(1965)4.5Craig Butler"Peanuts" was already a phenomenally popular comic strip when A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired, but there was no guarantee that a short animated film based upon the strip would work. Over the years, as many strips had been poorly adapted ("Li'l Abner," "The Little King") as successfully transferred ("Popeye," "Superman") to the six-minute cartoon format, and "Peanuts" was a strip whose appeal was based more on subtlety, nuance, and character development than straight gags. But Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, working from a witty and insightful script by creator Charles M. Schulz, managed to make a film that was always true to the subdued spirit of the strip. Using "real" children rather than veteran child actors for the voices resulted in some occasionally stilted line readings, but it also captured the innocence and heightened naturalness that is so much a part of the strip's appeal. Although the plot is essentially a number of incidents strung together around a general idea, the looseness works to its benefit. The animation, while not up to Disney standards, has an appeal all its own and effectively translates the characters to the screen. A delightful blend of poignancy and humor, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a treasure to be enjoyed during any season.
