50 Fun Facts About A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

On which network did A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving first air, on November 20, 1973?

It placed third in the Nielsen ratings that week, behind All in the Family and Sanford and Son.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was which numbered prime-time Peanuts special?

It was only the third holiday special, after the Christmas special and the Halloween special.

Why does Peppermint Patty invite herself to Charlie Brown's for Thanksgiving?

She soon adds Marcie and Franklin to the guest list, even though Charlie Brown can cook nothing beyond 'maybe toast'.

Which of these is NOT on the menu at the feast Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock prepare?

The full spread is toast, popcorn, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and sundaes, served on a ping-pong table in the yard.

What piece of games equipment does Snoopy drag outside for the guests to eat on?

He then deals the plates like a casino dealer once the guests arrive.

How does Snoopy hand out the plates once the guests arrive?

Linus first says a grace based on the First Thanksgiving; then Peppermint Patty explodes at the menu.

After Peppermint Patty rejects the meal, who reminds her that she invited herself in the first place?

Patty then asks Marcie to apologise to Charlie Brown on her behalf - an unintentional echo of The Courtship of Miles Standish - before doing it herself.

Charlie Brown notes 'Over the River and Through the Wood' doesn't fit because his grandmother lives where?

Grandma has just invited all his friends to join the family dinner after he calls to explain why they are late.

How does the special end, back at the doghouse?

The sight of Woodstock, a bird, tucking into turkey has puzzled viewers for fifty years.

How does the special open, before any Thanksgiving business?

Apart from that football gag, it was the first Peanuts special with a completely original script not drawn from the strip.

What award did A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving win in 1974?

Producer Lee Mendelson collected 12 Emmys and four Peabodys across more than 100 programs in his career.

Who voices Charlie Brown in the special?

Peter Robbins, the original Charlie Brown, is heard only in an archived scream; DeFaria voiced Peppermint Patty.

Who provided the voices of both Snoopy and Woodstock?

The Mexican-born animator-director had worked at Disney and Warner Bros. before Peanuts and won six Emmys.

Who composed the special's music, recorded at Wally Heider Studios in 1973?

John Scott Trotter arranged and conducted; the complete score was finally released on the 50th anniversary in October 2023.

For the special's 50th anniversary, in which year was the full remastered soundtrack released?

Before that, cues had been scattered across compilations such as Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits (1998).

From 2008 to 2019, ABC filled the hour after the special with an abridged version of which 1988 Peanuts episode?

It was the premiere of the eight-part miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown, unusual for showing adults like George Washington in full view.

Which streaming service acquired exclusive rights to the special in 2020?

Apple's October 2020 deal requires a free three-day window each November; Apple also lent it to PBS commercial-free in 2020 and 2021.

In which years did CBS skip its annual broadcast of the special before it moved to ABC in 2001?

ABC then aired it every year through 2019, usually several times in Thanksgiving week, and regularly won its time slot.

In which month is the special typically shown in Canada?

Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October; Family Channel airs it the day before and the day of.

In which year did Apple renew its streaming rights to the special, on the 75th anniversary of the first Peanuts strip?

The strip debuted on October 2, 1950; the announcement came exactly 75 years later.

What is Peppermint Patty's rarely used full name?

Schulz modelled her on his cousin Patricia Swanson; she is the only character who calls Charlie Brown 'Chuck'.

In which year did Peppermint Patty first appear in the strip?

Her debut was August 22, 1966; Guaraldi wrote her a theme song the following year.

Peppermint Patty's bespectacled best friend habitually addresses her how?

It was her very first line in the strip in 1971; she was modelled on Elise Gallaway, roommate of Schulz's cousin Patty Swanson.

Franklin, introduced in July 1968, was the first what in Peanuts?

Schulz created him after a letter from schoolteacher Harriet Glickman, sent eleven days after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.

Where did Franklin first meet Charlie Brown in the strip?

A Southern editor later complained about Franklin sitting in front of Peppermint Patty in school; Schulz ignored him.

Franklin's surname honours which Jump Start cartoonist, co-writer of the 2024 special Welcome Home, Franklin?

The creator of Jump Start called it 'a tremendous honor' when Schulz phoned to ask permission.

Woodstock is named after what?

He appeared unnamed from 1966 and only got the name on June 22, 1970; the festival's logo shows a bird on a guitar.

What breed of dog is Snoopy?

His look was inspired by Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs, who famously ate pins and tacks and made Ripley's Believe It or Not.

In which fantasy persona does Snoopy fly a Sopwith Camel against the Red Baron?

He first adopted the persona on October 10, 1965; NASA has used him as its flight-safety mascot since 1968.

'Over the River and Through the Wood' began as an 1844 Thanksgiving poem by which author?

Her original line was 'to grandfather's house we go', and she was a prominent abolitionist writer.

In the poem's original words, whose house does the sleigh travel to?

Most people sing 'grandmother's', which is why Charlie Brown's condominium joke works at all.

How many Peanuts strips did Charles Schulz draw in total?

The strip ran from October 2, 1950 to February 13, 2000, the day after Schulz died.

How did Charles Schulz feel about the title 'Peanuts', which his syndicate chose?

His own strip had been called Li'l Folks; United Features renamed it when it launched in October of that year.

Charles Schulz's lifelong nickname 'Sparky' came from a horse in which comic strip?

An uncle named him after Spark Plug; Schulz was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Saint Paul.

Lee Mendelson approached Schulz after Schulz enjoyed his documentary about which ballplayer?

The resulting 1963 documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown found no network, but it started a 30-year partnership.

Which 1962 composition by the Peanuts composer won a Grammy and led to the Peanuts job?

He died in 1976 at 47, moments after finishing the first half of a nightclub set in Menlo Park.

In which Mexican city was the special's director, who also voiced Snoopy, born?

He was educated in Douglas, Arizona, and got his first job at Disney in 1938 after seeing Snow White.

How many episodes made up the 1988-89 miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown?

Four aired weekly in autumn 1988 and four monthly in early 1989, reusing 'Linus and Lucy' after Guaraldi's death.

In which year did the Peanuts comic strip debut?

Snoopy arrived two days after the first strip; at Schulz's death it ran in over 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries.

Which two 1960s Peanuts holiday shows were the only ones to precede the Thanksgiving one?

The Great Pumpkin special aired every year on broadcast TV from 1966 until 2020, when it too became an Apple exclusive.

The special was the last to use the same young voice cast as which earlier productions?

In the very next special, Robin Kohn's younger sister Melanie took over as Lucy.

What is the only thing Charlie Brown admits he might be able to cook when Peppermint Patty calls?

That confession sets up the improvised feast, which Linus and Snoopy help him pull together before the Browns leave for their grandmother's.

Why is Sally unenthusiastic when Thanksgiving comes around in the special?

Her mood lifts when Linus arrives to explain why the holiday matters, while her brother's gloom is his usual holiday depression.

In 2020, Apple arranged a free, commercial-free broadcast of the special on which network?

Apple's streaming deal requires a free three-day window each November; the 2020 airing ran with only a brief underwriting spot before and after.

Where did the special place in the weekly Nielsen ratings when it debuted in 1973?

Only All in the Family and Sanford & Son drew bigger audiences that week, both sitcoms at the height of their popularity.

Aside from the opening football gag, what made the special a first among Peanuts TV specials?

Earlier specials leaned heavily on gags lifted from the comic strip; this one was written fresh for television.

Along with The Disney Channel, which network re-aired the special in the 1990s?

That network ran the Peanuts specials under a 'You're on Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown' banner before the whole library moved to ABC in 2001.

Who conducted and arranged Vince Guaraldi's score for the special?

Trotter, long associated with Bing Crosby, worked on many of the Guaraldi-era Peanuts specials.

Peppermint Patty asking Marcie to apologise for her unintentionally parallels which Longfellow poem?

In Longfellow's poem, Standish sends John Alden to woo Priscilla Mullins on his behalf, a plot with its own Plymouth Colony setting.

The special's first home-video release in 1982 came on which RCA format?

The videodisc release was part of the A Charlie Brown Festival Vol. III compilation; a VHS edition did not follow until 1987.