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Turkey Trouble: The Old Tale of Charlie Brown

By: Bianca Pando, Entertainment Editor

As October ends, and sweet Halloween candy wrappers fill the trash cans, we can always count for a savory feast to follow. Started in 1621, Thanksgiving is commonly a family dinner, paired up with a huge meal. On December 11, Governor at the time, Edward Winslow of the Plymouth Colony, wanted to attract more colonists, which lead him to writing a letter, promoting a three day feast, for both the settlers of Plymouth and people from the Wampanoag Tribe.

During this meal, many foods were served and greatly-eaten. Such foods include the iconic turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauces; all of which are seen today in most Thanksgiving meals. d

And as this celebration has grown more recognized overtime, Winslow’s letter has  become more digital, with various films coming out about Thanksgiving. A classic example of this is the one and only movie that is A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Created by Charles M. Schulz, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was released on November 20, 1973. It was the third holiday special in the Charlie Brown cinematic universe, coming after A Charlie Brown Christmas, which was released back in 1965, and It’s the Great Pumpkin in 1966.Released right after the Vietnam War, it has a bittersweet origin. Critically acclaimed, the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special has  won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children’s Programming and was also nominated for the outstanding Children’s Special, which it ultimately didn’t win. 

This film starts off showing Charlie Brown, the main character in Peanuts, preparing to spend Thanksgiving with his family at the house of his grandmother. He decides to call his friend, Peppermint Patty, who invites herself to go along with Charlie, even asking her father for permission to leave town. Bestowing herself as the new found host of the dinner, Patty further invites her friends Marcie and Franklin. 

When Charlie Brown finds out about Peppermint Patty’s action, he grows confused, confiding in his friend Linus for advice. Trying to help his friend, Linus advises Charlie to have two Thanksgiving dinners: one for his family and a separate one for his friends. 

And with that, Charlie goes to Snoopy and Woodstock to help cook the meal, since he himself could not cook. As a result, Snoopy started to set up ping-pong tables and chairs, and all three of them together, along with Linus, collaborated to make the Thanksgiving meal consisting of various foods such as toast, pan-fried popcorn, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and ice cream sundaes. 

As Charlie, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock finish setting up, Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Franklin arrive. Linus then leads the prayer for the meal, as Snoopy starts to bring out the food they prepared. When Peppermint Patty sees the non-traditional Thanksgiving meal, she gets upset and disappointed. In hopes of trying to save the friends’ meal, Marcie goes to consult Peppermint Patty, reminding her to be thankful and appreciate the effort Charlie put in making the meal. 

Although the film aimed to capture the spirit of Thanksgiving by showing the lesson of gratitude and friendship, reflecting on it now, there are many things that could be perceived conservative, seeing it through 2024 eyes. 

Moreover, in the main scene where all the friends are sitting at the table, Franklin, the first Black kid shown in ‘Peanuts’, is shown sitting by himself, opposite of Charlie and all his friends, in a lawn chair. The image is rather odd, yet it was deemed normal knowing the time of the film. As much as this film is a classic fall film, it is important to also recognize the flaws in something as simple as a children’s film about Thanksgiving. 

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