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Dec 27, 2016mswrite rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Of the many holiday boomer specials in repeated rotation this season, perhaps none is more beloved--and deservedly so--than "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Bill Melendez's spare yet lively animation of cartoonist Charles Schulz's world-renowned "Peanuts" kids (and mischievous beagle, Snoopy), Vince Guaraldi's evocative score (including the sweetly melancholy "Christmas Time is Here" and the jazzy "Linus and Lucy"), Schultz's heartfelt and deceptively simple script, and, in a departure from the usual animated television of the era, the use of talented child actors to voice the characters (the standout being young Christopher Shea, the voice of Linus) all combined to create a touching, unforgettable holiday classic. And to think it almost didn't get off the ground! CBS Television executives and sponsor Coca-Cola reportedly were not thrilled with Schulz's insistence on the inclusion of religious themes, fearful that television audiences would be turned off. They were wrong; and with its first 1965 airing "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was an enormous success and pronounced an instant classic.