A Boy Named Charlie Brown


1h 25m 1969

Brief Synopsis

Charlie Brown goes to New York City to compete in a national spelling bee, followed by his dog Snoopy and friend Linus. Charlie is eliminated in the final round, when he fails to correctly spell the word "beagle" and returns home disheartened, back to his frustrating attempts to kick a football.

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Family
Release Date
Jan 1969
Premiere Information
New York opening: 4 Dec 1969
Production Company
Cinema Center Films; United Features Syndicate
Distribution Company
National General Pictures Corporation
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, distributed through United Feature Syndicate (2 Oct 1950--).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)

Synopsis

When his football team achieves its 99th consecutive loss, second-grader Charlie Brown consults Lucy, the neighborhood psychiatrist, who advises him to build up skill and confidence by place-kicking. When he attempts to follow her advice, however, she perversely snatches the ball away. Charlie then enters and, with the help of the beagle Snoopy and Lucy's brother Linus, wins his school's spelling contest, having been given such familiar words as "failure" and "insecure". Sponsored by "Lucy Van Pelt Inc.," Charlie participates in a national spelling bee in New York City. During his absence, Lucy hints at a forthcoming marriage to Schroeder, a protégé pianist and Beethoven enthusiast. In quest of the blanket to which he is symbiotically attached, Linus, accompanied by Snoopy, follows Charlie to New York. There Snoopy dances on the ice of Rockefeller Center, and Linus finds his blanket, now a discarded shoe rag. Although Charlie survives the preliminary competition, he is eliminated in the final round of the spelling tournament, when he is unable to spell the word "beagle." Disheartened, he returns home, and is again bested by Lucy while attempting to placekick. Songs : "Cloud Dreams" (Lucy, Linus & Charlie Brown), "Charlie Brown and His All-Stars" (The Team), "We Lost Again" (Charlie Brown & Linus), "Blue Charlie Brown" (Charlie Brown & Lucy), "Time To Go to School" (Linus & Lucy), "I Only Dread One Day at a Time" (Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Violet & Patty), "Failure Face" (Lucy, Violet & Patty), "By Golly I'll Show 'Em" (Charlie Brown & Friends), "Class Champion," "I Before E" (Charlie Brown & Linus), "School Spelling Bee" (Charlie Brown, Linus & Lucy), "Champion Charlie Brown" (The Gang), "Start Boning up on Your Spelling, Charlie Brown" (Charlie Brown & Friends), "You'll Either Be a Hero ... or a Goat" (Charlie Brown, Linus & Sally), "Bus Station" (The Gang), "Do Piano Players Make a Lot of Money" (Lucy & Schroeder), "I've Got To Get My Blanket Back" (Linus & Lucy), "Big City," "Found Blanket" (Charlie Brown & Linus), "National Spelling Bee," "B-E-A-G-E-L" (Charlie Brown & Friends), "Homecoming" (Charlie Brown & Linus), "I'm Never Going to School Again" (Charlie Brown, Linus & Sally), "Welcome Home, Charlie Brown" (Charlie Brown & Lucy).

Crew

Debbie Abbot

Inkers & painters

Skippy Baxter

Choreography for Snoopy's skating

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Composer

Ellie Bonnard

Graphic dsgn

Maggie Bowen

Animation

Frank Braxton

Additional art

Evert Brown

Graphic dsgn

Bob Carlson

Animation

Ken Champin

Animation

Herm Cohen

Animation

Connie Crawley

Inkers & painters

Ingolf Dahl

Played by

Gwenn Dotzler

Inkers & painters

Robert T. Gillis

Film Editor

Jan Green

Graphic dsgn

Bernard Gruver

Graphic dsgn

Vince Guaraldi

Original Music score

Vince Guaraldi

Composer

Florence Hammontre

Inkers & painters

Lew Irwin

Animation

Sam Jaimes

Animation

Gerry Kane

Animation

Alice Keillor

Neg cutting

Ruth Kissane

Graphic dsgn

Faith Kovaleski

Inkers & painters

Bror Lansing

Animation

Edward Levitt

Graphic dsgn

Bill Littlejohn

Animation

Don Lusk

Animation

Joice Lee Marshall

Inkers & painters

Bob Matz

Animation

Charles Mccann

Film Editor

Charles Mcelmurry

Graphic dsgn

Rod Mckuen

Composer

Bill Melendez

Producer

Bill Melendez

Company

Bill Melendez

Composer

Steve Melendez

Film Editor

Lee Mendelson

Producer

Lee Mendelson

Company

Celine Miles

Inkers & painters

Barry Nelson

Animation

Ken O'brien

Animation

Karen Oglesby

Inkers & painters

Spencer Peel

Animation

Chandra Poweris

Inkers & painters

Beverly Robbins

Inkers & painters

Philip Roman

Additional art

Jay Sarbry

Animation

Charles M. Schulz

Screenwriter

Al Shean

Graphic dsgn

Al Shean

Composer

Dawn Smith

Inkers & painters

Frank Smith

Animation

Hank Smith

Animation

Dean Spille

Graphic dsgn

Richard Thompson

Additional art

John Scott Trotter

Composer

John Scott Trotter

Music Director

Russ Van Neida

Animation

Nick Vasu

Camera

Eleanor Warren

Inkers & painters

Manon Washburn

Inkers & painters

Rudy Zamora

Animation

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Family
Release Date
Jan 1969
Premiere Information
New York opening: 4 Dec 1969
Production Company
Cinema Center Films; United Features Syndicate
Distribution Company
National General Pictures Corporation
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, distributed through United Feature Syndicate (2 Oct 1950--).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)

Award Nominations

Best Song Score

1971
Bill Melendez

Quotes

Fussbudget. F-U-S-S-B-U-D-G-E-T. Fussbudget.
- Charlie Brown
Hey! How did he know that?
- Lucy
Well, we lost the first game of the season. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. We always lose the first game of the season and the last game of the season.
- Charlie Brown
AND ALL THOSE STUPID GAMES IN BETWEEN!
- Charlie Brown

Trivia

Snoopy's dream (where he battles the red Baron atop his doghouse) consists of footage from _It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)_ .

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1978

Released in United States Winter December 1969

Based on the "Peanuts" comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, distributed through United Feature Syndicate (2 Oct 1950--present).

Released in United States 1978 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Special Programs - Painted Movies) April 13 - May 7, 1978.)

Released in United States Winter December 1969