It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown
| It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown | |
|---|---|
Bill Melendez Productions | |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | October 24, 1977 |
| Related | |
It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown is the 16th
The special was directed by Phil Roman and produced by Bill Melendez.[2] It was the first Peanuts special (and second Peanuts project overall) following the death of composer and jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, who died on February 6, 1976, a year before the special began airing. Following Guaraldi's death, the music was composed by Ed Bogas.
Plot
Charlie Brown's school has their annual
The game begins with Charlie Brown as
Charlie Brown wakes up the next morning with no memory of what happened after the kiss. He meets with Linus, who tells him that he surprised everyone when he kissed Heather, but even more so when he took to the dance floor with her and the other girls in the court doing all of the latest dances. Linus sums it all up saying that though they lost the game, Charlie Brown took the honors at the dance. In disbelief, Charlie Brown replies, "What good is it to do anything, Linus, if you can't remember what you did?" Regardless, Linus reminds him that at least it was his first kiss and the story ends with him smiling with quiet satisfaction.
Voice cast
- Arrin Skelley as Charlie Brown
- Peter Robbins – Charlie Brown's screaming voice (archived)
- Daniel Anderson as Linus van Pelt
- Michelle Muller as Lucy van Pelt
- Laura Planting as Peppermint Patty
- Roseline Rubens as Frieda
- Ronald Hendrix as Franklin
- Sarah Beach, Casey Carlson and Gail M.Davis as the cheerleaders
- Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock
Note: Sally Brown, Marcie, Schroeder, Pig-Pen, Violet, Shermy, and the Little Red-Haired Girl appear, but they are silent.
Critical reception
Audience reaction was primarily positive, but there were two elements about this special that initially caused negative reaction from viewers that one of them that sparked controversy:
- The Little Red-Haired Girl was never seen in the daily comics (except in silhouette in a later strip from May 1998),Schulz himself admitted that he could not draw her to readers' satisfaction,[4]much less his own, but the storyline of the TV special forced the issue.
- In the special's initial broadcast, Charlie Brown was blamed by most of his teammates (especially Peppermint Patty and Lucy) for bungling kicks and losing the game, though it was clearly obvious that Lucy was the culprit. Many viewers protested; while they could accept Lucy pulling the ball away, they could not accept Charlie Brown's being blamed for the loss. As a result, in all subsequent broadcasts, the offending lines by Peppermint Patty ("Okay, Chuck, you really goofed up on that play!" and "Chuck, you can't do anything right!") were made lower and backmasked.[5]
References
- ISBN 978-1452110912.
- ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ISBN 0-345-44269-5
- ISBN 0-375-42097-5
- ISBN 0-394-50746-0
