It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - A Halloween Favorite!

It’s that time of the year when one of the most beloved of Halloween animated TV specials comes on from 1966 - “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”

This was the third holiday special for the Peanuts gang, based on characters by Charles M. Schulz and animated by Bill Melendez. The special was also nominated for an Emmy Award back in 1966. Remember Dolly Madison snacks? They were a longtime sponsor for the Peanuts series, I can still remember their Peanuts commercials starring an alter ego of Snoopy, the “Zinger Zapper”, who takes Zingers from the other Peanuts characters.

With the leaves falling, the Peanuts gang is getting ready for their Halloween festivities. Lucy and Linus look for a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch to carve for their jack-o-lantern. Charlie Brown is raking leaves with help from Snoopy. And of course, Lucy entices Charlie Brown to kick her football, and their usual routine happens. Linus writes his annual letter to The Great Pumpkin, while the other kids make fun of him. But Charlie Brown’s little sister Sally encourages him to mail the letter. She has a crush on her "Sweet Babboo!"

On Halloween eve, the Peanuts gang go trick-or-treating, except for Linus and Sally, who anxiously wait for The Great Pumpkin to appear in the pumpkin patch. Everyone gets plenty of Halloween candy, except for Charlie Brown, who receives rocks instead in his goodie bag. Lucy, of course, is dressed as a witch. Pig-Pen is a dusty ghost and Charlie Brown is a botched-up ghost in a sheet that he overdid with too many holes. 

Next, the Peanuts gang go to snobby Violet’s Halloween party while Snoopy has a fight with the Red Baron, flying his doghouse as a World War 1 flying ace! Then he crashes Violet’s party, to Lucy’s chagrin! Linus sees a shadowy figure arise in the misty pumpkin patch, thinking it’s The Great Pumpkin and faints, only to be yelled at by Sally. It was only Snoopy! Sally is furious that she missed out on all of the Halloween festivities and candy, then Charlie Brown arrives in time to take her home. 

Linus is hesitant to leave, in case that The Great Pumpkin shows up and he misses him! Lucy takes him home after she finds him asleep and shivering in the pumpkin patch at 4 o’clock in the morning.

The next morning Charlie Brown and Linus are contemplating life and disappointments while leaning on a brick wall, as Linus starts to rant and rave about The Great Pumpkin coming to the pumpkin patch next year. And we’re still waiting for that to happen….