Charlie Brown eagerly awaits all the valentines that he is sure to receive. Will a briefcase be enough to hold them all? Linus buys a huge box of chocolates for his teacher, Miss Othmar, on whom he has a crush. Sally sees him making the purchase and mistakenly believes the chocolates are for her. A frustrated Lucy smashes Schroeder's piano. Is he sure he wants to risk losing her?
In 2001, the special moved to ABC, where it was eventually paired with the 2002 special A Charlie Brown Valentine. This lasted until 2020, when Apple TV+ acquired the Peanuts specials. Since this happened between the annual airings of Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Be My Valentine and its 2002 counterpart ended up being the last Peanuts specials to be broadcast on commercial television.
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown contains examples of:
- All Love Is Unrequited: As always. Charlie Brown doesn't get a valentine from anyone, least of all the Little Red-Haired Girl. Sally doesn't get any attention from Linus, who is pining hopelessly for Miss Othmar instead. Lucy continues to get nowhere with Schroeder.
- And This Is for...: Linus does this as he angrily throws away the chocolates he was going to give to Miss Othmar.Linus: This one is for love! And this one is for valentines! This one is for romance! This one is for Elizabeth Barrett Browning! This is for "How do I love thee!" This is for...
- Artistic License – Animal Care: Granted, Linus isn't aware where his tossed chocolates are going, but any experienced dog owner would know that chocolate would be absolutely toxic to Snoopy.
- Beyond the Impossible: While helping Sally make a valentine, Snoopy somehow manages to make a carousel out of paper, which even plays music.
- The Cameo: Peppermint Patty and Marcie appear in crowd shots, but don't have any lines and are never referred to. Interesting that apparently neither of them sent Charlie Brown a valentine, considering they canonically have crushes on him.
- Comically Missing the Point: Even when Schroeder flat-out states that the pity Valentine wasn't out of genuine care for Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown still takes it, and even thinks that this could be the start of him getting more valentines as the years go by, much to Linus' chagrin.Linus: (sarcastically) Happy Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown...
- Crazy-Prepared: Charlie Brown is shockingly optimistic about receiving valentines that he takes a good number of precautions, including waiting patiently by his mailbox, asking Schroeder to prioritize looking for valentines with his name on it, and even bringing an entire briefcase to school thinking it'll be loaded up with valentines by the end of the day.
- Cupid's Arrow: In the opening, Snoopy dresses up as Cupid and tries to hit Charlie Brown with suction darts.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Linus isn't in love with Miss Othmar. He's just "very fond of the ground on which she walks."
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Despite Sally's crush on Linus being a major part of the plot, she never calls him her "sweet babboo," as that nickname didn't debut in the comic until 1977. She does call him her "lover boy" at one point, however.
- Failed a Spot Check: Violet decides to get a bottle of heart-shaped shaving lotion for her teacher, forgetting the fact that he has a full-grown beard.
- Failure Is the Only Option: Come on, did you really think Charlie Brown was going to get any valentines?
- Humiliation Conga: During the puppet show that Snoopy performs, Lucy is subjected to the various Diegetic Visual Effects, including being covered with dirt, getting hit with earthquake debris (in reality trash), and being rained on with a gardening can. This causes her to leave the show, before Charlie Brown informs her that there's another showing later that evening.Lucy: Remind me not to come!
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Linus considers beating erasers per Miss Othmar's request to be a privilege and an honor, but he ends up proving himself wrong from choking on chalk dust.
- It's All Junk: After failing to give his valentine to Miss Othmar, Linus angrily throws away all the candies he bought for her. Unbeknownst to him, he's tossing them all into the waiting mouths of Snoopy and Woodstock.
- Misfortune Cookie: Charlie Brown's Sweetheart candy reads "Forget it, kid."
- Moving Right Through: Sally, seeing Linus running up with the box of candy he got for Miss Othmar, assumes he's running up to her and puckers up, expecting to kiss him on the cheek. Linus proceeds to run right past her, chasing Miss Othmar out to the parking lot, with Sally thinking he must've missed her.
- Not Good with Rejection: Linus is left utterly devestated after Miss Othmar drives off with her boyfriend, causing him to throw away every chocolate he got for her in anger, and spend the next day sulking while he's hanging out with Charlie Brown.
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: Lucy asks at the concession stand for popcorn, but Snoopy instead does a juggling act with the candy and pours her a soda, making Lucy get progressively angrier.
- The One That Got Away: Lucy argues, quite dramatically, that Schroeder doesn't want to risk her becoming this trope.
- Origami Gag: Charlie Brown tries to teach Sally how to cut construction paper to make a heart for Valentine cards, but she produces stencils of a club and a diamond instead. By contrast, with a flourish of scissors, Snoopy manages to cut his paper so as to form a complex, moving carousel that even plays music.
- Overly Long Gag: Sally receives a Sweethearts candy that has Elizabeth Barrett Browning's entire Sonnet 43 printed on it, which she reads in full.
- Precocious Crush: Linus has a crush on Miss Othmar. Additionally, Violet has a crush on an unnamed male teacher.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Schroeder delivers an epic one to Violet and the other girls when they decide to give Charlie Brown a pity valentine after the fact:Schroeder: Hold on there! What do you think you're doing? Who do you think you are? Where were you yesterday, when everyone else was giving out valentines? Is kindness and thoughtfulness something you can make retroactive? Don't you think he has any feelings? You and your friends are the most thoughtless bunch I've ever known! You don't care anything about Charlie Brown, you just hate to feel guilty! And now you have the nerve to come around one day later and offer him a used valentine, just to ease your conscience! Well, let me tell you something! Charlie Brown doesn't need your—
Charlie Brown: (shoving him aside) Don't listen to him! I'll take it! - "Take That!" Kiss: After Charlie Brown debates on whether or not he got a valentine from the Little Red-Haired Girl in the mail, he opens up the mailbox, only for Snoopy to be in there and kiss him on the nose.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Linus and Violet are both shown to have Precocious Crushes on their teachers. Both end up being rejected, however, as Linus couldn't give Miss Othmar his valentine for her on account of her riding off with her boyfriend, while Violet gives her teacher a bottle of heart-shaped shaving lotion while forgetting that he has a beard.
- Valentine's Day Episode: Obviously. It was followed twenty-seven years later by a second one, A Charlie Brown Valentine, which it aired alongside on ABC. Try not to confuse them.
