10 Lesser-Known Facts About A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired on CBS in December 1965 and has since become a holiday tradition. The animated episode was based on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip and featured a cast of real children, original jazz music, and a direct reading from the Bible.
However, behind the story and music, there are details that many viewers have never heard about until now.
Real Children Voiced the Characters
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The producers cast neighborhood kids in the special instead of trained voice actors. Some kids couldn’t read, so Bill Melendez fed them lines one piece at a time. Their dialogue was stitched together during the editing process. This created the show’s unpolished and sometimes choppy flow, which helped make the Peanuts gang sound like actual children.
CBS Had Almost No Faith in the Show
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Network executives thought they had made a mistake by creating A Charlie Brown Christmas. The animation looked too rough, and there was no laugh track, which was standard for TV comedies. Additionally, the inclusion of a Bible passage seemed too bold. But there was no time to change course. Sponsors had signed off, and promotions were already running.
Linus Drops His Blanket During a Key Line
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During the Christmas story scene, Linus does something he never does in the comic strip: he drops his blanket. It happens right as he says, “fear not.” This wasn’t a coincidence because Charles Schulz added that moment deliberately. The blanket, usually a symbol of comfort and security, falls away just as Linus shares words of reassurance.
Animating the Peanuts Cast Was Surprisingly Hard
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Though the characters seem simple enough, animators struggled with their proportions. The round heads didn’t line up well in group scenes, their short arms made gestures stiff, and the legs looked unnatural when walking. Even tiny misplacements, like an eye drawn slightly too far to one side, ruined the character’s expression.
The Jazz Score Almost Didn’t Make It
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Vince Guaraldi’s now-iconic music nearly got cut. Executives worried it sounded too sophisticated for a younger audience. But producer Lee Mendelson had already edited early scenes to Guaraldi’s demos. Once Schulz saw the footage with the music in place, he backed it completely.
Snoopy’s Doghouse Was Blue in This Broadcast
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Today, Snoopy’s doghouse is always red, but it wasn’t in 1965. In the original program, it appears blue. Early color TVs struggled to display red accurately because the color often looked messy or unstable on screen. To avoid those problems, animators chose blue, which appeared clearer and more consistent.
Original Broadcast Included Coca-Cola Placement Inside Scenes
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The 1965 version contained visible Coca-Cola branding. Linus crashed into a Coca-Cola sign during the ice-skating scene. At the end, a holiday message appeared directly onscreen: “Merry Christmas from the people who bottle Coca-Cola.” This kind of in-show placement wouldn’t pass today. Later broadcasts removed those frames after the FCC rules tightened around advertising in children’s programming.
The Production Was Delivered Ten Days Before Airing
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Production wrapped just ten days before the show’s CBS premiere. The team had six months to complete the project, but the final days were chaotic. Editors scrambled to add music, fix sound, and patch animation. The final scene with the decorated tree and carolers was one of the last pieces completed.
The Dancing Scene Was Created on a Budget
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Since they were working without a choreographer, the animators created the dance scene using short and repetitive motion loops. They focused on movements that felt natural for young ones, including shoulder shrugs, stiff arm swings, and off-balance spins. These loops saved time and reduced the need for complex animation. Two background dancers even served as a joke, labeled “Three” and “Four” to reflect generic suburban kids.
The Special Changed How Americans Decorated for Christmas
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Aluminum Christmas trees were trendy before the special aired. They reflected a modern, space-age aesthetic, with rotating color wheels and metallic finishes. However, in A Charlie Brown Christmas, the trees look cold and artificial. Charlie Brown walks past them and chooses a small, real tree instead.