There’s a chill in the air, leaves are falling, and thoughts of turkey and pumpkin pie dance in our heads. It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means we’re diving headfirst into the holiday season and all the customs that go along with our personal celebrations.
Holiday traditions are a staple for everyone in some fashion — whether it be through family gatherings, elaborate meals, decorating, or watching their favorite appropriately themed movies and TV shows. As far as the latter is concerned, there’s a long list of quintessential holiday viewing for Halloween and Christmas, with many people spending the entire month taking in every form of themed media. It’s difficult to turn on the television during the months of October and December and not find a large assortment of selections that fit right in with the spirit of that respective holiday.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, however, the selection of turkey-related media is much smaller. Sure, lots of families will put the customary parade and football games on the television while enjoying their feast, but there’s another beloved classic that easily could be a go-to while you’re gathered around the table — Charles M. Schulz’s classic A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
The iconic character (who originated from Schulz’s comic strips) made his appearance in this prime-time special fifty years ago, which followed the popular predecessors A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. When it debuted on CBS in 1973, the Peanuts characters were widely known and beloved, so the writers were able to smoothly and seamlessly jump right into the story with all the anticipated and revered running gags.
Starting, of course, with one of the most popular jokes of the series between Charlie Brown, Lucy, and that football. The opening moments of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving do indeed feature that classic prank, with Lucy once again promising Charlie Brown that she won’t pull the football away, citing that it’s “Thanksgiving tradition” to allow him to actually kick the ball. Just as he’s about to kick it, though, she predictably pulls it away, but the intent of the cold opening is clearly set up to get everyone settled into the world of the Peanuts characters.
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Later, Charlie, his sister Sally, and their parents are preparing to go to his Grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner when he unexpectedly gets a call from Peppermint Patty, who is inexplicably alone for the holiday. She all but invites herself (ok, that’s putting it nicely — she blatantly tells him she’s coming over) to spend Thanksgiving with him while also letting him know she’s invited Marcie and Franklin. Charlie is vexed over this conundrum, feeling roped into this new obligation, until Linus reasons that Charlie can just have two celebrations – one with Patty and company earlier in the day and then the original plans that night with his family.
He quickly recruits Snoopy and Woodstock to help prepare the feast — the only problem is, none of them know how to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Snoopy tries his best, though, and concocts a meal consisting of popcorn, pretzels, and jelly beans. They set up a makeshift table, and Patty and their friends eagerly show up for dinner.
Patty is immediately vocal about her disappointment in the meal, complaining about the selection and how it’s not a typical Thanksgiving dinner. Charlie Brown is understandably hurt and dejected, leaving the table, which results in Patty feeling guilty and ashamed. With some coaxing from Marcie, Peppermint Patty comes to the realization that she was wrong to criticize the meal, especially after pushing Charlie to have the event in the first place, and apologizes to him.
All is well again in the Peanuts’ world, with the capper coming when Charlie’s plans with his Grandmother approach, butting into his time with his friends. When he explains the situation to her, he’s told that his friends can all come along, too, and they all pile into the Brown family station wagon to head over there.
So, what makes this a perfect November watch? Naturally, there’s an obvious nostalgia factor for those of us who remember watching it on an annual basis. Aside from that, it follows in the footsteps of the former specials by steeping every frame of the 30-minute runtime with as much holiday-related splendor as possible. From the leaves on the ground to the gray skies to the mentions of historical facts of the first Thanksgiving of 1621, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving takes every opportunity to envelop the viewer in all things related to the holiday.
The core takeaway, though, involves what Thanksgiving is truly all about — spending time with loved ones. Peppermint Patty is all alone during the holiday and understandably wants to be around those she cherishes most. Even though Charlie Brown is put into the unenviable, awkward position of essentially being forced to accept her invitation… he DOES accept without question. He makes as much of an effort into the preparation as he can and happily welcomes his other friends to enjoy their makeshift holiday dinner.
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By the end of the episode, he’s excitedly joined by his friends to enjoy another, more traditional, Thanksgiving celebration. Everyone is happy, everyone has what they desire, and no one is left out. Not even Snoopy, who has his own feast with Woodstock while the kids head to Charlie’s Grandmother’s house.
If there’s one thing the holiday season can teach us, it’s that time spent with family and friends is more important than any other selfish desire or need. At the end of the day, all those gifts we may covet will end up being considered as nothing more than things. What’s truly important are the people we love, be it friends, family, or something in between. If we have that, then everything is inconsequential.
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