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Commentary: Bill Goodykoontz On 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'
Download mp3 (7.78 MB)Arizona Republic media critic Bill Goodykoontz explains why the classic “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" might have a bit more resonance this year.
Peanuts Worldwide via Apple
Still from the 1966 Peanuts Halloween special, "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
Perhaps you've heard that for the first time since its debut in 1966, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" won't be shown on network TV this year. That's a shame, especially now.
If "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is a story of hope and growth, "Great Pumpkin" is a tale of failure and despair. Nobody really gets what they want. It's practically a horror movie. In other words, now's a great time to watch. I got a rock, indeed.
It is possible to see "Great Pumpkin," and later the Christmas show. They've been snatched up by the streaming service Apple TV Plus, and it will let non-subscribers stream it for free from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. Take advantage of that offer. If you haven't seen "Great Pumpkin" in a while, you may be surprised at how bleak picture it paints. Sure, there are lots of things we associate with the holiday — costumes, trick-or-treating, carving a jack-o'-lantern, a Halloween party, bobbing for apples. All of them wind up bad for someone. Often it's Charlie Brown, of course — the Job of children's animated specials.
In one of the show's most famous bits, Lucy goads him into kicking the football she's holding. Cruelly she's yanked it out from him before, and he's understandably reluctant to try again.
"Oh, brother," he says. "I don't mind the dishonesty half as much as I mind your opinion of me. You must think I'm stupid."
And there's the perfect description for what it feels like to watch a Donald Trump rally.
"No, no. This time will be different," Lucy says. "This time you can trust me. See, here's a sign document testifying that I promise not to pull it away."
"I guess if you have a signed document in possession, you can't go wrong," Charlie Brown says.
Naturally, Lucy pulls the ball at the last minute, Charlie Brown lands flat on his back.
"Peculiar thing about this document. It was never notarized," Lucy says.
Peanuts Worldwide via Apple
Still from the 1966 Peanuts Halloween special, "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
The scene has become a metaphor for all manner of betrayal ever since. The cynicism on display is breathtaking and amazingly contemporary for a 54-year-old show, especially one aimed at children. I love it.
Charlie Brown also suffers the indignation of unwittingly posing as a model for jack-o'-lantern carving, is humiliated about Lucy, who insists he was invited to a party by mistake, ruins his ghost costume — I had a little trouble with the scissors — and of course is rewarded with nothing but disappointment at every house he visits. Everyone else gets candy. Charlie Brown? "I got a rock." It's the great existential cry of unfulfilled promise. At its heart is the source of so much division in this country. Why is everyone else getting more than me? But Charlie Brown soldiers on and thankfully doesn't join QAnon.
But it's Linus, as ever, who travels the most complex path. His quest is where the show gets its name. His devotion to a quasi-Santa Claus figure sets him up for failure every year. Until that point, Linus is a problem solver. When the pumpkin Lucy picks out is too big to fit through the gap in the fence, he simply rolls it around the side. Of course, he's horrified and they get it home and she guts it for carving.
"Oh, you didn't tell me you were going to kill it!"
Later, Lucy taunts him because he's too short to reach the mailbox to mail his letter to the Great Pumpkin. So he uses his ever-present blanket to zip it through the slot. He knows he's fighting an uphill battle for acceptance.
"There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people," he says. "Religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin."
Sally Brown, who has a crush on Linus, agrees to spend the evening in the pumpkin patch with him, missing out on her first chance to go trick-or-treating. For her trust and willingness to believe in something, she's met with crushing disappointment. Sounds about right.
Peanuts Worldwide via Apple
Still from the 1966 Peanuts Halloween special, "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
Don't mistake this for reasons not to watch one of the great holiday specials ever. These are reasons to watch. Good Halloween fare is all about catharsis. Michael Meyers might be carving up teenagers on screen, but at least he's not carving up you. And Great Pumpkin offers catharsis in bulk.
Plus, you get to hear Linus and Lucy a few times at no extra charge. It's not just entertaining TV, it's a bomb at a time when we all could use one.
