ABC Airs Fantastic 50th Anniversary Special for 'Charlie Brown Christmas'

by Aprille Hanson
Just as decorating a Christmas tree, stringing up lights and singing Christmas carols are imbedded in our celebration of this beautiful holiday season, so is tuning in to watch the timeless TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” This year, ABC paid tribute to the beloved Peanuts gang for the 50th showing of the Christmas special with, “It’s Your 50th Christmas Charlie Brown” hosted by the cute-as-a-button Kristen Bell.

The hour-long tribute aired Nov. 30 and included stars performing classic and new renditions of songs surrounding the special and other Peanuts specials that came about because of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

It wasn’t in front of an audience, at least a real one, but rather, the Peanuts characters cheered as this mix of real life and cartoon clips made for a magical, sweet tribute. Between performances, Bell shared some trivia that some hardcore Peanuts fans already know and some that is largely unknown. For example, in the 1980s, Stacy Ann Ferguson, known today as pop sensation Fergie, voiced Sally Brown in two Peanuts specials. But the real focus was, of course, the Christmas special.

A clip from the 1965 documentary on Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schulz aired, seguing into how that documentary started it all. While Lee Mendelson, as he explained, tried to find a way to market the documentary, Coca-Cola reached out to see if they’d be interested in creating a Peanuts Christmas special. Mendelson agreed, asking Schulz to come up with the script the next day and the collaborators did just that. Bill Melendez was brought onboard to be the director and animator. Clips were shown on how the animation was made, through drawings overlaid onto the stationary backgrounds. Jazz composer Vince Guaraldi was brought in, creating the most cherished music for the special.

CBS aired it on Dec. 9, 1965, though as Bell explained, executives were worried about the audience’s reception to Linus’ now-famed reciting of the Bible verse, Luke 2: 8-14, of what the true meaning of Christmas was about. Not much was really said about it on the tribute, other than Schulz pushed for it, but it was certainly a defining moment for the time, pointing out how the commercialization that the holiday was and is still becoming isn’t really what it’s all about. The special is still a quiet reminder of the simplicity and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, rather than the rush of shopping and gifts and therefore, speaks to our innermost child.

Live performances of Guaraldi’s classics, including “Linus and Lucy,” performed by David Benoit Trio, were played throughout the tribute as scenes from the Christmas special and other Peanuts specials played. Sarah McLachlan gave a sweet performance with the All-American Boys Chorus of “Christmas Time Is Here” and Matthew Morrison performed an original song “Just Like Me,” amid a set of Christmas trees, as a tribute to the tiny Charlie Brown Christmas tree. While Morrison’s performance in any other setting would be lame, it worked for this tribute. Boyz II Men picked it up, performing a medley of “Joe Cool” and “Little Birdie” which was fun, paying homage to the always cool Snoopy.

While other Peanuts specials were highlighted, from an ode to baseball with San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner and catcher Buster Posey to the unrequited love of various Peanuts characters including the Little Red-Haired Girl, it was the clips of the Christmas special that warmed the heart. One of the best was showing a montage of Charlie Brown talking in a variety of languages during the special, including German, French, Italian and Japanese. It even mentioned how the Apollo 10 mission featured call signs of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, making the comic strip characters somewhat mascots. It shows just how widely beloved it’s been the past 50 years.

Not only is the special internationally adored, it even garnered attention from the White House. A taped message from President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama shows just how important this Christmas special is -- the only critique would be the lighthearted joke about how most of Washington sounds like all adults do on the Peanuts specials (waaa waa waa) was harmless, but maybe out of place. The last thing the audience needs to be reminded of is the fractures in politics while reflecting on Charlie Brown.

By far though, the best moments of the special came courtesy of the darling that is Kristin Chenoweth, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Sally Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and the crazy good stylings of Pentatonix.

Chenoweth, accompanied by Andrew Lippa, performed a beautiful rendition of “Happiness” from the Broadway play. It was tradition at its finest, but the tribute was about to be hit with cutting edge, when the acapella group Pentatonix took on “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” in a pop-rap-fun kind of beat with the All-American Boys Chorus backing them. But not to worry -- the chorus first performed a little of the classic ‘Hark,’ to satisfy the traditionalists, which was also amazing.

The special concluded with the airing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for the 50th time. The tribute was much like the special and comic strip in general -- simple, yet celebratory; a perfect ode to the most lovable unloved Charlie Brown. 

---