MovieChat Forums > It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) Discussion > Anybody else disappointed in it?

Anybody else disappointed in it?

posted 16 years ago by novastar_6
13 replies | jump to latest

In Ray Bradbury's biography he talks about when he and his daughters first saw this, they were so disappointed that Linus keeps talking about the Great Pumpkin and it never shows up, one of his girls actually went over to the TV and kicked it. That was also his inspiration to create The Halloween Tree so there would be a Halloween tradition that DID include the supernatural being talked about throughout the story.

The ending is far from satisfying but I do like everything that happens up to Sally's explosion at Linus.

[–] chainsaw_metal1 16 years ago

I don't know how you can be disappointed in this classic gem. I've watched it every year since I was born, and now my kids and I love watching it together.

Exterminate!

[–] jdiggy76 16 years ago

i have this on dvd, but i still make every effort to watch on television every year. this and the charlie brown xmas are a yearly tradition for me

[–] MurderInc2014 16 years ago

ditto!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] prodigylover 16 years ago

I was disappointed at first, too. Partly because Great Pumpkin is less accessible -- it follows multiple storylines and the (wonderful) Red Baron interlude was really confusing to me as a kid. But mostly, it was just the fact that Charlie Brown Christmas was so touching and so perfect that anything less was a disappointment.

It's funny -- only now as an adult have I finally grown to love it.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Walloon 16 years ago

I've always wondered about the cartoon version of that Bradbury story, any opinions?

I've read the book and have seen the cartoon version, also written by Bradbury. The cartoon version is better than the book, in my opinion. Bradbury had twenty years to rethink and improve the story. It wasn't necessary to have eight boys make the journey; reducing the group to four allows better character definition, and adding a girl is a nice inclusive touch.

The cartoon also avoids what I thought was some purple, mawkish prose in the book (for example, the extended boy-crush description of Pip). Yet those moments of absolutely perfect descriptive power that Bradbury can summon in his words (like the initial view of the tree) are evoked in some fine drawing by those who made the cartoon.

But why hasn't it been shown on television in the last few years? And why no DVD release?

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] HarlowMGM 16 years ago

I think part of the reason Peanuts cartoons stay with you is because they aren't so sugary and there are little (and big) dissappointments in them from a Great Pumpkin not showing up to getting a bag a rocks while Trick or Treating. There's a lot of childhood angst in them, the characters don't live in a perfect world like a lot of cartoons.

[–] mlraymond 16 years ago

HarlowMGM, I think you've really caught a major aspect of this story in particular, but also the whole basic Peanuts storylines as portrayed in the original Schulz newspaper strips.Even as a kid reading the Peanuts paperbacks of collected strips ( my Dad was a huge fan), there was a melancholy feeling underlying a lot of the characters' experiences.

From Charlie Brown endlessly being conned by Lucy into trying to kick the football, to his futile attempts to fly a kite, to Linus' practically abusive treatment by his older sister,even Charlie Brown's failed efforts to buy bubble gum cards with his favorite baseball player, there is a lot of disappointment and even sadness, but all on a realistic childhood level that most adults could remember and identify with.

It always bothered me that apparently every adult handing out candy that Halloween night deliberately chose to give this one kid a rock, no explanation offered. Is Charlie Brown unpopular with grownups as well as other kids, or were they just being random jerks?

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] km9000 16 years ago

It always bothered me that apparently every adult handing out candy that Halloween night deliberately chose to give this one kid a rock, no explanation offered. Is Charlie Brown unpopular with grownups as well as other kids, or were they just being random jerks?

I don't think you can assign any motivation to the rock-givers. The only explanation is Charlie Brown is just that much of a down-on-his-luck kid who gets no respect, even from total strangers. And that it's "just a cartoon."

It's the absolute funniest bit in the whole show, but even I would've been too scared off by the inability to satisfactorily explain why it happens. I'm glad it's in there, though.

But if you think this was depressing, try watching "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," or even worse, "Snoopy Come Home." As a kid I remember them having its melancholy aspects, but I haven't seen either recently, and frankly, I'd probably start bawling at "Snoopy Come Home" if I saw it now.

It's just too bad they never show these kinds of movies on TV anymore, and instead just expect (cool) parents to buy them on DVD. There was nothing better than watching this stuff on a random Saturday night. Kids have tons more viewing options nowadays, but most of it's just mass-produced crap.

[–] blnj25 16 years ago

Nope .... been watching it seen 1966 and still love it!

[–] km9000 16 years ago

The only problem I've always had with the show was the very ending, when Linus just rants at Charlie Brown. It doesn't really feel like an actual conclusion.

As for Bradbury's daughter kicking the TV... that sounds like something a Peanuts character would do. Funny. I do kinda wonder if it was "mean" for Schulz to not only tease Sally with the idea of the Great Pumpkin, but some of the kids watching as well. Never thought about it like that. It's almost like not having Santa show up.