him with her fists, not to mention verbally tearing a bully apart for mocking Janice's condition. What's also notable is that he's not seen with his blanket at all! Not even '''once'''. In fact, the latter was even a deliberate choice BY Schultz to emphasize the seriousness of the subject matter.

* BaldWoman: Janice becomes one after getting chemotherapy.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Snoopy and Woodstock are only in a handful of scenes and have mostly a minor role due the specials subject matter.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Snoopy and Woodstock are only in a handful of scenes and have mostly a minor role.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Snoopy and Woodstock are only in a handful of scenes.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Linus, all the way! You know he's way out of character when he finds it in himself to actually yell at Lucy, a person who usually intimidates him with her fists, not to mention verbally tearing a bully apart for mocking Janice's condition. What's also notable is that he's not seen with his blanket at all! Not even '''once'''.

First aired on Creator/{{CBS}} in 1990, this ''Franchise/{{Peanuts}}'' special (the 33rd overall) is notable as the first animated cartoon to tackle the subject of cancer. Sadly, ''Peanuts'' creator Charles Schulz [[HarsherInHindsight would lose his own battle with the disease a decade later]], but his approach to the topic was a brave move and has been celebrated and replayed for decades (although finding it on video was trickier, as the Trivia page will tell you).

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_679.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''"...Are you going to die?"'']]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Janice enters remission, can play on the swings with Linus, and grows her hair back.

** Janice's sisters bear the emotional burden of watching their sister go through painful treatments, while being accidentally neglected in turn. After venting to Linus, they manage to say that Janice's pile of presents looks nice.

* GreenEyedMonster: Downplayed with Janice's sisters; they reveal to Linus that since she got sick, they've received less presents or attention from their family, although they do understand why that's happening. When Linus lets them vent, and tells them they really do care about their sister, they do take take time to appreciate her pile of presents knowing how happy she'll be.

* MoodWhiplash: Following Linus's visit to the hospital and him calling out Lucy, we get a cute scene of Snoopy taking Woodstock and his friends sledding, probably to give the viewer a breather.

* ParentsAsPeople: We don't see them (as usual), but Janice's sisters mention that with all of their parents' attention focused on Janice, they don't get as much notice or care. While both of them understand why this is the case, since they're also worried about Janice's health, they also feel a little hurt.
* RageBreakingPoint: Linus throughout Janice's treatment has demonstrated TranquilFury at best when people show insensitivity towards her condition, but when a bully mocks her for being bald, he verbally tears the bully apart.

** Subverted in one case; Linus calls out Charlie Brown for asking Janice [[AdultFear "Are you going to die?"]] but Janice says it's okay, since she asked her doctors the same question.

* AnAesop: Bad things happen to everyone and there is not really an answer for it. However, that doesn’t mean you should be give up hope and be pessimistic.

** Linus does the TitleDrop because he cannot find an answer for why someone he likes, and who has done nothing to deserve it, is struck at random with cancer.

* CanonForeigner: Janice Emmons, who was invented specifically for this special (though apparently [[RememberTheNewGuy Linus already knew her]]). She didn't end up integrated into the wider ''Peanuts'' cast, to the frustration of some.

* BerserkButton: The normally weak Linus finds the courage in himself to defend Janice from Lucy and a bully when they mock her, yelling at the former and almost getting into a fight with the latter.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Linus, all the way! You know he's way out of character when he finds it in himself to actually yell at Lucy, a person who usually intimidates him with her fists, not to mention verbally tearing a bully apart for mocking Janice's condition. What's also notable is that he's not seen with his blanket even ''once''.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In a wider ''Peanuts'' sense. By the end of their trials and travails, Linus and Janice have basically become a PuppyLove couple; [[ToyShip if not an actual "item"]], at the very least they should remain an incredibly important part of each others' lives, right? Unfortunately, in future ''Peanuts'' works Janice rather vanished after this; she didn't become a regular in the strip for Schultz's final years of life, and she didn't even really cameo in the later ''Peanuts'' specials. This really felt weird to [=90s=] ''Peanuts'' fans, who figured Janice was going to become a regular on at least the level of someone like Pig-pen or Schroeder. This also had the unfortunate effect of [[TropeCodifier codifying]] another aspect of the VerySpecialEpisode that people find annoying: the tendency for the character in question to fall off the face of the earth after the episode is done.

* ParentsAsPeople: We don't see them, but Janice's sisters mention that with all of their parents' attention focused on Janice, they don't get as much notice or care. While both of them understand why this is the case, since they're also worried about Janice's health, they also feel a little hurt.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Janice is a CanonForeigner that happens to be friends with Linus.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In a wider ''Peanuts'' sense. By the end of their trials and travails, Linus and Janice have basically become a PuppyLove couple; [[ToyShip if not an actual "item"]], at the very least they should remain an incredibly important part of each others' lives, right? Unfortunately, in wider ''Peanuts'' works Janice rather vanished after this; she didn't become a regular in the strip for Schultz's final years of life, and she didn't even really cameo in the later ''Peanuts'' specials. This really felt weird to [=90s=] ''Peanuts'' fans, who figured Janice was going to become a regular on at least the level of someone like Pig-pen or Schroeder. This also had the unfortunate effect of [[TropeCodifier codifying]] another aspect of the VerySpecialEpisode that people find annoying: the tendency for the character in question to fall off the face of the earth after the episode is done.

* BeserkButton: The normally weak Linus finds the courage in himself to defend Janice from Lucy and a bully when they mock her, yelling at the former and almost getting into a fight with the latter.

* DarkerAndEdiger: Peanuts is not exactly known for discussing cancer and the burdens of treatment.

* EveryoneHasStandards: The normally weak Linus find it in himself to defend Janice from Lucy and a bully when they mock her, yelling at the former and almost getting into a fight with the latter.

* BarbaricBully: Linus confronts one of these in the special’s latter half.

* BarbaricBully: A subplot has Linus confronting one of these.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Linus, all the way! You know he's way out of character when he finds it in himself to actually yell at Lucy, a person who usually intimidates him with her fists, not to mention verbally tearing a bully apart for mocking Janice's condition.

On an autumn day, Linus notices his classmate Janice is getting a lot of bruises and feeling tired, so he convinces her to see the nurse. When he learns about Janice and her cancer diagnosis, Linus starts to go through a change. As Janice's treatment for cancer progresses, the seasons changes to symbolize this, and Linus becomes stronger for being emotionally affected by the issues, even going as far as to grow a pair and chew out Lucy and a schoolyard bully.

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: As Janice describes her treatment, Charlie Brown reacts viscerally to her describing them taking samples of her blood and bone marrow and asks her if it hurt.

* AdultFear: A little girl in your class becomes sick for no reason, and develops a potentially incurable disease. The special was made a mere few decades after revolutionary treatment for leukemia was found and was entering wide circulation[[note]]a significant part of the point of the special was to encourage ''parents'' who might otherwise hesitate to subject their child to the harshness of chemotherapy to go for it[[/note]]; up until the 1950s-60s, childhood-onset leukemia was a death sentence, as afflicted children would simply bleed to death from the lack of platelets. Charlie Brown and Linus demonstrate this fear best: