A Charlie Brown Valentine is the fortieth Peanuts special, and the first one produced after the death of Charles M. Schulz. It first aired on ABC in 2002.
The special mostly focuses on Charlie Brown and his ongoing failure to get anywhere with the Little Red-Haired Girl. His efforts are complicated by Peppermint Patty and Marcie, who are pursuing their own crushes on him.
This is the second Peanuts special themed around Valentine's Day, following 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. It is also the first Peanuts special to be fully digitally animated instead of using traditional cel animation; while It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown! was the first to use digital coloring, the backgrounds there were still hand-painted.
A Charlie Brown Valentine contains examples of:
- All Love Is Unrequited: Charlie Brown's crush on the Little Red-Haired Girl goes nowhere, as do Peppermint Patty and Marcie's crushes on him. The special also features the similarly doomed infatuations of Sally on Linus and Lucy on Schroeder.
- Cannot Talk to Women: Charlie Brown cannot speak to the Little Red-Haired Girl because she has "a pretty face." Lucy notices that he can talk to her and is naturally offended that he evidently doesn't consider her to be that pretty.
- Conversation Hog: Peppermint Patty "accepts" Charlie Brown's nonexistent offer to be his date at the Valentine's Day dance.
- The Ghost: Averted. The Little Red-Haired Girl is shown, but with a different design than in her previous animated appearances.
- Never My Fault: Peppermint Patty and Marcie blame Charlie Brown for the bad time they had at the dance, never mind he didn't actually invite them.
- Oblivious to Love: As he moons over the Little Red-Haired Girl, Charlie Brown is quite oblivious to the fact that Peppermint Patty and Marcie both have crushes on him.
- Valentine's Day Episode: The second Peanuts special focused on the holiday.
