I Got a Rock

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

When I first conceived this blog, I first wanted to only to do 90s movies and then branch out to other decades. However, the more I thought about it, it makes more sense to do Halloween movies in October. So, instead of Now and Then, I'm doing the ultimate classic Halloween cartoon---It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

And what a classic it is. There's just something about it so relatable and makes it hold up for fifty years. Yes, ladies and gents, this is the fiftieth anniversary of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Written by Charles Schultz and directed by Bill Melendez, it's full of humor and heart, especially when the usually mean-spirited Lucy goes to collect her little brother Linus from the pumpkin patch and puts him to bed.

Oh and Vince Guaraldi's music is fucking flawless, and anyone who tells you it isn't is a big fat liar with no soul.

Plot in a Nutshell: It's Halloween, y'all! Linus is going to wait for the Great Pumpkin, whom he insists doesn't get nearly as much publicity as Santa. Naïve and love-struck Sally decides to forego trick or treating to wait with Linus. Charlie Brown finally gets invited a Halloween party, but he ends up getting a pumpkin face drawn on the back of his head. Snoopy is a World War One flying ace. Ultimately, the Great Pumpkin doesn't up, Sally lets Linus have it, and life goes on.

WTF: Why does Linus take a bite into the apple he picked up from off of the ground and then throw it away after one bite? That's so wasteful, dude. Why did Linus and Lucy take that pumpkin without paying for it? Why the fuck are those mean adults giving Charlie Brown rocks instead of candy? Who waits in a pumpkin patch on Halloween?

Fun Facts are Fun: Schroeder actually does play World War One-era songs on his piano while Snoopy reacts. They are "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag", "There's a Long, Long Trail", and "Roses of Picardy."

The Verdict: Sit your ass down right now and watch it. DO IT NOW.

For our next Halloween movie, it's Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas or How I Stopped Worrying and Wondered Why It Became Popular in High School.