A Charlie Brown Christmas

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Screening Suggestions

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We wrap up the year of 2018 with a Screening Suggestion (save a couple of Now Playing reviews) for Christmas Day. As I type this, it's actually far past Christmas Day, sadly, but hey, keep in in your pocket for next year because this is pretty much the end all be all of classic Christmas specials out there that have withstood the test of time.

This is another 20-someodd-minute special that does everything it needs to within its running time, and is a revisit for me every single year. While I clearly stated that 'A Claymation Christmas Celebration' is my favourite Christmas Special of all time, this one is damn close - it's certainly my favourite mainstream one, without question.

This Christmas Special sees Charlie Brown in a down and out funk over the holidays. Christmas is coming, magic is in the air for everyone, his friends are playing in the snow and skating, everything ought to be all good. However, Charlie is kinda stuck on what the true meaning of it all really is while others around him succumb to the overall commercialism of the holiday. Snoopy throws up a light display to try to win some cash, his little sister writes a note to Santa asking for some cash, it all just makes him depressed because the magic of it all seems to have faded.

Lucy, therefore, suggests that he should get involved with the holiday by directing the Christmas play. Of course, everyone kinda just brushes him off and doesn't take his direction seriously, providing us with a sort of constant Peanuts dancing scene, and ultimately frustrating Charlie Brown to no end. Of course, when Linus takes the stage and tells us all what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown reconsiders the grand scheme things. There's more to it, involving a decrepit tree and whatnot, but I could also sit here and give you a play-by-play of the episode for what it's worth.

The real takeaway from this Christmas special is that the commercialism of Christmas isn't something that's gonna go away anytime soon, but if you look hard enough, you can certainly find that Christmas magic somewhere, still. Again, this one is short and sweet, well worth the view, and holds up quite well to this day. There really is something timeless about Peanuts, and this Special is living proof. 

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