It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

The thing I loved most about this Charlie Brown Halloween special was the sheer simplicity of it. The creators obviously aimed this at people of all ages; It is just so funny and cute, it's impossible not to love. There is no horror, thriller, or gruesome bloody scenes. It shows what Halloween is really about- the fun of trick-or-treating, and being with your friends.

Linus believes in the 'Great Pumpkin', the Santa Claus of Halloween. He misses out on Halloween to stay in the Pumpkin Patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to pick his pumpkin patch as the most sincere. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown and the gang get invited to Violet's halloween party. The gang save Sally goes trick-or-treating as well. Sally decides to stay with Linus.

Don't miss out on this! A must see for Halloween.

Now what would Halloween, my favorite holiday, be without Charlie

Brown and the Great Pumpkin? Not to date myself, but I remember the very first time it aired on

CBS at the ripe old age of 7! I've never missed it since! Nothing encapsulates childhood, camaraderie and the spirit of

Halloween more than this Charles M. Schultz classic. Charlie

Brown and his bag of rocks, Snoopy and the Red Baron, Linus'

ingenious use of his security blanket for a ghost costume, Vince

Guaraldi's great score, and of course, bossy Lucy and her

sarcastic voice of reason - I think we all know a 'Lucy' growing up! All the feelings of anticipation, excitement and fear so commonly

associated with this spooky holiday is captured here - even the

feeling of great disappointment when awakening the day after and

knowing one must wait another FULL year for this greatest of

holidays to come again - another year to plan and live out your

fantasy. Well, at least there's Charlie Brown Xmas to get us over

the hump! Good Grief!!

I grew up with this and all the other Peanuts specials. I remember sitting up until 8:00pm (late for me at that age) and loving it. I remember the Mounds and Almond Joy ads. I even remember the catchy CBS "Special Presentation" intro. What can be said for this classic that hasn't been said before? From Linus and Sally in the pumpkin patch all night to the still quoted "I got a rock!" line, not many holiday specials that don't involve Charlie Brown and the gang bring a smile to my face like It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Schulz.

My grade: A+

After A Charlie Brown Christmas, this one came along the next fall. While it is not quite the first one, it has some good moments. Of course when this was made, Halloween was more of a trick or treat holiday as this one was originally sponsored by Dolly Madison, the maker of cup cakes. This high point of this one is Lucy talking about wearing a costume to match your personality.

Snoopy has his first major World War 1 Flying Ace segment here and it is effectively woven into the story. As a Halloween Special, Linus is always waiting for the Great Pumpkin & it is consistent with Linus that he makes a negative remarks about Santa believers. After all, in the previous Christmas Special, Santa is not mentioned in his speech of what Christmas is all about.

The Halloween party, which is a bigger staple today than ever is here though if this were to be updated, Snoopy could decorate his dog house with Halloween Lights, like he did with Christmas lights in the other special. While it is not Christmas, it did help build Charles Schultz resume so that he would do lots more television & movies with the Peanuts gang.

Although thousands of Halloween TV specials bombard us each October, one stands out as a can't-miss for anyone with children or anyone who ever was a child. The complete lack of scariness makes this the classic feel-good movie of the season. It is one film that is appropriate for children of every age, even very young children. It brings up the same nostalgic feelings that the Peanuts comic strip does, and gets me in the Halloween spirit every year. If you haven't seen it yet, spend some time this October to watch it with the children in your life. It's perfect with warm popcorn and orange candy corn. So for a change from the movies that give you nightmares, try the Halloween special that will give you sweet dreams of great pumpkins.