My Favorite Christmas Show

 

"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" isn't your traditional Christmas fare; it's not just for the Holidays, but all-year long.

Honestly, this is my favorite of all The Peanut gang shows, which says a lot, because there's some really great ones.  "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," which is based off of the musical, and "What Have We Learned Charlie Brown" are forever etched within.

The Peanuts is a comic strip by the amazing Charles M. Schulz, and comics are supposed to be funny.  That's what's so great about The Peanuts strip; Schulz is able masterfully blend the funny and poignant at the same time.  

"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown" is the funniest of the lot.  Every time I see it I start giggling like crazy.  See, the show features Rerun, the third Van Pelt, and having a bossy/crabby big sis along with a genius older brother, Rerun feels the weight of being the youngest, and that's made him quite precocious.  He says the funniest things that have me gaping at times.  My Dad, who I showed it to last year, declared, "This isn't a kids show.  Kids wont get these jokes!" I laughed at that and responded, "I know, right?"  A lot of the earlier jokes will go over the kids heads, but they will still love the show just the same.

What kid doesn't want a dog?  And what kid, who wants a dog, understands the responsibilities of owning one?  Rerun does get a taste of what it's like to take care of a pet, and it's not Snoopy, but Snoopy's brother Spike from Needles.  The independent dog who lives in a cactus.  He, too, gets to learn what it's like living in a family, which may or may not be to his liking.

This special, which sometimes runs on ABC and can also be purchased on DVD, came out in 2003, so it's one of the newer shows.  But don't fret, even though this special came out after Schulz passed away, this show is based entirely on the comic, so it's all Schulz, and is very true to the strip.

As much as I love Charlie Brown, I'm the most like him, Rerun is my favorite Peanut character.  He says the darndest things!

Sarah

Oh, and one last thing.  Charlie Brown brakes the "Fourth Wall" at the end of the show.  My brothers and I talk all the time about the fourth wall and how it needs to be broken more often.  When Charlie Brown says what he says, let's just say I was stunned.  It's short, but funny.  So, so, so awesome.