| “ | Happiness is a warm puppy. | ” |
— Rerun quoting a line originally said by Lucy in the comic strip | ||
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
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. The DVD was later included in the Snoopy's Holiday Collection box set with Warner's Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales and Happiness is... Peanuts: Snow Days DVDs.
October 26, 2004
October 26, 2004
October 6, 2009
Cast
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.
Gallery
See also
External links
- Peanuts Wiki: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
- I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown at the Internet Movie Database
- Archived ABC Feature Page for I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown