"...Are you going to die?"
First aired on CBS (and in Canada on CBC) in 1990, this Peanuts special (the 33rd overall) is notable as the first animated cartoon to tackle the subject of cancer. Sadly, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz 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.
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's 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 chew out Lucy and a schoolyard bully for their picking on Janice.
Tropes used:
- Advertised Extra: Janice appeared in this special and this special alone, but also appears in various postcards, puzzles and get-well cards. She's also appeared as a non-speaking background character in contemporary productions of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
- Baldness Means Sickness: Janice becomes bald after getting chemotherapy. Though she wears a hat to hide it, it eventually gets knocked off to reveal that she's gone bald, and she breaks down in tears when a boy bullies her because of it.
- Baldness Mockery: Played for Drama. Janice goes through chemotherapy due to her leukemia, which makes her lose her hair. A rude kid laughs at her for it, driving her to tears. Linus then sets the guy straight.
- Barbaric Bully: Linus confronts one of these in the special’s later half.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played with. Janice does lose her hair from the chemotherapy, but when we see her in remission, her hair has grown back to its original length much, much faster than it would in real life.
- Beware the Nice Ones: A bully removes Janice's hat, which covered her baldness, and then loudly mocking her baldness until she cried. Linus then proceeds to verbally destroy him.
- Canon Foreigner: Janice Emmons, who was invented specifically for this special (though apparently Charlie Brown, Linus, and Sally already knew her). She didn't end up integrated into the wider Peanuts cast,
to the frustration of some fans. - Children Are Innocent: Clearly points this out, except in the case of Lucy and the school bully.
- Children Are Tender-Hearted: Zigzagged; Linus and Charlie Brown are very concerned about Janice because she's gotten leukemia, and Linus is even shown shedding a Single Tear. Lucy, however, doesn't seem to give a damn about it when Linus tells her about it and just tells him to get her a glass of milk. She later comments that Janice probably got leukemia because she's a "creepy kid".
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Janice is very matter-of-fact about her treatment, even about the painful bone marrow sampling and her chemotherapy.
- Cool Big Sis: While Janice's sisters are hurt that their parents are neglecting them by focusing on their sick sibling, they don't hold it against her. In fact, they make sure to pass on Linus's Christmas present to her and say that her pile looks nice.
- Darker and Edgier: Peanuts is not exactly known for discussing cancer and the burdens of treatment.
- Determinator: Janice vows to get better so she can play on the swings with Linus.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Janice enters remission, can play on the swings with Linus, and grows her hair back. Even though her cancer may come back, Linus appreciates the time they have together in the here and now.
- From the Mouths of Babes:
- Charlie Brown asks Janice, "Are you going to die?" and Linus calls him out for it. Janice then says it's okay, since she asked the same question to her doctors.
- Janice gives a detailed explanation of her cancer treatment, even pronouncing long words like "intravenous tube" and "chemotherapy."
- Green-Eyed Monster:
- Downplayed with Janice's sisters; they reveal to Linus that since she got sick, they've received fewer 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 time to appreciate her pile of presents knowing how happy she'll be.
- Surprisingly, there is no jealousy on Sally's part in this special, even though her "Sweet Babboo" clearly fancies Janice instead of her.
- Grew a Spine: Linus not only learns to stand up to his domineering sister but also to a playground bully who was humiliating Janice.
- Harmful to Minors:
- A sobering case because it's all too realistic. A little girl in your class becomes sick for no reason, and develops a potentially incurable disease. The special was made when modern chemotherapy (which was as close to a "miracle cure" for leukemia as you could get) was just coming out of its infancy and into wide circulationnote ; 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:
- Charlie Brown says that cancer sounds scary and asks, "Are you going to die?"
- Linus does the Title Drop 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. The special is about him being the depressed one for once, and realizing that there is not an answer for everything.
- 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.
- Heroic BSoD: This time, it’s Linus who is the gloomy one.
- Hypocritical Humor: While exiting the hospital, Charlie Brown considers grabbing a snack from the cafeteria, prompting him and Linus to wonder what's available in there since, "Doctors always eat the right things." Cue Snoopy in his surgeon garb exiting the cafeteria carrying a tray loaded with ice cream, donuts, and other junk food.
- Identical Stranger: Janice's sisters resemble Friedanote and Pattynote .
- Innocently Insensitive: When Janice explains to them that she has cancer, Charlie Brown directly asks her if that means she's going to die. Obviously he's not doing it out of malice, but Linus still gets annoyed by it.
- Insane Troll Logic: Lucy believes that Linus caught cancer from Janice because he touched the latter's forehead, even though that's not how it actually works. Linus tries to correct her on this, but she refuses to listen, prompting Linus to call her out on her behavior.
- In-Universe Catharsis: Linus allows Janice's sisters to vent their feelings over being accidentally neglected due to her being sick, which helps them feel a little better.
- Kick the Dog: The bully does this to Janice by tossing away her hat and announcing loudly that she's bald. He ends up paying for it thanks to Linus.
- Littlest Cancer Patient: Janice Emmons develops leukemia, which fortunately her parents caught early thanks to Linus advising her to go to the nurse.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Lucy genuinely believes that cancer is contagious like the common cold, to which Linus tries to correct her on. Lucy, of courses, refuses to listen; Linus calls her out on this big time.
- Mood Whiplash:
- The opening is filled with it; Snoopy tries to get on the bus but gets kicked off for being a dog. As Sally tries to find an excuse to avoid school, Janice accidentally bumps herself and gets a bruise, which shifts the mood from comical to serious as Linus notes she's been bruising a lot. Before anyone can ponder it, however, Snoopy hitches a ride on the bus roof and plays the harmonica.
- Following Linus' 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.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: Linus does this upon Lucy discovering he was visiting Janice and had checked her forehead for a fever. Since Linus knew he can't catch cancer like a cold, he yells at his normally bully of a sister for her remarks. Linus goes as far as standing up against a schoolyard bully for making fun of Janice's baldness, a side-effect of chemotherapy.
- Not in Front of the Kid: A variation; while Janice's sisters are hurt that their parents are neglecting them, they know that it's not Janice's fault. They refuse to vent their frustrations to their parents where she may potentially overhear, instead telling Linus and being genuinely happy their sister has a huge pile of presents.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Linus, all the way. You know he is way out of character when he finds it in himself to actually yell at Lucy, a person who usually intimidates him with her fists, and verbally tearing a bully apart for mocking Janice's condition. He is also not seen with his blanket at all — not even once. In fact, the latter was even a deliberate choice by Schulz to emphasize the seriousness of the subject matter.
- Parents as People: As always, we don't see them (this is the Peanuts we’re talking about), 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.
- Rage Breaking Point: Linus throughout Janice's treatment has demonstrated Tranquil Fury at best when people show insensitivity towards her condition, but when a bully cruelly mocks her for being bald, he verbally tears the bully apart.
- Remember the New Guy?: Janice is a Canon Foreigner that happens to be friends with Linus, Charlie Brown and Sally. She would later appear as a non-speaking background character in updated productions of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, but otherwise hasn't appeared in the Peanuts canon since 1990.
- Sadist Teacher: Linus has one that mocks him for checking Janice's forehead and telling her to go to the nurse,Linus: No, I'm not a doctor, ma'am.
- Shown Their Work: Janice gives a detailed explanation on her treatment, including her bone marrow being sampled and the chemotherapy that makes her sick, while also making clear that being sick from the treatment is preferable to dying from untreated leukemia.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Snoopy and Woodstock are only in a handful of scenes and have mostly a minor role due to the special's subject matter.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Linus gives this to Lucy and the bully when they’re mean to Janice.
- Title Drop: Linus does this on the way home from the first time he visits Janice at the hospital.
- Took a Level in Badass: Linus manages to stand up to both his sister and a bully.
- The Topic of Cancer: The special is the first animated cartoon to tackle the subject of cancer, and the subject is treated with appropriate seriousness.
- Tranquil Fury: Linus towards Lucy when she thinks that he contaminated a glass of milk she ordered him to get for her with Janice's cancer.
- Truth in Television: The scene with Snoopy dressed as a surgeon and eating junk food from the hospital cafeteria is very true. Owing to the stress of training and being on call, many doctors in hospitals will eat available Comfort Food.
- Very Special Episode: This special was the first to address cancer in an animated format, at least in the English language. A great many of the Very Special Episodes about illness and whatnot in the 90s and beyond were attempting to copy this special and achieve the same impact it had (and said impact was significant).
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Subverted in one case; Linus calls out Charlie Brown for asking Janice "Are you going to die?" but Janice says it's okay, since she asked her doctors the same question. She then proceeds to explain to them about the process of her treatment.
- Played straight when Lucy freaks out on Linus touching Janice to check for a fever, worried that he'll pass on "cancer germs" to Lucy. Linus first tries to calmly explain to Lucy that you can't catch cancer the way that you have a cold, but she won't listen and orders him to take away the glass of milk he just brought her. Linus calmly refuses, because he doesn't want to catch her crabbiness.
