Changes: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown

Revision as of 03:39, 9 October 2015

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is the fourth and most recent Christmas television special based on the newspaper comic strip Peanuts. This hour-length special originally aired on ABC on December 9, 2003, and has aired annually on that network since then.

Synopsis

IWantADogForChristmasBook — The cover to the storybook adaptation.

Having seen the relationship between Snoopy and Charlie Brown, Rerun van Pelt is desperate for a dog of his own for Christmas. He asks Santa Claus for a dog. Unfortunately, his mother and older sister, Lucy do not believe that he is old enough to care for a dog. Frustrated, Rerun asks Charlie Brown if he can play with Snoopy. While initially cooperative, Snoopy quickly tires of Rerun's idea of fun and games, and after a while Snoopy begins to snub Rerun.

At Rerun's request, Snoopy asks his brother Spike to leave his home in the desert near Needles, California and come to visit. When Spike arrives, Lucy is appalled at his skinny figure and takes him in to fatten him up. After a short stay, Spike gains significant weight, which he then loses from fear while riding with Rerun on his mother's bike. Because Rerun's mother still will not allow Rerun to have his own dog, Charlie Brown tries to find another home for Spike but to no avail, prompting Spike to return to his desert home.

Rerun asks Charlie Brown if Snoopy can come out and pull him on his sled. Rerun finds himself pulling Snoopy on the sled instead, which makes him come to the conclusion that dogs can be troublesome.

Charlie Brown breaks the fourth wall at the end of the special by saying, "I always lie awake wondering, when will it ever end? Then a voice tells me, 'Right after the credits.'"

Availability

The special was first released to VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on October 26, 2004. Paramount's DVD release also contained Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales and a documentary about the making of A Charlie Brown Christmas as bonus features. Warner Home Video later released it as a "Remastered Deluxe Edition" DVD on October 6, 2009. Instead of the bonus specials from the previous DVD, this one also included Happy New Year, Charlie Brown.

Cast

I-want-a-dog-for-christmas-charlie-brown-18 — From left to right: Franklin, Violet, Patty, Linus, Charlie Brown, Schroeder, Lucy, Pig-Pen, and Rerun.

Voice actor	Character
Jimmy Bennett	Rerun van Pelt
Ashley Rose Orr	Lucy van Pelt
Corey Padnos	Linus van Pelt
Adam Taylor Gordon	Charlie Brown
Hannah Leigh Dworkin	Sally Brown
Nick Price	Schroeder
Jake Miner	Franklin Pig-Pen
Kaitlyn Maggio	Violet Gray Little girl
Bill Melendez	Snoopy Woodstock Spike

Note: Patty appears in the pageant at the end, and Marbles, Andy, and Olaf appear in flashbacks, but they do not have speaking parts.

External links

Christmas Specials Based on Comic Strips
Peanuts	A Charlie Brown Christmas • "The Play" • It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown • Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales • I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown • "Dear Santa Claus" • "Christmas is on Its Way" • "Christmas is Coming" • It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown • "Happiness is the Gift of Giving" • "Happiness Is Holiday Traditions"
Garfield	A Garfield Christmas Special • "Heatwave Holiday" • "Caroling Capers" • "Home for the Holidays"
Popeye	Seasin's Greetinks! • Mister and Mistletoe • "Spinach Greetings"
Dennis the Menace	"The Christmas Story" • "The Christmas Horse" • "The Fifteen-Foot Christmas Tree" • A Dennis the Menace Christmas
Other comic strips	Pals • The Captain's Christmas • "Hazel's Christmas Shopping" • "A Christmas Tale" • "Krazy's Krismas" • "It's Better To Give" • "Just 86 Shopping Minutes Till Christmas" • "Christmas with the Addams Family" (1965) • Rupert and the Christmas Toffee • The Monica's Gang's Christmas • A Family Circus Christmas • B.C.: A Special Christmas • Ziggy's Gift • The Bestest Present • "North Pole Cat" • A Wish For Wings That Work • Rupert and Billy Blizzard • "Peace on Earth" • A Christmas Angel • "Christmas for All of Us" • Rupert and the Missing Snow • Little Orphan Annie's A Very Animated Christmas • "Rupert's Christmas Adventure" • "The Night Before Christmas" • "Oh Christmas Tree" (Little Lulu) • "Santa's Snowman" • "Christmas with the Addams Family" (1998) • "Oh Christmas Tree" (Fly Tales) • "A Baby Blues Christmas Special" • "A Glacial Christmas" • "Eternal Christmas" • "The Strange Christmas of Mr. Paddle" • "A Huey Freeman Christmas" • "All I Want for X-Mas" • "Rupert Saves Christmas" • "The Christmas Tree" • "Pretty Christmas Night" • "The Twelve Rings of Christmas Bells" • "Christmas Eve" • "Bug-A-Booo in: A Different Christmas" • The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales...

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ==Synopsis==
 [[File:IWantADogForChristmasBook.jpg|thumb|250px|The cover to the storybook adaptation.]]
-Having seen the relationship between [[Snoopy]] and [[Charlie Brown]], [[Rerun van Pelt]] is desperate for a dog for Christmas; however, his mother and [[Lucy van Pelt|Lucy]] do not believe that he is ready for or capable of caring for one and they refuse. Frustrated, he asks Charlie Brown if he can play with Snoopy. While initially cooperative, Snoopy quickly tires of Rerun's idea of fun and games, and after a while he begins to snub him.
+Having seen the relationship between [[Snoopy]] and [[Charlie Brown]], [[Rerun van Pelt]] is desperate for a dog of his own for Christmas. He asks [[Santa Claus]] for a dog. Unfortunately, his mother and older sister, [[Lucy Van Pelt|Lucy]] do not believe that he is old enough to care for a dog. Frustrated, Rerun asks Charlie Brown if he can play with Snoopy. While initially cooperative, Snoopy quickly tires of Rerun's idea of fun and games, and after a while Snoopy begins to snub Rerun.
-Rerun initially asks [[Santa Claus]] to bring him a dog, but he soon loses hope that Santa will comply. Instead, at Rerun's urging, Snoopy commissions his brother, [[Spike (Peanuts)|Spike]], to make a trip to the city. When he arrives, the Van Pelts are appalled to see his notoriously slender figure and take him in. After a short stay, Spike regains significant weight but ultimately decides to return to his home in the desert. Rerun is left to play with Snoopy.  When Rerun invites Snoopy to pull him on his sled, Snoopy chooses instead to sit in the sled, forcing Rerun to do the pulling. That's when Rerun finally agrees with his mother and Lucy that dogs are too much trouble.
+At Rerun's request, Snoopy asks his brother [[Spike (Peanuts)|Spike]] to leave his home in the desert near {{W|Needles, California}} and come to visit. When Spike arrives, Lucy is appalled at his skinny figure and takes him in to fatten him up. After a short stay, Spike gains significant weight, which he then loses from fear while riding with Rerun on his mother's bike. Because Rerun's mother still will not allow Rerun to have his own dog, Charlie Brown tries to find another home for Spike but to no avail, prompting Spike to return to his desert home.
+Rerun asks Charlie Brown if Snoopy can come out and pull him on his sled. Rerun finds himself pulling Snoopy on the sled instead, which makes him come to the conclusion that dogs can be troublesome.
+Charlie Brown breaks the fourth wall at the end of the special by saying, "I always lie awake wondering, when will it ever end? Then a voice tells me, 'Right after the credits.'"
 ==Availability==
 The special was first released to VHS and DVD by [[wikipedia:Paramount Home Media Distribution|Paramount Home Entertainment]] on October 26, 2004. Paramount's DVD release also contained ''[[Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales]]'' and a documentary about the making of ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'' as bonus features. [[wikipedia:Warner Home Video|Warner Home Video]] later released it as a "Remastered Deluxe Edition" DVD on October 6, 2009. Instead of the bonus specials from the previous DVD, this one also included ''[[w:c:peanuts:Happy New Year, Charlie Brown|Happy New Year, Charlie Brown]]''.
-<gallery bordersize="none" captionalign="center" widths="200" position="center" spacing="small" hideaddbutton="true">
+<gallery bordercolor="transparent" captionalign="center" widths="200" position="center" spacing="small" hideaddbutton="true">
-IWantADogForXmas_VHS_2004.jpg|{{Gallery note|VHS|Paramount Home Entertainment<br>October 26, 2004}}
+IWantADogForXmas_VHS_2004.jpg|{{Gallery note|VHS|Paramount Home Entertainment<br />October 26, 2004}}
-IWantADogForXmas_DVD_2004.jpg|{{Gallery note|DVD|Paramount Home Entertainment<br>October 26, 2004}}
+IWantADogForXmas_DVD_2004.jpg|{{Gallery note|DVD|Paramount Home Entertainment<br />October 26, 2004}}
-IWantADogForXmas_DVD_2009.JPG|{{Gallery note|DVD|Warner Home Video<br>October 6, 2009}}
+IWantADogForXmas_DVD_2009.JPG|{{Gallery note|DVD|Warner Home Video<br />October 6, 2009}}
 </gallery>
@@ Line 44: / Line 48: @@
 | Jake Miner || [[Franklin (Peanuts)|Franklin]]<br />[[Pig-Pen]]
 |-
-| Kaitlyn Maggio || Little girl
+| Kaitlyn Maggio || [[Violet Gray]]<br />[[w:c:peanuts:Little Pigtailed Girl|Little girl]]
 |-valign="top"
 | {{w|Bill Melendez}} || [[Snoopy]]<br />[[Woodstock]]<br />[[Spike (Peanuts)|Spike]]
 |}
+Note: [[Patty (Peanuts)|Patty]] appears in the pageant at the end, and [[w:c:peanuts:Marbles|Marbles]], [[w:c:peanuts:Andy|Andy]], and [[w:c:peanuts:Olaf|Olaf]] appear in flashbacks, but they do not have speaking parts.
 ==See also==