Like most people, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a staple Christmas special growing up. We watched it every year it came on television. I still watch it every year, though I own a digital copy of the show now and can watch it whenever I want to. But it seems sacrilegious to watch it anytime other than Christmastime, and I usually don’t make time for it until after Thanksgiving. Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack is also synonymous with the holiday, and just a hint at those piano keys can put me right in the Christmas mood.
But, how much of a Charlie Brown Christmas fan are you really? Today we’re unwrapping some festive holiday facts that all real fanboys know about A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The beginning. A Charlie Brown Christmas aired on CBS on December 9th, 1965.
Ford was his favorite. Charles Schulz wasn’t interested in getting into animation. He relented only when Ford approached him for a commercial featuring his Peanuts characters. Schulz had only driven a Ford, and when Ford Motors wanted a commercial for their Ford Falcon in the early 1960s, he agreed.
Keep it simple. The commercials were animated by Bill Melendez. Melendez had worked on previous Disney films such as Bambi and Dumbo. But what attracted Schulz was Melendez penchant for keeping the art simple and the movement of the characters understated.
Let’s talk profit! CBS and Coca-Cola only gave Schulz $76,000 to produce the show. They asked for an hour long special, but with only a six month notice, Melendez said that’d be impossible. So they went for a half hour long special. The $76,000 was a low margin at the time. But I think things worked out. Schulz and the producers have made $5 million dollars from the special through 2000.
I’m not laughing. The special was originally going to have a laugh track. The Flintstones were doing it at the time and any half hour comedy, animated or not, had a laugh track attached to it. Yet, when producer Mendelson told Schulz about it, the cartoonist stood up and left the room. Eventually he returned and went on as if nothing ever happened. Mendelson took the hint.
Not a jazz fan? Schulz had no say in the soundtrack for the special. He left that up to Mendelson, the show’s producer. When the special aired Schulz was quoted after that he thought jazz was awful. Nowadays, to think of Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack is to think of Peanuts. It’s funny to think that if it were up to Schulz, it might have never been!
They’re all gonna’ laugh at you. CBS hated A Charlie Brown Christmas. Mendelson and Melendez screened it for CBS executives just three weeks before it was set to air. The network said was slow and lacking energy. They wanted no more specials from the Peanuts team.
Who’s laughing now? When the special aired, half of the country tuned in to watch the program. At the time that equaled to 15 millions viewers, right underneath Bonanza at the time. CBS had to admit then that it was a winner. Although one particular network executive just had to have the last word. He told Mendelson that his Aunt in New Jersey didn’t like it.
Nothing beats the real thing. A Charlie Brown Christmas killed aluminum trees sales. Marketing for the trees were ramping up in 1958, and they were selling quite well. But when Charlie Brown opts out, bringing back a real tree instead, viewers started to rethink their decision. Aluminum trees started dropping in sales and were virtually phased out by 1969.
So, how much did you already know about A Charlie Brown Christmas? Also check out my other blog post all about It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Hit us up, and stop in at any Fanboys store this holiday season and save! We’re running daily and weekend specials all month long. See you soon!