I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
Encyclopedia
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is one of the Peanuts
made-for-television specials. The hour-long special first aired on ABC
on December 9, 2003. It was released to DVD
and VHS
by Paramount
on October 26, 2004 and Warner Home Video
released it as a remastered deluxe edition on DVD
on October 6, 2009.
and Charlie Brown
, Rerun van Pelt
is desperate for a dog for Christmas; however, his mother and his sister Lucy
do not believe that Rerun is ready for or capable of caring for a dog and they refuse. 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.
Instead, 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 notoriously slender figure and take him in. After a short stay, Spike regains significant weight but Rerun's mother will not let him stay after he recovers. Charlie Brown tries to find another home for Spike but none of the other children are willing to take him in. Spike has no choice but 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 are too much trouble.
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.'"
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
made-for-television specials. The hour-long special first aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on December 9, 2003. It was released to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
on October 26, 2004 and Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
released it as a remastered deluxe edition on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on October 6, 2009.
Plot
Having seen the relationship between SnoopySnoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
and Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie...
, Rerun van Pelt
Rerun van Pelt
Rerun van Pelt is Linus and Lucy's younger brother in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.-Introduction:Rerun started as a minor character in the Peanuts universe, only becoming a main character in the last decade of the comic strip...
is desperate for a dog for Christmas; however, his mother and his sister Lucy
Lucy van Pelt
Lucille "Lucy" van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip :Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is a crabby and cynical eight-year old girl, and often bullies the other characters in the strip,...
do not believe that Rerun is ready for or capable of caring for a dog and they refuse. 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.
Instead, Snoopy asks his brother Spike to leave his home in the desert near Needles, California
Needles, California
Needles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...
and come to visit. When Spike arrives, Lucy is appalled at his notoriously slender figure and take him in. After a short stay, Spike regains significant weight but Rerun's mother will not let him stay after he recovers. Charlie Brown tries to find another home for Spike but none of the other children are willing to take him in. Spike has no choice but 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 are too much trouble.
Charlie Brown breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
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.'"
Cast
- Jimmy BennettJimmy BennettJames Michael "Jimmy" Bennett is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, Poseidon, and more recently in Orphan and as young James T. Kirk in Star Trek...
: Rerun van PeltRerun van PeltRerun van Pelt is Linus and Lucy's younger brother in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.-Introduction:Rerun started as a minor character in the Peanuts universe, only becoming a main character in the last decade of the comic strip... - Ashley Rose OrrAshley Rose OrrAshley Rose is an American actress. She is the middle child of four siblings: older sister Jennifer, older brother Michael, and two younger brothers Jordan & Tyler.-Career:...
: Lucy van PeltLucy van PeltLucille "Lucy" van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip :Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is a crabby and cynical eight-year old girl, and often bullies the other characters in the strip,... - Corey Padnos: Linus van PeltLinus van PeltLinus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt. He first appeared on September 19, 1952; however, he was not mentioned by name until three days later....
- Adam Taylor Gordon: Charlie BrownCharlie BrownCharles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie...
- Hannah Leigh Dworkin: Sally BrownSally BrownSally Brown is the younger sister of Charlie Brown in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She was first mentioned in early 1959 and throughout a long series of strips before her first appearance in August 1959.-Appearance:...
- Nick Price: SchroederSchroeder (Peanuts)Schroeder is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. He is distinguished by his precocious skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of classical music and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in particular...
- Jake Miner: FranklinFranklin (Peanuts)Franklin is a character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first African-American character in the strip. He goes to school with Peppermint Patty and Marcie. In his first story arc, he met Charlie Brown when they were...
and Pig-PenPig-Pen"Pig-Pen" is a character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. He is a young boy who is, except on very rare occasions, very dirty.-History:"Pig-Pen" is a nickname, invariably written in quotation marks in the strip... - Kaitlyn Maggio: Little girl and Violet Gray
- Bill MelendezBill MelendezJosé Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series...
: SnoopySnoopySnoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
, WoodstockWoodstock (Peanuts)Woodstock is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. He is Snoopy's closest friend and, after Snoopy, the most recognized non-human in the strip.-History:...
, Spike