It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown

Infobox Television
show_name = It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown


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genre = Animated TV Special
creator = Charles M. Schulz
director = Phil Roman
creative_director =
developer =
presenter =
starring =
voices = Arrin Skelley (Charlie Brown)
Daniel Anderson (Linus)
Michelle Muller (Lucy)
Ronald Hendrix (Franklin)
Laura Planting (Peppermint Patty)
Bill Melendez (Snoopy)
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer = Ed Bogas
Judy Munsen
"("Linus & Lucy" theme by Vince Guaraldi)"
country = USA
language =
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executive_producer = Lee Mendelson
producer = Bill Melendez
supervising_producer =
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co-producer =
editor =
story_editor =
location =
cinematography =
camera =
runtime = 30 minutes
network = CBS
picture_format =
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first_run = October 24, 1977
first_aired =
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"It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" is one of many prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip "Peanuts," by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired 8:00 PM, Monday evening, October 24, 1977 on the CBS-TV network.

The special was directed by Phil Roman and produced by Bill Melendez.

ummary

It's homecoming at Charlie Brown's school, and Charlie Brown and Linus are among the escorts for the Homecoming Queen and her court. During the Homecoming Parade, Linus tells Charlie Brown that he will be the escort for the Queen, but Charlie Brown is shocked when he sees the Queen is none other than the Little Red-Haired Girl herself "(whose name in the special is Heather)". He is even more shocked when Linus tells him about the Homecoming tradition—that he has to give Heather a kiss on the cheek before the first dance. Hearing this, Charlie Brown hyperventilates and falls off the float.

The Homecoming Game begins, and Charlie Brown is the team kicker. But unfortunately, even in a real football game with many spectators "(and Woodstock as a TV cameraman)", Lucy, also on the team as the placekick setter, can't resist humiliating Charlie Brown, again pulling the ball away just as he tries to kick it. To make matters worse, the team (particularly Peppermint Patty) blames Charlie Brown for the failed kicks. With just thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter, Charlie Brown has a chance to become a hero and kick a field goal for the win, but Lucy again pulls the ball away, and the team loses by only one point.

Despite the humiliation, Charlie Brown still arrives at the dance to the surprise of his teammates "(including, oddly enough, Lucy, the" real "culprit behind the team's loss)" who think it would have been better if he didn't show up at all. But remaining faithful to his duty, Charlie Brown escorts Heather to the middle of the dance floor and somehow summons the courage to kiss her on the cheek. From that moment forward everything is a composite blur, with Charlie Brown having euphoric visions now that he has kissed the Little Red-Haired Girl— an accomplishment previously thought to be unattainable.

Charlie Brown wakes up the next morning, having no memory of anything that happened after the kiss. He walks to the wall, his usual hangout, and meets up with Linus, who proceeds to tell Charlie Brown that though he might have lost the game, he definitely took the honors at the dance. According to Linus, Charlie Brown surprised everyone when he kissed Heather, but even more so when he took to the dance floor with her— and even the other girls in the court— doing all of the latest dances. In essence, Charlie Brown was the life of the party according to Linus.

In disbelief, Charlie Brown replied saying "What good is it to do "anything", Linus, if you can't remember what you did??" Regardless, Linus reminds him that at least it was his first kiss and the story ends with Charlie Brown smiling with quiet satisfaction.

Reaction

Audience reaction was primarily positive, but there were two elements about this special that initially caused negative reaction from viewers:

The Revelation of the Little Red-Haired Girl

The Little Red-Haired Girl was never seen in the daily comics (except in silhouette in a May 1998 strip) [Charles M. Schulz (2001), "It's A Dog's Life, Snoopy", page 66, Ballantine Publishing, New York, NY, ISBN 0-345-44269-5] , nor was she ever referred to by her real name. Schulz himself admitted that he could not draw the Little Red-Haired Girl to readers' satisfaction, [Charles M. Schulz (2001), "Peanuts: The Art Of Charles M. Schulz", page 198, Random House, New York, NY, ISBN 0-375-42097-5] much less his own, but the storyline of the TV special forced the issue.

"It's Lucy's fault, Charlie Brown!"

Even more significant, in the special's initial broadcast Charlie Brown was blamed (especially by Peppermint Patty) for bungling key plays and losing the game, though it was abundantly clear that it was Lucy who was at fault for the loss (to wit, her omnipresent need to humiliate Charlie Brown, hence pulling the ball away from him four times during the game, which prevented him from converting any extra points or field goals, including a crucial attempt at the end). The original dialogue created a stir among viewers, many of whom wrote in protesting that Charlie Brown was definitely not at fault for losing the game [Lee Mendelson (1979), "Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown", page 29, Random House, New York, NY, ISBN 0-394-50746-0] . Schulz and the producers agreed, and for what it might have been worth, some of the lines where Charlie Brown's teammates berate him were redubbed to make Lucy take the blame in subsequent rebroadcasts. In the DVD release, only one line (spoken by Peppermint Patty) blaming Charlie Brown was dubbed over by crowd sound effects rendering her line indistinct.

Musical score

"It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" was the first "Peanuts" television special produced after the untimely death of longtime "Peanuts" composer Vince Guaraldi. Music scores were now co-written by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen. Though the duo attempted to maintain the same jazzy feel of previous specials, filling Guaraldi's shoes proved impossible. Subsequently, this and future "Peanuts" specials lacked the zest and vitality that Guaraldi's imaginative and colorful scores provided.

References & External links

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