It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Original and Limited Edition Art (1966)

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. A Halloween special, it was the third Peanuts special (and second holiday-themed special, following A Charlie Brown Christmas) to be produced and animated by Bill Melendez. It was also the first Peanuts special to use the titular pattern of a short phrase, followed by "Charlie Brown", a pattern which would remain the norm for almost all subsequent Peanuts specials. Its initial broadcast took place on October 27, 1966, on CBS, preempting My Three Sons. CBS re-aired the special annually through 2000, with ABC picking up the rights beginning in 2001, where it now airs annually during the Halloween season. Until 2013 ABC broadcast, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brownaired immediately after It's the Great Pumpkin, as if to emphasize the proximity of Halloween to Election Day. Also, the Great Pumpkin is mentioned in You're Not Elected. The special aired twice in 2014 and 2015. The first time, ABC aired Toy Story of Terror with The Great Pumpkin following afterward. The second time was the more traditional airing with You're Not Elected following afterwards. The program was nominated for an Emmy Award. It has been issued on home video several times, including a Remastered Deluxe Edition of the special released byWarner Home Video on September 2, 2008, with the bonus feature It's Magic, Charlie Brown which was released in 1981.To celebrate its 40th anniversary, a retrospective book was published in 2006. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic includes the entire script, never-before-seen photographs, storyboard excerpts, and interviews with the original child actors who provided the voices of the Peanuts gang. A history of the program and the various religious interpretations of Linus' sincere belief in the Great Pumpkin are explained in the 2015 book, A Charlie Brown Religion. Click here for more information on It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!