Recap / Film Reroll A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving! Lisa draws up a contract. Andy sets up chairs. Paulo steals a ham.

Episode 149 of Film Reroll. Based on the 1973 Thanksgiving special, a decidedly slim category in and of itself.

It's been a month since the the chaos of Halloween night that befell Hennepin County, Minnesota, and in fact it's the day of Thanksgiving. Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt have plans for the day, the former getting ready to head over to his grandmother's house, and the latter just wanting an excuse to get away from her family for the day.

There's just one problem: Peppermint Patty is coming over with some kids, fully expecting Charlie Brown to be having dinner at home.

Is Charlie Brown able to pull off throwing a last-minute dinner to appease Peppermint Patty?

Will Lucy be able to get out of her own Thanksgiving dinner obligations?

Can Snoopy and Woodstock rob a supermarket?

Surprisingly, this is the quickest turnaround for a sequel to a previous campaign.

Starring Andy Hoover as Charlie Brown, Paulo Quiros as Lucy Van Pelt and Woodstock, Lisa Kopitsky as Snoopy, and Joz Vammer as the Dungeon Master.

Followed by A Charlie Brown Christmas.

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Tropes:

• Aborted Arc: Exploited: After Lucy manages to wind up with just enough wiggle room with her mom in order to potentially get out of having dinner with her family, that is the last time it factors into the plot of the campaign.
• Actually Pretty Funny: After Lucy pulls the football, and Charlie Brown goes flying, Lisa cracks that her Uncle Chester is probably laughing at this.^note In reality, he Crit Failed his perception check.
  Paulo: Yeah, where do you think [Lucy] got it from?
• Adaptational Jerkass: While Peppermint Patty is more insistent upon inviting herself into Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving, even after clearly hearing he's going to his grandmother's house that day, because of the fact that Charlie Brown was able to produce an actual Thanksgiving dinner, she at no point gets mad at him, and actually congratulates him for pulling it off.
• Adaptation Expansion: In the original special, Lucy's only scene was at the start, where she yet again tricks Charlie Brown with the football. Here, we instead open on Lucy playing football with her extended family members in the early morning, when Charlie Brown happens to walk by.
• The Alcoholic: Due to a crack from Andy^note "Uncle Chester's hittin' the six-pack early.", Joz decides that Lucy's Uncle Chester managing to Crit Fail noticing his niece pull the football meant he was off to the side, being "midwestern sober", having polished off his seventh PBR. Eventually, what winds up being The Stinger is Uncle Chester being blacked out on the porch, surrounded by cans.
• Anachronism Stew: Charlie Brown's first phone call to his grandma hits a snag when Joz briefly forgets Caller ID didn't exist in the 1960s.
• Artistic License – History: invoked Exploited: Because Linus (but mainly Joz) doesn't want to acknowledge what transpired at the first Thanksgiving, Paulo recommends just making stuff up instead. Cue Linus regaling everyone with how the Pilgrims came to America because they were being chased by robots, a period of time known as the Industrial Revolution.
• Artistic License – Physics: invoked Discussed: It's determined that, in the original short (and most likely here as well), when Charlie Brown missed the football, he went 45 feet into the air.
  Uncle Chester: Who brought a kite?!
• Ascended Extra:
  • Paulo manages to worm Lucy into the main plot of the campaign purely on the grounds of wanting to get away from her family for Thanksgiving.
  • When Charlie Brown decides to ask Snoopy if they could use any of his bird friends for dinner, Paulo co-opts Woodstock for his second character.
• Behind the Black: After Lucy and Charlie Brown have an extended conversation over her wanting to get away from her family for Thanksgiving, she points out that Bluto was standing next to them, listening to this whole conversation.
• Black Comedy:
  • When Charlie Brown calls his grandmother for the first time, she immediately recognizes he's calling... before Joz remembers Caller ID didn't exist in the 1960s. As such, Joz has to do a quick retcon so that Charlie Brown can explain who's calling, prompting Paulo to crack that his grandma actually guessed who was calling, and then promptly forgot. Or, as Joz cracks:
    Joz: Roll for dementia.
  • When faced with the prospect of cooking a last-minute turkey, Charlie Brown asks Snoopy if any of his bird friends are willing to die for the cause.^note Even better, he prefaces by specifying he's asking for any bird that has committed a crime.
• The Blind Leading the Blind: Paulo only watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving once^note as in this was his first time, and it was 35 minutes before they started recording.
• Butterfly of Doom: Because Lucy is available to help cook, meaning he doesn't have to, when Woodstock gets the idea to steal a ham from a supermarket, Snoopy decides to help out with that. This results in their friendship falling apart due to Snoopy insisting upon a turkey.
• Butt-Monkey: Not only is Violet's house still a burnt wreck from Halloween, but due to Woodstock deciding to spite Snoopy and start eating dog, Joz cracks that Violet's Shih Tzu goes missing shortly afterward.
• Call-Back:
  • Once again, there's a discussion of how to apply accents to adult-trombone voices, this time with the accent in question being Minnesotan.
  • When stumbling across Lucy playing football with her family, Charlie Brown brings up how Lucy said her dad was a Minnesota Viking.
  • invoked Linus' absence is openly lampshaded this time, with Charlie Brown concluding he's off worshiping another God.
  • When Charlie Brown goes to call his grandmother, Joz points out that his parents aren't home, which Andy pretends to be shocked about.
  • Upon very badly failing the Cooking roll to be able to toast multiple pieces of toast, the moment he spots some starting to burn, Charlie Brown immediately becomes concerned that there's going to be another house fire.
• Captain Obvious: "So, this is gonna come as a shock to you all, but my skills as Woodstock are not very good."
• Cassandra Truth: Lucy's younger cousin Bluto winds up being the only one to actually notice Lucy pull the football. Meanwhile, Uncle Chester was too drunk, and elder cousin Bruno accuses Charlie Brown of making stuff up about Lucy.
• Chekhov's Gun: When Snoopy and Woodstock arrive at the supermarket, they run into an issue where Snoopy isn't heavy enough to be able to trigger the automatic doors. This winds up biting Snoopy in the ass when Woodstock opts to betray Snoopy and trigger the store's alarm, and Snoopy isn't able to get out before the doors close.
• Cool Old Lady: As it happens, Charlie Brown's grandma has no problem at all with her grandson bringing over additional guests, even after the initial number practically doubles.
• Continuity Nod: On the way over to Charlie Brown's grandma's house, Lucy brings up a rumor about a dead body supposedly being in the woods nearby.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: More so than in the original special: This time, when Peppermint Patty calls and invites herself over to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving, he actually tries to explain he has other plans, but can't get a word in edgewise. Ultimately, rather than clarifying, he just tells her to show up at 1PM so they can figure something out. Charlie Brown then admits that the only thing stopping him from fixing this then and there is that he doesn't know her phone number.
• Could Say It, But...: When Snoopy shows up with a fully cooked turkey (that he stole from Schroeder's house), Charlie Brown pointedly decides to not think about how Snoopy pulled it off... which causes Snoopy to cast a quick glance Schroeder's way.
• Cutting the Knot:
  • When the store manager calls Charlie Brown about picking up Snoopy, Charlie Brown says that given his dog is intelligent, they should just let him go, and he'll make it back on his own.
  • After getting busted trying to steal a turkey from the supermarket, on his way back home, Snoopy decides to pivot and try and steal a cooked turkey, specifically from Schroeder's house.
  • Because Charlie Brown and the crew were able to cook an actual Thanksgiving dinner this go-around, when it comes time to go to his grandmother's house, Charlie Brown decides to bring their leftover food.
• Darker and Edgier: Downplayed: Excluding the addition of Lucy wanting to get away from her family for Thanksgiving, the only real part of the campaign that is considerably grimmer compared to the original special is Snoopy and Woodstock's Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure over Snoopy insisting on getting a turkey for Charlie Brown, something Woodstock is morally against. This not only culminates in Woodstock opting to betray Snoopy to the Feds (meaning the supermarket's staff), but the two actually come to blows towards the end of the dinner.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Defied: After Joz reveals that Bruno is "three beers behind" Uncle Chester, the players briefly voice a bit of concern over this being a case of 1960s underage drinking before Joz clarifies he's 18.
• Dinner and a Show: Peppermint Patty makes this exact observation verbatim when Snoopy and Woodstock's bad blood boils over, and the two start to brawl by the end of dinner.
• Eskimos Aren't Real: "Have you seen a real live turkey?"
• Exact Words:
  • Due to her mom insisting she stay and have Thanksgiving dinner with her family, Lucy manages to get it out of her that so long as she has a bite of turkey, and some cranberry sauce, in a chair in the kitchen before her family leaves, she is okay to do anything else.
    Bluto: Lucy, I bet that's not what [your mom] meant.
    Lucy: Yes, but in contract law, what someone meant isn't really the question.
  • When toying with the possibility of also joining Charlie Brown for Thanksgiving, Linus says he was intending to give a speech during dinner. Lucy then points out that he promised to do so at dinner, but not which dinner.
• Friendship Moment: What winds up helping repair their friendship is Snoopy and Woodstock exchanging peace offerings: popcorn for ham.
• Fusion Fic: Discussed: Snoopy getting grabbed by a supermarket employee causes Paulo to draw comparisons to Les Misérables^note "It's Les Misérables, Charlie Brown", which eventually spiral into a hypothetical Les Misérables / Peanuts hybrid, complete with Javert's monologue being done in trombone.
  Paulo: (as Jean Valjean) You would imprison him for stealing a turkey to feed his family?
  Andy: (as Javert) Yes. (makes trombone noises)
• Gargle Blaster: Charlie Brown attempting to make banana smoothies results in "Brown Drink"^note Which is just bananas, milk and sugar..
• Genre Savvy: Immediately after Peppermint Patty calls and invites herself over to a dinner Charlie Brown isn't actually having, when the phone rings a second time, he immediately concludes he doesn't want to answer it. Not that he stops himself.
• Ignored Epiphany: Not so much "ignored" as "never allowed to become acknowledged", but Peppermint Patty never gets to realize she was being a jerk to Charlie Brown, and inviting herself into social gatherings that she was expecting him to perform.
• Immediate Sequel: Variation: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was ran two months prior, and Paulo openly announces that they're running A Charlie Brown Christmas next.
• Implausible Deniability: Lucy's mom tries to deny the fact that Uncle Chester and Bruno are pounding beers to her daughter, even though she clearly sees the latter crush a can on his head.
  Lucy's Mom: Ohhh, that must be the Fantas that I got, or maybe the Frescas- (stammers) they're just fine, don't make up stories about your family-
  Lucy: Mom, Fantas come in bottles. If he just crushed a Fanta against his head, then we've got bigger problems.
• Implied Death Threat: Inverted: After Lucy admits to managing to have "angled" her way into joining Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving plans, Linus openly admits that the only reason why he doesn't go and tattle to their mom is that Lucy has "two good reasons" why he can't.
• In Spite of a Nail: Snoopy still gets into an extended brawl. This time, however, it's with Woodstock instead of a chair.
• Internal Reveal: Upon being invited to play football with her family, Lucy gives Charlie Brown the opportunity to do the kickoff. Charlie Brown decides to use this as an opportunity to show Lucy's relatives and cousins that she's a "troublemaker", given the previous times they've "played" football. Lucy's cousin Bluto acknowledges to Charlie Brown that Lucy's the type of bully to do that.
• Jumping Off Of The Slippery Slope: Opposed to the idea of letting Charlie Brown cook one of his friends, Woodstock happens upon the idea of instead stealing food from the grocery store.
• Lampshade Hanging / Leaning on the Fourth Wall: invoked When discussing how much of a nightmare her family is to deal with, Lucy acknowledges that Linus "manages always to escape out of these things".
• Lighter and Softer: Compared to the previous Charlie Brown campaign, the only moment of real conflict that occurs is Snoopy and Woodstock's falling out over slaughtered turkey, resulting in Snoopy almost getting arrested, and he and Woodstock getting into a brawl.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Charlie Brown mistakenly assumes Woodstock pulling out a burglar's mask is him pulling out an executioner's mask so they can cook one of his bird friends for dinner, rather than Woodstock getting Snoopy to help rob a supermarket for food.
• Loophole Abuse:
  • When considering^note due to a failed Diplomacy roll to have Lucy tag along with his family to his grandma's house, Charlie Brown asks if she's okay with potentially not eating dinner there, so that his grandma would be okay with her there.
  • In turn, Lucy admits she only really asked to come along so that she could have an alibi; she was more willing to just do whatever she wanted in town away from her family. But then, seemingly because her mom tried to make her stay, Lucy pretty much doubles down on actually going to Charlie Brown's grandmother's house.
  • When Charlie Brown (over the phone) tries talking the supermarket manager into just letting Snoopy leave, Snoopy decides to summon his lawyer persona and draw up a contract.
    Paulo: There's nothing in the rulebook says a dog can't be a lawyer.
  • In order to roll to make banana smoothies, Andy decides to roll against Knot-tying, "as it's kind of a knot", and succeeds by 3.^note Naturally, that just means he doesn't make a mess.
• Mathematician's Answer: When Charlie Brown decides to make milkshakes for everyone, Joz asks Andy how he's going to do that:
  Andy: Correctly. With a roll.
• Minnesota Nice: Discussed: When the idea of Lucy's extended family having thick Minnesotan accents is broached, Joz points out that given how Charlie Brown adults talk, you would need to find a way to replicate that accent with a trombone.
• No Plot? No Problem!: Discussed: Joz admits, due to wanting to "complete the triptych of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas," to having believed A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving had more plot than it actually did. It was only upon rewatching it that she realized what she got herself into. Lisa then proceeds to point out how Joz didn't have this kind of problem with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, given how much they spent the prior campaign calling out that special for having no plot, whereas this one has a through-line.
• "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: Andy makes a point to quickly state he hadn't made up the concept of a "Pittsburgh toilet" as a bit, even acknowledging the Wikipedia page on the subject. So naturally, Joz and Paulo (jokingly) accuse him of creating that page then and there.
• Out of Holiday Episode: invoked Despite being set at Thanksgiving, the episode was released two days before Christmas.
• Pair the Spares: As lampshaded by Lisa, due to Lucy's insistence that everyone agrees to marry each other, Franklin and Marcie wind up having no other options than each other.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Even though he put on a burglar's mask in order to rob the supermarket, it comes to light that Snoopy left his dog collar on.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: When Paulo calls out Woodstock for having a higher Strength stat than Lucy, Joz points out that it's an established Running Gag that Woodstock is capable of lifting heavy things while flying.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Snoopy and Woodstock wind up having a falling out when the former decides to grab a turkey against the latter's wishes while in the supermarket.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Lucy decides she wants to piggyback off of Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving plans instead of dealing with her family, pointing out that he just (sarcastically) said she could ask his grandma. She even outright asks for the escape.^note Of course, it turns out she (initially) only really asked so she could have an alibi.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: While mentioning how they were fully expecting a Summerspell situation with the previous Charlie Brown campaign, Lisa and Paulo acknowledge that they basically Summerspelled themselves due to anticipating such a thing.
• Seinfeldian Conversation: The campaign ends on Snoopy and Woodstock talking shop about popcorn, specifically how Snoopy has no idea what it is, and Woodstock needing to explain it.
• Shout-Out:
  • "So, pop quiz, hotshot, has there ever been music at a Thanksgiving?"
  • Snoopy and Woodstock arguing prompts Andy to shoot off a "Four legs good, two legs bad."
• The Silent Bob: Both Marcie and Franklin don't get a line in this campaign.
• Stating the Simple Solution: It’s only when they are in the middle of robbing the supermarket that Lisa remembers that Snoopy, per the special, already had a turkey cooking back at his doghouse. This never gets brought up again.
• Suddenly Voiced:
  • As opposed to last time, Joz opts to actually voice the adults instead of doing trombone noises.
  • Similarly, Joz decides to voice Schroeder this time.
  • Likewise, upon taking control of Woodstock, Paulo opts to give him a normal voice (even though Snoopy is the only one that can understand him).
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: An offhand comment from Charlie Brown confirms that, even a month later, Violet's house hasn't been repaired since the fire from last Halloween, and she and her family have been staying at a hotel.
• Take That!:
  • Paulo openly describes A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as being "the shortest piece of media [he's] ever felt was padding for time".
  • When arranging the chairs, Charlie Brown takes care to make sure there isn't a situation similar to a movie he saw where there was one chair on one side, and multiple chairs on the other.
  • When it comes time for Linus to give his Thanksgiving speech, Linus makes a point to declaring they aren't going to be acknowledging the first Thanksgiving in celebrating the holiday.
• Tempting Fate: Discussed: While Paulo and Lisa are fully expecting that Joz was actually gonna Summerspell them this time, Andy refuses to consider it, looking at this from the perspective of the fact that given how "trying" 2023 was, this was just going to be a nice little campaign to wind down the year with... before then demanding that this actually be the case.
• This Is Unforgivable!: While at the supermarket, Woodstock repeatedly tries to get Snoopy to not grab a turkey, as he is opposed to the slaughter of a fellow bird. When his attempts fail, Woodstock feels so betrayed, he decides to rat Snoopy out... by stealing a ham, and using it to trigger the store's alarm system as he leaves.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • When a shopper notices Snoopy is in the supermarket and starts yelling about there being a mangy mutt, Snoopy promptly runs over to her side and points at a nearby child, in order to shift the accusation towards him. As a result of a bad roll, the customer then begins yelling about two mangy mutts.
  • Because of a failed roll to see if she knows what Schroeder's playing to underscore Snoopy and Woodstock's fight, Lucy mistakenly assumes he's playing a Vince Guaraldi piece.
• Unconventional Learning Experience: invoked Lampshaded: When given the opportunity to explain what a "Pittsburgh toilet" is^note a toilet situated in a non-bathroom set up, such as in a basement with no walls, Andy cracks that no one can accuse the podcast for not educating people.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Apparently, Lucy has a cousin named Tonnifer, and a younger cousin named Bluto.
• Xanatos Gambit: When offered to take part in the family football game, Charlie Brown points out to Lucy that there's only two ways this will pan out: either Lucy's shtick of pulling the football away gets exposed to her family, or he finally gets to kick the football. So, naturally, she pulls the football... much to the non-surprise of her family.
• Yank the Dog's Chain:
  • While rolling for Charlie Brown's Dex, Andy expresses delight about being able to finally kick the football... only to realize that due to Charlie Brown's Dex being 5, he failed by 4.
  • When Lucy asks her mom if she can hang out with Charlie Brown's family for Thanksgiving^note in reality, she just needs the alibi, she puts her foot down and tells Lucy she has to stay. So naturally, Lucy manages to find a loophole.
• You Can't Fight Fate: After Charlie Brown's successful phone call to his grandma regarding bringing additional guests to dinner, he's perfectly content to just wait until it's time to leave. And then Peppermint Patty calls.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Although the roll fails, Lisa is practically insulted to learn Woodstock has the skill "Animal Handling: Snoopy".

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