A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

I can say with utmost certainty that this is one Peanuts special that I never saw until I bought the first volume of the DVD collection of the 1970's specials. While I saw the Mayflower Voyagers episode of This Is America, Charlie Brown, which is now often shown along with this to fill out the hour time slot, back when it was shown on The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, I never knew this special was even a thing until I saw its VHS advertised, along with a handful of the others, in a preview before the main feature on the VHS of the direct-to-video movie, Donkey Kong Country: Legend of the Crystal Coconut. Even though, like most of the other holiday specials, it's been aired every year since it was originally shown in 1973, I never, in all the years of my childhood, saw it, and neither did my mom, who had a habit of watching these things whenever they aired. So, when I finally did see it, I went into it about as cold as you can, with the only image I had of it being Snoopy and Woodstock wearing pilgrim outfits in one shot. All in all, I find it to be a rather so-so special, one that leaves me thinking, "Okay, I killed a good 25 minutes with that." I don't know exactly why it won an Emmy, as I don't find it to be that special or amazing, but it's still a nice little distraction to watch around Thanksgiving. One thing I do like is how, despite Charlie Brown, as usual, being rather sad and put upon during the story, it's far from being the most melancholic of the specials and has a much more upbeat, smile-inducing ending than It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and especially what you would later get in Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. What's more, it has a nice way of getting across what it's ultimately about without being too heavy-handed with it and it also has some fun Snoopy and Woodstock sequences, which is always welcome.

After once again falling for Lucy's football trick, Charlie Brown has to deal with another upcoming holiday that never fails to throw him into depression: Thanksgiving. Initially, he and Sally have no other plans than to spend the holiday over at their grandmother's house, but things soon become more complicated when Peppermint Patty calls and tells Charlie Brown that her father is out of town before inviting herself over for the expected big dinner. And as if that weren't enough, Patty calls him back twice to tell him that she's also invited Marcie and Franklin. Unable to get a chance to tell her that the plan to go to their grandmother's house, Charlie Brown now faces the dilemma of the three of them coming over for a non-existent meal. Linus, however, suggests that he have a meal for them earlier in the day and then go to his grandmother's house. Charlie Brown agrees but, because he can't cook anything to save his life, Linus arranges for Snoopy and Woodstock to set up a table for the dinner out in the backyard, after which Snoopy prepares the meal. However, said meal turns out to be very unorthodox and there's no telling how Charlie Brown's guests will take to it, if at all.

One thing that's notable about A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is that, as the tenth Peanuts special, it's the first animated project involving the characters where Bill Melendez wasn't the sole director. Here, he co-directs with Phil Roman, who'd started his career in animation as an animator, working on films like Disney's Sleeping Beauty, a couple of episodes of The Pink Panther Show, a handful of the Tom and Jerry cartoons that Chuck Jones directed in the mid-60's, and worked with Jones again on projects like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the theatrical short subject, The Bear That Wasn't. He first became involved with the Peanuts when he worked in the animation department of He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown in 1968 and went on to do the same on It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, as well as the 1969 movie, A Boy Named Charlie Brown. This special would be his first taste of directing, with his first solo directing job being It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown the following year, and he would go on to direct more than his fair share of them on into the early 80's (in terms of the holiday-centered ones, he also did It's the Easter Beagle and Be My Valentine), as well as co-direct the features, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!), with Melendez. By the time the 80's rolled around, Roman began to find success directing the Garfield specials and the rest is history, as they say.

Charlie Brown's (voiced by Todd Barbee) misery doesn't waste any time in asserting itself here, as the special begins with him, once again, falling for Lucy's football trick. Initially, he's wise to her game, but she goads him into it by telling him that the annual Thanksgiving Day football game is one of the greatest traditions of the holiday and that the first kick off is the most important part of said tradition. Deciding that he shouldn't turn down such an "honor," and that Lucy would never trick him when such a tradition is involved, he goes for it and, as he always says, lands flat on his back and kills himself. After that opening, Charlie Brown is going through his holiday depression, checking the mailbox and being disappointed upon finding nothing in it (though, Sally asks him what kind of card he was expecting to get for Thanksgiving). Having nothing to look forward to, except going to his grandmother's house for Thanksgiving dinner, Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving becomes all the more complicated when he gets a call from Peppermint Patty, who invites herself over to his house, and then adds Marcie and Franklin into the mix. Being very wishy-washy and unable to get a word in while talking to Patty, Charlie Brown now has to deal with three people coming over for Thanksgiving dinner when he's not even going to be home. Even when Linus suggests that he make a dinner for his friends before going over to his grandmother's house, Charlie Brown laments that he can't cook much of anything. To that end, Linus has Snoopy and Woodstock set up a table for the dinner in the backyard and then help them with the food. Despite getting a bit irritated by the latter two's antics, things seem to be looking up for Charlie Brown, until Patty lambasts him for the bizarre nature of the food. He takes it pretty hard and slinks away into his house, telling Marcie when she comes in to make him feel better that he feels that he ruined everyone's Thanksgiving. He feels a little better when she tells him that the holiday is about more than just food and when Patty herself offers her own apology, and things turn out really well for him when, upon calling his grandmother to tell her that they're going to be a little late, she tells him that he can bring everyone over. With that, they all pile into his parents' car and head off, singing To Grandmother's House We Go (though, Charlie Brown says it doesn't quite fit, as his grandmother lives in a condominium).

Going back to Lucy (voiced by Robin Kohn) for a bit, her sole appearance in the entire special is that opening, where she tricks Charlie Brown into trying to kick the football for the billionth time. When he initially refuses, she gives him this whole spiel about how it's Thanksgiving and, "One of the greatest traditions we have is the Thanksgiving Day football game. And the biggest, most important tradition of all is the kicking off of the football... Come on, Charlie Brown. It's a big honor for you." That's all it takes to goad him into running for the kick, thinking that she wouldn't pull it away given the importance of the tradition, but he proves to be wrong and ends up on the ground, flat on his back. Lucy then walks over to him and tells him, "Isn't it peculiar, Charlie Brown, how some traditions just slowly fade away?" With that, she walks away and is never seen again, which is oddly coincidental, as this marked the last time she was voiced by Kohn, who first did so in the movie, Snoopy Come Home, and went on to voice her in the previous two specials, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown and There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown.

Linus (voiced by Stephen Shea) has his usual role as the most intellectual member of the group, telling Sally, upon his first appearance, of the historical importance of Thanksgiving when she's griping about the upcoming holiday; too bad all that inspires her to do is call him "the cutest thing" and suggest that he come with her and Charlie Brown to their grandmother's, saying they could hold hands under the table, much to his embarrassment. When Charlie Brown finds himself in the dilemma of Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Franklin coming over for Thanksgiving when he's going to be gone to his grandmother's, and learning that it's impossible to explain anything to Patty, Linus is the one who suggests that he have an earlier dinner for his friends. Knowing how lousy Charlie Brown is at cooking something as simple as toast, adding, "You can't butter it," he gets Snoopy and Woodstock to set up the table and help with the food. Once the guests arrive and the table and dinner are set, Peppermint Patty suggests that somebody say grace and Linus proceeds to give a very eloquent account of the first Thanksgiving dinner and its true significance: "In the year 1621, the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast. They invited the great Indian chief Massasoit, who brought ninety of his brave Indians and a great abundance of food. Governor William Bradford and Captain Miles Standish were honored guests. Elder William Brewster, who was a minister, said a prayer that went something like this: 'We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land. We thank God for the opportunity to create a new world for freedom and justice.'" After Patty admonishes Charlie Brown for the quality of the dinner, and sends Marcie to apologize for her, Linus comments, "This is not unlike another famous Thanksgiving episode. Do you remember the story of John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins, and Captain Miles Standish?" Patty, however, doesn't see the connection. When everything is patched up, Linus, like everyone else, gets invited to Charlie Brown's grandmother's house.

Like her brother, Sally (voiced by Hilary Momberger) isn't too thrilled about the upcoming holiday either, though for different reasons. For one, she tells him that she went to get a "turkey tree" but only found Christmas decorations on sale (the notion of them already having Christmas stuff depresses Charlie Brown even more), and for another, more practical, reason, she's irritated that the holiday does nothing but cause more work for her and everyone else at school, saying that she has to write an essay on Miles Standish, whom she mistakenly calls Stanley Miles, and her brother correcting her on the name only irritates her more, as she says, "I can't keep track of all those names." She also complains about how she hasn't finished eating all her Halloween candy yet and now, she has to deal with another holiday. The only bright spot she can see in Thanksgiving is maybe getting Linus to join her and the others in going to her grandmother's house so they can hold hands under the table, an idea that Linus isn't at all enthusiastic about. When Charlie Brown gets roped into putting on another Thanksgiving dinner for Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Franklin, Sally isn't exactly sympathetic to his plight, telling him it's his own fault for being so wishy-washy. She doesn't have much of a role after that, save for taking part in the ill-fated Thanksgiving dinner and then heading off to her grandmother's house with the others.

Peppermint Patty (voiced by Christopher DeFaria) is the one who inadvertently causes Charlie Brown more trouble than he needs when she calls him up and, telling him that her dad is out of town and that he said it would be okay for her to invite herself over for Thanksgiving dinner, proceeds to do so. On top of that, she then invites Marcie and Franklin, talking so fast that poor Charlie Brown never gets a chance to explain the situation to her. She also doesn't make things any easier for him when, upon getting there and sitting at the table in the backyard, she angrily berates him for the dinner consisting of buttered toast, jelly beans, popcorn, and pretzel sticks instead of the expected turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc. (she also makes Snoopy cover his face with his chef's hat in shame for actually cooking it). However, when he slinks away and heads back into the house, completely crushed, Marcie makes her realize that it's not his fault, seeing as how she invited herself rather than him inviting her. Feeling bad about hurting Charlie Brown's feelings, as it's clear that, despite her pushy nature towards him, she actually does like him, and afraid that she'll end up hurting him again if she tries to do apologize, she has Marcie do it for her. After Marcie breaks the ice, Patty herself makes amends, telling him, "There's enough problems in the world already, Chuck, without these stupid misunderstandings," and they seal the deal by shaking hands, with Patty complimenting him on being a sly dog for finding a way to touch their hands. Following that, they're all invited to join Charlie Brown and Sally's grandmother for Thanksgiving dinner, with Patty leading them in the song, To Grandmother's House We Go, as they drive off. By the way, if you think it's weird for Patty to be voiced by a boy, keep in mind that DeFaria (who's now a producer on a lot of big movies, like Gravity and Mad Max: Fury Road), had done so on a couple of past specials, as well as the movie, Snoopy Come Home, and his voice actually fit enough to where it sounded like a girl with a raspy tone to her (this was the last time she did Patty, though).

Peppermint Patty isn't the only girl voiced by a young boy, as Marcie is voiced by Jimmy Ahrens, who first voiced her in the previous special, There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown, and went on to voice her as far as Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, in 1977 (as with DeFaria, Ahrens' voice is vague enough to where it's easy to believe that it is a young girl). In any case, Marcie is initially nothing more than her usual quiet, demure self, asking Patty what they should wear and when they're going to head over to Charlie Brown's house. But, when Patty makes Charlie Brown feel bad over the food, Marcie is the one who makes her see the error of her ways when she tells her, "Now wait a minute, sir. Did he invite you here to dinner, or did you invite yourself, and us, too?", and she also has to be the one to tell him that Patty didn't mean what she said. When she talks to him about it and he says he feels like he ruined everyone's Thanksgiving, she tells him, "But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,' Charlie Brown." After clearing the way, she gives Patty the go ahead to seal the deal, and then, she joins the others in the trip to Charlie Brown's grandmother's house, suggesting that they sing the song. Franklin (voiced by Robin Reed) is nothing more than just another guest, having little dialogue aside from also asking Patty how they should dress, but I like the moment between him and Charlie Brown when they first show up at his house and he gives him a hand-slap as he walks him, showing that he's a cool kid.

Snoopy first shows up when Linus asks him to get a table they can set up in the backyard and, when he goes to do so, he gets Woodstock out of his bird's nest to help him (and by get out, I mean fling him out of the nest by bending the branch it's sitting on backwards). They go to the garage and spend some time fooling around, with Snoopy getting himself squished by the automatic door before dribbling a basketball and passing it to Woodstock, only for it to run him over. They then pull out the only table they can find, which happens to be a ping-pong table, and Snoopy fools around with the game for a bit, until Linus tells him to stop fooling around and get some chairs around the table. This proves to be harder than it seems, though, as Snoopy finds one of the folding chairs to be very obstinate in straightening out and he literally gets into a fight with it, the two of them eventually ending up in a heap on the ground. Eventually, he and Woodstock get the table and chairs set and Linus then has them help with the food inside. Wearing a chef's hat, Snoopy literally orchestrates Charlie Brown and Linus in the making of toast, which he butters, and despite some hiccups, like the popcorn popping out of control at one point and Woodstock putting Snoopy's ear into the toaster and subsequently buttering it, they manage to get the dinner cooked. After putting the plates and folded napkins on the table (Woodstock, somehow, gets caught up in one of the former), the two of them walk over to Snoopy's doghouse, where he pulls out a trunk of clothes containing some pilgrim outfits. Snoopy has some trouble getting Woodstock to wear one but it ultimately works out and the two of them head back into the house, only for Charlie Brown to tell Snoopy to wear his chef's hat when serving the food. He has Woodstock hold his popgun musket while he attempts to change, only for it to go off, which scares Snoopy and causes him to collapse on the floor, much to Charlie Brown's annoyance, as he tells him that he has to get ready to serve the guests. Despite sighing in exhaustion, Snoopy does serve the food (in a slopping manner that consists of literally sliding the plates to the kids) and joins in the feast himself, only for Peppermint Patty to make him feel ashamed about his cooking when she talks about how ridiculous a feast it is. However, when the kids head out to Charlie Brown's grandmother's house, Snoopy shows that he was holding out on them, as he has a roast turkey, with all the trimmings, ready for him and Woodstock at his doghouse (they also pull on the wishbone and Woodstock ends up with the bigger piece), and during the ending credits, you see them having pumpkin pie for dessert.

Am I the only one who feels that A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving doesn't give you the same feeling of autumn that It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown does? One of my favorite things about that particular special is the artwork and design of the exterior scenes, not only because they're veritable works of art in how beautifully they're drawn but also because they give off a true feeling of fall, with the way the sky's drawn, especially in the opening with Linus and Lucy going to fetch the pumpkin, the feeling of leaves all over the ground, and such; save for the last few scenes, especially the ending with Snoopy and Woodstock having their own Thanksgiving dinner, I don't get that all here, despite the fact that this special is centered around a holiday that's deeper into the season. You have leaves on the ground, sure, but the constant green look to the leaves on the trees, the really green grass, and the bright-looking sky often makes it feel more like spring than fall to me. Even the scenes in The Great Pumpkin that did take place in the middle of the day felt a lot more like autumn with the color to the sky, and while there are a number of overcast skies to be found here, being from the south, I can't help but attribute them to the way it looks in early-to-mid spring, when there's a storm coming in. This spring-like feeling to the special isn't helped by the fact that the main centerpiece is a Thanksgiving dinner that takes place around a ping-pong table that looks more like something you'd see at a park after Snoopy and Woodstock finish getting it ready. I get the point, that this is not a typical Thanksgiving feast, but I always picture this kind of thing taking place indoors, with it being too cold outside to even consider doing what they do (being able to eat outside at all during this time of year is just plain wrong to me). Funnily enough, they seem to try to make it look more like fall during those scenes but by this point, the feeling isn't there. Since I'm coming from a specific bias, I may be speaking out of turn when talking this but it's the God's honest truth that other Peanuts holiday specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Great Pumpkin, Be My Valentine, and It's the Easter Beagle give off the air of their respective seasons a whole lot more than this does.

That large chuck of criticism aside, I can say that this is a well-done special on a technical level. The characters all look and move the way they should, the animation is still done in that simple but charming manner, with sudden bursts of rapid, more energetic movement when necessary (mostly during Snoopy and Woodstock's antics, like when the former gets into his fight with one of the lawn chairs and when they're cooking), and the environments and settings all have that simplistic feel that you associate with Peanuts. That said, though, there are some scenes that have a lot more detail to them than you might expect, like how the kitchen is completely full of different types of food after Snoopy gets done cooking (it was pretty busy-looking already, with all of the toasters and utensils he had out) and the intricacies of the table outside when the dinner is served.

Going back to the notion of this special not quite capturing the feel of the season like so many of the other holiday specials, I think one of the reasons why that is comes down to the fact that Thanksgiving doesn't have as much iconography to work with (that's probably why there aren't many films and TV shows centered around it in general). You have more than enough with Halloween and Christmas, and even Valentine's Day and Easter have some things to identify with, like hearts, candies, cupids, and love for the former and Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny for the latter, but Thanksgiving, despite being one of the major holidays, is a bit sparse in that regard. The only major iconography it has are turkeys and pilgrims, as well as maybe the foods that are most identified with Thanksgiving dinners, all of which this makes some use of, but that only goes so far in what you can do with it, and while I still wish the special had much more of an autumn feeling to it, I can kind of understand that dilemma, since it's stuck between two other holidays that are more iconic of their respective seasons, with Halloween really taking that edge off of Thanksgiving since it gets here sooner (unless you're in Canada, that is). I know I'm making a lot of something that's ultimately inconsequential but it's just my reaction to this particular special.

In the long run, the visuals and feeling of the special are rather superficial, as long as the story itself manages to capture what Thanksgiving is all about, and it does, though not as overtly and deeply as A Charlie Brown Christmas. That special was about Charlie Brown becoming disenchanted with Christmas, as its over-commercialized and hyped up nature made him unable to understand what the holiday itself is supposed to be about, and a little bit of that is still present here, as he's down about another holiday already being upon them (Sally telling him that they already have Christmas decorations up in the stores doesn't help with his mood), as they always depress him. Initially, he has nothing more to look forward to than going to his grandmother's for Thanksgiving dinner, something that he's rather blase about it, when he suddenly has to worry about giving Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Franklin a meal all their own. Unable to cook much of anything himself, he, along with the help of Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock, do the best they can under the circumstances, but Patty is appalled by the nature of the meal they come up with. This makes Charlie Brown feel like complete crap, not for himself, as he says, but because he feels that he ruined Thanksgiving for everyone. Marcie, however, tells him that it's about more than just eating a nice dinner and that they should be thankful for being able to get together as a group of friends and spend time with each other. In short, while A Charlie Brown Christmas was about him being disillusioned by everyone else losing sight of what the holiday meant, which led to him eventually questioning its meaning, this is about Charlie Brown himself forgetting the real spirit of things because he feels he has to indulge in Thanksgiving traditions simply to please these guests who come over because of Patty's pushy nature. It's akin to how people, especially in this day and age, tend to feel obligated to cook big dinners on Thanksgiving simply to please all the relatives and extended family that they know are coming over, rather than being happy that they're able to simply come together at all and cooking all that food to commemorate the occasion. Patty herself represents the other side of the situation, being the person who expected a big, fancy dinner than simply being thankful that they have an opportunity to be with each other, not to mention that she loses sight of the fact that she invited herself rather than Charlie Brown inviting her. By the end of the special, both of them have realized the mistakes they've made and are grateful to be heading over to Charlie Brown's grandmother's house to spend a nice evening together. It's just a simple and heartfelt way of conveying the feeling of Thanksgiving without being too heavy-handed and saccharine about it.

The very first thing you see when the special begins is Lucy tossing the football up and down, calling it to Charlie Brown's attention, while he can't believe that she thinks he could be that stupid. When she tries to entice him to kick it, he calls her out, knowing that she's planning to pull it away right when he's about to do so, and she then tells him that it's Thanksgiving. Giving him her spiel about the annual Thanksgiving Day football game and the importance of the first kickoff, adding that doing the honors would be very significant for him, Charlie Brown considers it and walks off to the right for a bit. Deciding that someone shouldn't refuse an opportunity like this, and feeling that Lucy wouldn't pull one of her tricks on a traditional holiday, he goes for it, charging and declaring, "This time, I'm gonna kick that football clear to the moon!" But, of course, just as he reaches it, Lucy yanks it away, Charlie Brown flies up into the air, yelling as he does a flip, and then lands right on his back. Lucy then walks over to him and tells him about how some traditions just slowly fade away, leading into the title, under which Snoopy and Woodstock come walking along in their pilgrim costumes.

Once Charlie Brown finds himself in the predicament of preparing a Thanksgiving meal for Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Franklin, Linus enlists Snoopy to get a table from the garage that they can set up in the backyard. Snoopy gives Linus an, "Aye, aye, sir," gesture and walks out into the backyard, where he stands underneath the tree housing Woodstock's bird nest. He snaps his fingers a few times but gets no response and, after tapping his foot, pulls the branch back and flings it, catapulting Woodstock through the air, causing him to land on the ground by a parked bicycle. Standing up and walking around in a daze, he finds himself unable to get through the tire, when Snoopy spins it, which somehow enables him to hop through it. The two of them walk over to the garage, where Snoopy pushes the button that lifts the door up, only for him to get caught up on the edge of it and get flung upside down into the basketball hoop above it. Struggling, he motions for Woodstock to push the button again, but when he does, Snoopy is now hanging from the bottom of the basket, unable to get down, and tells him to hit the button again. This time, when it lifts up, he gets squashed underneath the door and the garage's ceiling, and he again frantically motions for Woodstock to hit the button. Finally, he winds up inside the garage, and when Woodstock opens the door again, a basketball tumbles out of the huge mish-mash of junk that's to be found in there. Snoopy dribbles it for a bit and shoots a hoop, before rolling it to Woodstock. That doesn't go well, as it rolls the bird over and Snoopy has to peel him off the ball's side and fling him back into shape. They then walk back to the garage, where Snoopy replaces the ball and pulls a ping-pong table out into the yard. Trying to unfold it, Snoopy gets stuck inside it when it suddenly snaps shut on him, but he manages to open it from the inside and he takes advantage of the small net, the paddles, and the ball and has a little game with himself. Again, when he passes the ball to Woodstock, it ends up clobbering him rather than encouraging him to join the game. Linus shows up and tells Snoopy to stop playing around and put some chairs around the table. Blushing from embarrassment, Snoopy hops down, again gives Linus the "aye, aye." (Sequences like this are what make this feel more like a story that takes place during the spring rather than in the late fall, as it should be.)

In the next scene, Snoopy is doing just that, with no trouble until he pulls out a folding lawn chair with pink and white stripes. When he tries to force it open, it snaps shut and he ends up underneath it. Turning it over, he tries to open it and sit it up straight, only for it to close on him again, this time with his paw getting stuck inside. Pulling his pulsating hand out and yelling pain, Snoopy kicks the chair, which proceeds to come to life and stalk towards him. Seeing it, Snoopy prepares for a fight, with him and the chair circling each other before chasing each other around. Snoopy ends up getting rolled atop the chair's legs, flung to the ground, and the chair jumping, bouncing off of him, and landing right next to him. He charges at the chair, misses it, ends up on the opposite side, and the two of them square off like boxers, with Snoopy delivering a nice jab, but this results in the chair jumping up and chasing him around the yard. It takes a swing at him but he ducks and its forward in front of him, prompting him to point and laugh. The chair gets back up and stomps towards him, but he growls and bites onto one of its legs. It flails about as he hangs on, desperately trying to fling him off, and he eventually satisfies him and lets go, wiping his mouth. Though the chair jumps in place, holding its leg, it's not done yet, as it belly-flops onto him, knocking him senseless, and uppercuts him with the end of its seat, knocking him for a loop in the air and landing him on his belly. The chair keeps taunting him, expecting more, when Snoopy jumps up with a snarl and bites onto the chair again, as it jumps around like a horse trying to buck him, before doing a twirl that ends with the two of them in a heap. (This entire sequence is set to a song called Little Birdie, a soft, mellow jazz number that clashes hilariously with the antics playing on the screen.)

Despite that major hurdle, Snoopy does eventually get the chairs set up around the table, the top of which he ties a sheet to. Linus comes out and, after complimenting him on the good job he's doing, he has him come inside to help him and Charlie Brown with the food. In the next scene, they're in the kitchen, where Snoopy, wearing a chef's hat and a napkin around his neck, orchestrates Charlie Brown and Linus as they stick pieces of toast into a menagerie of toasters on the table, and when they pop up into the air, he catches them on a small poker before buttering them as he puts them down on a plate. They repeat this process a few more times, before Snoopy jumps onto a stool in front of the stove, gets some popcorn popping, and scoops and pours it into some bowls. He runs into a bit of trouble when one batch of popcorn gets out of hand when it pops up, covering both him and the surface of the stove, but the only major hiccup occurs when Woodstock joins in to help. Assisting with the toast by catching the slices that pop out of the toaster and buttering them, as well as putting fresh slices in, there's a moment when Snoopy walks up behind him to stir a pot on the stove and Woodstock unintentionally grabs his right ear and sticks it into the toaster. Instead of yelping in pain, Snoopy seems more shocked than anything else, and when Woodstock pulls his ear out and butters it, he yanks it away and wipes the butter off, Woodstock smiling sheepishly when he realizes what he did. After that, Snoopy takes the plates and napkins and passes them out along the table, folding the latter into little hat shapes as he does. Somehow, Woodstock got caught up in the last folded napkin, with Snoopy removing it to reveal the discombobulated bird, but he smiles once he gets his wits about him. Hopping off the chair he's standing on, Snoopy snaps his fingers and motions for Woodstock to follow him.

The two of them walk over to Snoopy's doghouse, from which he pulls out a large trunk and opens it up. Smiling at Woodstock, he takes his chef's hat off and starts rummaging around inside the trunk, as the little bird starts protesting, apparently knowing what Snoopy is planning. Pulling out an oversized pilgrim's hat, he puts it on top of Woodstock, who starts throwing a fit inside it, as it covers his entire body, prompting Snoopy to wear it himself. Looking at himself in a small mirror, Snoopy rummages around for some more costumes, pulling Woodstock back when he tries to slip away and planting him on the ground. The two of them argue briefly, with Snoopy pulling out a full costume and attempting to put him in it. Woodstock, however, isn't having it and the two of them start struggling with each other, with Woodstock ducking inside the trunk and Snoopy jumping in after him. They can be heard fighting inside, when Snoopy peeks his head out and sees Woodstock sitting atop his hat. Chasing after him along the ground, they jump into the trunk and fight again, after which Snoopy, wearing a full costume, sticks his head out and, looking around for Woodstock, hears him inside his hat. Pulling him out and finding him in a costume and hat that fits him, he sets him down, takes a popgun musket out of the trunk, and orders him to march. They walk over to the house's front door, Snoopy having to help Woodstock up on the step when he can't jump or fly up there himself (sometimes, Woodstock can fly really well, and other times, he can barely flutter), and knock on the door. Charlie Brown comes out and, initially not recognizing them, has them come in. As they follow him back into the kitchen, he tells Snoopy to wear his chef's hat when serving the food, rather than wearing his pilgrim costume, and he agrees. He hands Woodstock his musket, only for the bird to drop the butt on the floor, causing it to go off with a loud pop that causes Snoopy to fall to the floor, the musket coming down and whacking him on the head in the process. Charlie Brown tells Snoopy to stop fooling around and to get ready to serve the guests, who will be there soon. All Snoopy can do is let out a tired sigh as he lies there on the floor.

Once the kids arrive, Charlie Brown leads them out in the backyard to the table and they take their seats, though the chair that Franklin sits on (the one that Snoopy had so much trouble with earlier) collapses underneath him. Snoopy then brings out a big dish with a lid covering it and, after Peppermint Patty suggests they say grace and Linus does so, with the camera panning to show what's already on the table, like a bowl of popcorn and sundaes at everyone's spots, Snoopy starts doling out the meals. He puts some toast, jelly beans, pretzel sticks, and popcorn on each plate and passes them to each kid, though the manner in which he does so, sliding the plates across the table, is a might sloppy, as just about everyone ends up with a bit of their meal on the table (save for Patty). Just when everyone starts eating, Patty speaks up and makes it clear that the feast is not to her liking at all, asking, "What blockhead cooked all this?" Turning to glare at Snoopy, who realizes he's still wearing his chef's hat and napkin, sheepishly pulls his hat down over his face in shame. Patty then takes her anger out on Charlie Brown, asking him if he knows anything about Thanksgiving dinners, and after her rant, he gets up and slinks back into the house. That's when Marcie brings Patty to her senses by telling her that she invited herself there and, now feeling bad for having hurt Charlie Brown's feelings, Patty has Marcie apologize for her. When she does, assuring Charlie Brown that he didn't ruin Thanksgiving for everyone, Patty takes the opportunity to apologize herself and shake hands on it, commenting on what a sly dog "Chuck" is for finding a way to hold her hand. Realizing that it's 4:00 and they're supposed to be over at his grandmother's house by 4:30, Charlie Brown calls her to tell her that they're going to be a little late, which is when she says that they can come over and share the dinner. Patty goes outside to the table, where Snoopy is fixing some more popcorn, and tells the kids the good news, prompting them all to cheer.

In the next scene, the kids are all climbing into the back of the car of Charlie Brown and Sally's parents. Charlie Brown is the last one to get in and, closing the back, he waves bye to Snoopy and Woodstock, who stay behind. As they drive, Marcie brings up the song, To Grandmother's House We Go, and Patty leads them in singing it. However, Charlie Brown stops singing it and, with a glum look on his face, comments, "Well, there's only one thing wrong with that... My grandmother lives in a condominium." Back at the house, Snoopy and Woodstock make their way over to the former's doghouse, and after they walk in, you hear the sound of clanging and mechanical whirring. The two of them then set out a small table and a couple of chairs, when Snoopy, again wearing his chef's hat, brings out a large plate with a lid covering it, removing it to reveal a nice Thanksgiving turkey, complete with all the trimmings. Woodstock is thrilled at the sight of this and Snoopy, after sharpening his knife, carves out a slice of meat and puts it on his plate, along with some of the trimmings, before doing the same before himself, and the two of them dig in and enjoy their meal (apparently, producer Lee Mendelson hated the idea of Woodstock eating turkey, saying that it made him feel like a cannibal, but Bill Melendez and Charles Schulz overruled him and kept it in; I never thought of that until I read up on it but, to me, it makes about as much sense as Donald Duck and his family having a turkey for Christmas dinner in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, among similar situations). Snoopy carves up some more turkey and pulls out the wishbone, offering it to Woodstock. He grabs onto the other side of it and they pull. The bone snaps in half and Woodstock flies through the air holding the bigger piece of it and the special ends, the two of them shown enjoying some pumpkin pie as the ending credits roll.

Besides using the familiar Peanuts "theme," aka "Linus and Lucy," during the sequence where Snoopy is cooking, as well as giving the special the expected mellow feel to the music, Vince Guaraldi came up with up with a few other memorable pieces of music for it. The piece that appears to be the main theme for this specific special is first heard in the scene after the title card, when Charlie Brown is at the mailbox, is a nicely peppy but still unintrusive piano bit, and the sequence where Snoopy and Woodstock dress up as pilgrims is played to a memorable tune that companies by a military-like drumbeat with a trumpet solo. However, by and large, the most distinctive musical piece from this special is the song, Little Birdie, which plays over the sequence where Snoopy and Woodstock try to set up the table and is sung by Guaraldi himself. It's a very casual, calm tune that's all about Woodstock and his relationship with Snoopy, as Guaraldi describes Woodstock as the more competent of the two, telling him to do what he has to do, while describing Snoopy with lyrics like, "He don't mind the way he should, he needs watchin', that's when you know he'll be good." As I said earlier, the song's mellow nature makes the antics that are going on even funnier and that's especially true during Snoopy's battle with the lawn chair, which has Guaraldi singing, "Can't your friend do nothing right? It just seems now, all he wants to do is fight," and, "Look at what he's trying to do, It's so easy, That he don't know what to do." What's going on is already funny but that singing just adds to it, mainly because it doesn't seem like the singer is grasping the crap that Snoopy is having to go through with this chair.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving may be one of the weaker Peanuts holiday specials but, despite its flaws, with the main ones being the kind of unremarkable story and the special not capturing the feeling of autumn the way it should, it's certainly not a bad piece of television animation either. Besides everything you'd come to expect from these specials, such as the likable characters, simple but charming animation and designs, and the mellow jazz score, it has some standout attributes, like the sequences with Snoopy and Woodstock, a few select pieces of music and the song, Little Birdie, and the way it gets across its ultimate message of what Thanksgiving is all about without being overdone and mushy about it, leading to a nice ending for everyone involved, including Charlie Brown. It might not be as well-remembered as A Charlie Brown Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and it'll never be one of the absolute best Thanksgiving-oriented films and television programs in my book, as small as such a book would be (number one would be Planes, Trains and Automobiles, of course), but there are far worse things you could use to commemorate the holiday, so pop it in if you're at all a Peanuts fan and feel like celebrating it in that way.