History WesternAnimation / ACharlieBrownChristmas

Directly followed by ''Charlie Brown's All-Stars'' in 1966, but seasonally, the 1985 series finale of ''The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show'' next featured the Peanuts gang in a Christmas context, finally letting us see them actually perform a Christmas play! Further Christmas specials included ''WesternAnimation/ItsChristmastimeAgainCharlieBrown'' in 1992, followed by two specials on ABC, namely ''WesternAnimation/CharlieBrownsChristmasTales'' and 2003's ''WesternAnimation/IWantADogForChristmasCharlieBrown''. All of the follow-up specials were heavily adapted from existing ''Peanuts'' strips. Despite ''Christmas Tales'' being made specifically to help fill a one hour timeslot with the unedited ''Charlie Brown Christmas'', the original is usually paired with ''It's Christmastime Again...'' on DVD.

And yet... there's a reason this 26-minute cartoon aired on network TV each and every December for 50+ years, originally on CBS and then on Creator/{{ABC}}. For whatever reason, the special just clicked with audiences in a way nothing else had before, and very few Christmas works have since. The special's perennial appeal is so strong that when ABC started editing it for time in order to accommodate more commercials, fans raised such a stink that the network agreed to broadcast it uncut in an hour-long timeslot with a new segment, ''WesternAnimation/CharlieBrownsChristmasTales'', being commissioned to fill out the remaining time.[[note]] Of course, the fact that the network could then sell twice as many commercial spots with a consistently popular rerun was appealing as well.[[/note]] In 2020 it appeared that such concern for accommodating commercials would no longer be relevant, as it was announced the special would be available for streaming on Creator/AppleTVPlus along with other animated adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' franchise. It was later announced that Creator/{{PBS}} as well as the 24/7 Creator/PBSKids channel would be airing the special as part of a last-minute deal between Apple and PBS. The special aired again on PBS in 2021, but did not do so in 2022.

* AssInALionSkin: Overlaps with an InUniverse example of ActingForTwo. Snoopy is tapped to perform the parts of all the animals in the Christmas play, including a sheep, a cow, and a penguin. (He gratuitously adds a vulture and, yes, a lion.)

** When forcing Charlie Brown to write her letter to Santa for her, Sally says that if her list "seems too complicated", then Santa should "make it easy on [him]self" by sending money; suggesting "tens and twenties". (And while you think about that, consider this: this was in ''TheSixties!'' -- in early-21st century terms, it would be roughly equivalent to asking for "fifties and hundreds".)

While ''[[WesternAnimation/MrMagoosChristmasCarol Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' [[UrExample predated it by three years]], and ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' by one, it was really ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' which solidified animated television {{Christmas special}}s as an obligatory part of the holiday in the Western world.

The first of the animated prime-time specials based on Creator/CharlesMSchulz's classic comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', and made on the cheap-and-quick for Creator/{{CBS}} in [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation 1965]][[note]]a careful viewer will notice that it's rife with [[OffModel animation errors]] due to its rushed production[[/note]] by Lee Mendelson, a San Francisco-based producer of documentaries and commercials, this has nevertheless gone on to become one of the most iconic and successful Christmas works of all time, enjoying a prominent place in pop culture from its debut to the present day. In fact, if you are from a Christmas-celebrating household, chances are that you've already seen this special more times than you can count, and we don't have to remind you about the plot. But, just on the off chance that you ''haven't'' seen it...

ButtMonkey protagonist Charlie Brown is having [[CrappyHolidays a rather cheerless holiday season]]. He's received no Christmas cards, and he feels no particular seasonal joy. Lucy manages to rope him into directing the school Christmas pageant, but after his first attempt falls flat, she gives him a new assignment: to pick the show's Christmas tree. She favors something in aluminum and painted pink, but instead he brings back a twiggy sapling that's [[EpicFail too tiny to even support the weight of a single ornament]] -- though it is a ''real'' tree -- and returns to mockery and scorn. Despairing, he asks aloud whether Christmas has any deeper meaning at all. By way of answer, Linus recites the Nativity story from [[Literature/TheFourGospels Luke 2]] and seemingly reminds everyone that the humble things are what should matter. With "a little love", Charlie Brown's sad little tree becomes transfigured, and his spirits are restored.

This humble television special that no one had any faith in – CBS was fully-prepared to disown it and only aired it out of legal obligation – went on to win an MedialNotes/EmmyAward and ended up turning ''Peanuts'' into a [[Franchise/{{Peanuts}} multimedia juggernaut]].[[note]]CBS quickly changed their tune when the ratings came in; ''literally half of America'' watched this special. For reference, the only other things on American TV to earn that high an audience share are the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl (sometimes), and the final episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}''.[[/note]] Over the next four decades, ''Peanuts'' would get several dozen more specials, a SaturdayMorningCartoon that ran for two seasons, [[WesternAnimation/ABoyNamedCharlieBrown four]] [[WesternAnimation/SnoopyComeHome theatrical]] [[WesternAnimation/RaceForYourLifeCharlieBrown feature]] [[WesternAnimation/BonVoyageCharlieBrown films]],[[note]]Plus [[WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie a CGI adaptation years later]] from Creator/BlueSkyStudios[[/note]] and two Broadway musicals.[[note]]Each of which was given a RecursiveAdaptation as a TV special.[[/note]] It effectively is the gold standard for all subsequent Christmas specials in any medium, and it single-handedly ''exterminated'' both the use of a LaughTrack in animated comedy and the popularity of tacky painted metal Christmas trees. In 2015, ABC aired a two-hour special called ''It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown'', which focuses on the enduring popularity of ''A Charlie Brown Christmas''.

This humble television special that no one had any faith in – CBS was fully-prepared to disown it and only aired it out of legal obligation – went on to win an UsefulNotes/EmmyAward and ended up turning ''Peanuts'' into a [[Franchise/{{Peanuts}} multimedia juggernaut]].[[note]]CBS quickly changed their tune when the ratings came in; ''literally half of America'' watched this special. For reference, the only other things on American TV to earn that high an audience share are the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl (sometimes), and the final episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}''.[[/note]] Over the next four decades, ''Peanuts'' would get several dozen more specials, a SaturdayMorningCartoon that ran for two seasons, [[WesternAnimation/ABoyNamedCharlieBrown four]] [[WesternAnimation/SnoopyComeHome theatrical]] [[WesternAnimation/RaceForYourLifeCharlieBrown feature]] [[WesternAnimation/BonVoyageCharlieBrown films]],[[note]]Plus [[WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie a CGI adaptation years later]] from Creator/BlueSkyStudios[[/note]] and two Broadway musicals.[[note]]Each of which was given a RecursiveAdaptation as a TV special.[[/note]] It effectively is the gold standard for all subsequent Christmas specials in any medium, and it single-handedly ''exterminated'' both the use of a LaughTrack in animated comedy and the popularity of tacky painted metal Christmas trees. In 2015, ABC aired a two-hour special called ''It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown'', which focuses on the enduring popularity of ''A Charlie Brown Christmas''.

ButtMonkey protagonist Charlie Brown is having [[CrappyHolidays a rather cheerless holiday season]]. He's received no Christmas cards, and he feels no particular seasonal joy. Lucy manages to rope him into directing the school Christmas pageant, but after his first attempt falls flat, she gives him a new assignment: to pick the show's Christmas tree. She wants something aluminum and painted pink, but instead he brings back a twiggy sapling that's [[EpicFail too tiny to even support the weight of a single ornament]] -- though it is a ''real'' tree -- and returns to mockery and scorn. Despairing, he asks aloud whether Christmas has any deeper meaning at all. By way of answer, Linus recites the Nativity story from [[Literature/TheFourGospels Luke 2]] and seemingly reminds everyone that the humble things are what should matter. With "a little love", Charlie Brown's sad little tree becomes transfigured, and his spirits are restored.

While ''[[WesternAnimation/MrMagoosChristmasCarol Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' [[UrExample predated it by three years]], and ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' by one, it was really ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' that solidified animated {{Christmas special}}s as a major part of the in holiday in the Western world.

While ''[[WesternAnimation/MrMagoosChristmasCarol Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' [[UrExample predated it by three years]], and ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' by one, it was ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' that popularized TV {{Christmas special}}s a thing in the Western world. The first of the animated prime-time specials based on Creator/CharlesMSchulz's classic comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', made on the cheap-and-quick for Creator/{{CBS}} in [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation 1965]][[note]]a careful viewer will notice that it's rife with [[OffModel animation errors]] due to its rushed production[[/note]] by Lee Mendelson, a San Francisco-based producer of documentaries and commercials, ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' has nevertheless gone on to become one of the most iconic Christmas works of all time. It is also one of the most ''successful'' ones of all time, enjoying a prominent place in pop culture from its debut to the present day. In fact, if you're from a Christmas-celebrating household, chances are you have already watched this special more times than you can count, and we don't have to remind you about the plot. But, just on the off chance that you ''haven't'' seen it...

* AnAesop:
** Don't let the commercialization of Christmas discourage you from why you celebrate it.
** You'll never see the potential of the people (or trees) you dismiss for superficial reasons.
** Christmas is about the people who care about you enough to make you happy.

* HearMeTheMoney: Lucy loves to hear that old money plink, that beautiful sound of cold hard cash, that beautiful ''beautiful'' sound of nickels, nickels, nickels!

* FailuresOnIce: This happens to Charlie Brown when Snoopy throws him against a tree, and then to Linus when Snoopy grabs his blanket, tossing him into a billboard.

* DoubleDontKnow: After failing to get the cast of the play to focus, Charlie Brown is sent out to get a Christmas tree for the play. After walking out the door with Linus, Charlie Brown says "I don't know, Linus. I just don't know."

* AbsurdPhobia: Lucy in her psychiatrist booth tries to diagnose Charlie Brown's depression, and wonders if it might be a phobia of something like cats, staircases, or crossing bridges. Eventually, they settle on pantophobia: the fear of everything.

* AssInALionSkin: Snoopy is tapped to perform the parts of all the animals in the Christmas play, including a sheep, a cow, and a penguin. (He gratuitously adds a vulture and, yes, a lion.)

'''''{{T|ropeCodifier}}he''''' ChristmasSpecial.

While ''[[WesternAnimation/MrMagoosChristmasCarol Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' [[UrExample predated it by three years]], and ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' by one, it was really ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' that made TV Christmas specials a thing in the entire Western world. The first of the animated prime-time specials based on Creator/CharlesMSchulz's classic comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', made on the cheap-and-quick for Creator/{{CBS}} in [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation 1965]][[note]]a careful viewer will notice that it's rife with [[OffModel animation errors]] due to its rushed production[[/note]] by Lee Mendelson, a San Francisco-based producer of documentaries and commercials, ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' has nevertheless gone on to become one of the most iconic Christmas works of all time. It is also one of the most ''successful'' ones of all time, enjoying a prominent place in pop culture from its debut to the present day. In fact, if you're from a Christmas-celebrating household, chances are you have already watched this special more times than you can count, and we don't have to remind you about the plot. But, just on the off chance that you ''haven't'' seen it...

* TheSyndicate: Mentioned by Lucy. This could also have been a sly reference to United Feature Syndicate, which distributed ''Peanuts'' to newspapers (and owned its copyright until recently).

While ''[[WesternAnimation/MrMagoosChristmasCarol Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' [[UrExample predated it by three years]], and ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' by one, it was really ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' that made TV Christmas specials a thing in the entire Western world. The first of the animated prime-time specials based on Creator/CharlesMSchulz's classic comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', made on the cheap-and-quick by producer Lee Mendelson for Creator/{{CBS}} in [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation 1965]],[[note]]a careful viewer will notice that it's rife with [[OffModel animation errors]] due to its rushed production[[/note]] ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' has nevertheless gone on to become one of the most iconic Christmas works of all time. It is also one of the most ''successful'' ones of all time, enjoying a prominent place in pop culture from its debut to the present day. In fact, if you're from a Christmas-celebrating household, chances are you have already watched this special more times than you can count, and we don't have to remind you about the plot. But, just on the off chance that you ''haven't'' seen it...

While ''[[WesternAnimation/MrMagoosChristmasCarol Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' [[UrExample predated it by three years]], and ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' by one, it was really ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' that made TV Christmas specials a thing in the entire Western world. The first of the animated prime-time specials based on Creator/CharlesMSchulz's classic comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', made on the cheap-and-quick by producer Lee Mendelson for Creator/{{CBS}} in [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation 1965]],[[note]]a careful viewer will notice that it's rife with [[OffModel animation errors]] due to its rushed production[[/note]] ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' has nevertheless gone on to become one of the most iconic Christmas works of all time. It is also one of the most ''successful'' of all time, enjoying a prominent place in pop culture from its debut to the present day. In fact, if you're from a Christmas-celebrating household, chances are you have already watched this special more times than you can count, and we don't have to remind you about the plot. But, just on the off chance that you ''haven't'' seen it...

* LyricalDissonance: "Christmas time is here... Happiness and cheer..." And yet the song, like "White Christmas", sounds noticeably wistful. It might be meant to symbolize Charlie Brown's inner depression and how the Christmas spirit seems shallow to him. In particular, notice how the word "cheer" is underscored by the chords shifting ''downward'' from a C to an A minor 7th.

* MoodWhiplash:
** The scene goes from Charlie Brown being mocked, berated, and jeered, and without even pausing to take a breath dives into Linus reciting a verse from Literature/TheBible that shames everyone there into realizing the TrueMeaningOfChristmas.
** The song being played during the Ice Skating Sequence, "Christmas Time Is Here". The lyrics suggest something cheery while the overall tone in the singing and piano playing is very depressing.

* BrokenAesop: The true star of the special is Charlie Brown's sad little Christmas tree, which serves as a metaphor for the TrueMeaningOfChristmas, in contrast to the glitzy aluminum Christmas trees everyone else buys, which are a metaphor for crazed holiday materialism. By the end of the film, Charlie Brown's friends come around to appreciating his perspective — and his tree. Yet the climax of the film nevertheless features everyone happily decorating Charlie Brown's sad tree until it rather magically comes to resemble as more "proper" one, decked out in glitzy decorations. This is presented as a happy ending, though it undermines the anti-materialism message by ultimately presenting Charlie Brown's tree as something that needed to be "fixed" by conforming with materialistic standards.

** Holiday depression: The title character isn't sad because it's Christmas; he's sad because [[ButtMonkey nothing ever seems to go right for him]].

* BrokenAesop: * The true star of the special is Charlie Brown's sad little Christmas tree, which serves as a metaphor for the TrueMeaningOfChristmas, in contrast to the glitzy aluminum Christmas trees everyone else buys, which are a metaphor for crazed holiday materialism. By the end of the film, Charlie Brown's friends come around to appreciating his perspective — and his tree. Yet the climax of the film nevertheless features everyone happily decorating Charlie Brown's sad tree until it rather magically comes to resemble as more "proper" one, decked out in glitzy decorations. This is presented as a happy ending, though it undermines the anti-materialism message by ultimately presenting Charlie Brown's tree as something that needed to be "fixed" by conforming with materialistic standards.