1. Charles Schulz Wasn't Really Interested In Getting Into Animation
Since the debut of Peanuts in 1955, Charles Schulz and United Press Syndicate had gotten a steady stream of offers to adapt the characters for film and television. Schulz relented for Ford Motors and allowed Charlie Brown to appear in a series of commercials for the Ford Falcon in the early 1960s. The spots were animated by director Bill Melendez, who earned Schulz’s favor by keeping the art simple and not using the exaggerated movements of the Disney films Bambi, and Dumbo, that Melendez had worked on previously.
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas Was Going To Have a Laugh Track
In the ‘60s, it was standard procedure to lay a laugh track over virtually any half-hour comedy. When producer Lee Mendelson told Schulz he didn’t see the Peanuts special being any different, the artist got up and left the room for several minutes before coming in and continuing as if nothing had happened. Mendelson got the hint.
3. Snoopy's Voice Is Just Sped-up Nonsense
The early Peanuts specials made use of both untrained kids and professional actors: Peter Robbins (Charlie Brown) and Christopher Shea (Linus) were working child performers, while the rest of the cast consisted of "regular" kids coached by Melendez in the studio. When Schulz told Melendez that Snoopy couldn’t have any lines in the show—he’s a dog, and Schulz’s dogs didn’t talk—the animator decided to bark and chuff into a microphone himself, then speed up the recording to give it a more emotive quality.
4. Charles Schulz Hated Jazz
The breezy instrumental score by composer, Vince Guaraldi, would go on to become synonymous with Peanuts animation, but it wasn’t up to Schulz. He left the music decisions to Mendelson, telling a reporter shortly after the special aired that he thought jazz was “awful.”
5. Charlie Brown's Head Was a Nightmare To Animate
Because Melendez was unwilling to stray from Schulz’s distinctive character designs, he found himself in a contentious battle with Charlie Brown’s noggin. Its round shape made it difficult to depict Charlie turning around, and as with most of the characters, his arms were too tiny to scratch his head. Snoopy, in contrast, was free of a ball-shaped cranium and became the show’s easiest figure to animate.
5. Charles Schulz Was Embarrassed By One Scene
Careful viewings of the special reveal a continuity error: in scenes where Charlie Brown is standing near his tree, the branches appear to grow from moment to moment. The goof annoyed Schulz, who blamed the mistake on two animators who didn’t know what the other was doing.
6. CBS Hated A Charlie Brown Christmas
After toiling on the special for six months, Melendez and Mendelson screened it for CBS executives just three weeks before it was set to air. The mood in the room was less than enthusiastic. The network found it slow and lacking in energy, telling Melendez they weren’t interested in any more specials. To add insult, someone had misspelled Schulz in the credits, adding a “T” to his last name.
7. Half the Country Watched A Charlie Brown Christmas
Viewers weren’t nearly as cynical about Charlie Brown’s holiday woes as his corporate benefactors. A Charlie Brown Christmas pulled a 50 share, meaning half of all households with a television turned on were watching it. CBS finally acknowledged it was a winner.
8. A Charlie Brown Christmas Killed Aluminum Tree Sales
Aluminum Christmas trees were marketed beginning in 1958 and enjoyed fairly strong sales by eliminating pesky needles and tree sap. But the annual airings of A Charlie Brown Christmas swayed public thinking. In the special, Charlie Brown refuses to get a fake tree. Viewers began to do the same, and the product was virtually phased out by 1969.
