A Boy Named Charlie Brown
| A Boy Named Charlie Brown | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ♬ He's only a boy named Charlie, a boy named Charlie Brown. ♬
| ||||||||||||||
|
A Boy Named Charlie Brown is a 1969 American animated musical comedy-drama film, produced by Cinema Center Films, distributed by National General Pictures, and directed by Bill Melendez with a screenplay by Charles M. Schulz. It is the first feature film based on the Peanuts comic strip. Starring Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, and Andy Pforsich, the film follows the titular character as he tries to win the National Spelling Bee, with Snoopy and Linus by his side. The film was also produced by Lee Mendelson. It was also distributed by National General Pictures and produced by Melendez Films
Why it Rocks
- Just like the TV specials, this film stays 100% faithful to the original comic strips.
- Good animation for 1960s standards as always.
- Awesome composition from Vince Guaraldi
- Great memorable songs (except for the Failure Face song), like "Champion Charlie Brown".
- Memorable characters as usual.
Bad Qualities
- Like the TV specials and the comic strip, there are some mean-spirited moments in this film. The Failure Face song being the infamous example.
- Animation errors here and there.
Reception
The film premiered at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, only the third animated feature to play there after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942).
The film was well received by critics and holds a 95% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 7.50/10.
Time praised its use of "subtle, understated colors" and its scrupulous fidelity to the source material, calling it a message film that "should not be missed." The New York Times' Vincent Canby wrote: "A practically perfect screen equivalent to the quiet joys to be found in almost any of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strips. I do have some reservations about the film, but it's difficult—perhaps impossible—to be anything except benign towards a G-rated, animated movie that manages to include references to St. Stephen, Thomas Eakins, Harpers Ferry, baseball, contemporary morality (as it relates to Charlie Brown's use of his 'bean ball'), conservation and kite flying. "
The film was a success at the box office, earning $12 million. In its first week at Radio City Music Hall, it grossed $230,000, including a record $60,123 on Saturday, December 6. In its second week, it grossed $290,000 which made it number one in the United States.
A 1971 Associated Press story argued the success of the film "broke the Disney monopoly" on animated feature films that had existed since the 1937 release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. "The success of 'Peanuts' started a trend", animation producer Fred Calvert told the AP, "but I hope the industry is not misled into thinking that animation is the only thing. You need to have a solid story and good characters, too. Audiences are no longer fascinated by the fact that Mickey Mouse can spit."
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score, but lost to The Beatles' Let It Be.