A Charlie Brown Christmas
1965 · 25 min · Animation, Family, Comedy
Directed by Bill Melendez
“That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”
When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but it is a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn the meaning of Christmas.
Why it's worth watching
This beloved holiday classic beautifully captures the struggle against commercialism during the Christmas season. Charlie Brown's search for meaning leads to one of the most poignant moments in television history, where Linus recites the biblical story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke. It remains a heartwarming, beautifully scored, and deeply reflective masterpiece for the entire family.
What it praises
It praises the true, biblical meaning of Christmas, simplicity, genuine friendship, and looking past outward appearances to find inherent value.
For discernment
This is one of the rare pieces of mainstream animation that stops the story cold to let Linus recite Luke 2 word for word — the birth of Christ, unabridged and reverent, as the answer to Charlie Brown's despair over a commercialized Christmas. The critique of holiday materialism (Lucy wanting real estate, Snoopy chasing a lights contest, aluminum trees) is pointed and still true. There is genuinely nothing here a Christian would need to guard against; the melancholy tone before the turn is the only thing to note, and it exists precisely so the Gospel can lift it. Worth watching not merely as nostalgia but because it says plainly what almost nothing else on television will.
Cast
Peter Robbins
Charlie Brown (voice)
Christopher Shea
Linus Van Pelt (voice)
Tracy Stratford
Lucy Van Pelt (voice)
Cathy Steinberg
Sally Brown (voice)
Chris Doran
Schroeder / Shermy (voice)
Sally Dryer
Violet (voice)
Ann Altieri
Frieda (voice)
Geoffrey Ornstein
Pig-Pen (voice)
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