Charlie Brown's All-Stars is the second TV special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was the second such TV special to be produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez (who also directed), and originally aired on the CBS network on June 8, 1966.
Plot
After Charlie Brown's team lose their first game of the season (123–0), all the players, except Charlie Brown, throw down their caps in disgust and quit.
Frustrated and depressed, Charlie Brown wanders around aimlessly until he ends his meandering by sitting down on the sidewalk, putting his back against Hennessy's Hardware Store and staring into space. Just then, Linus exits the hardware store and tells Charlie Brown good news: Mr. Hennessy, the owner of the store, wants to sponsor Charlie Brown's team, outfit them with baseball uniforms and incorporate them into Little League.
The excitement gets the better of Charlie Brown, and he eagerly tells the team the good news. Lucy is apprehensive, but states that if Charlie Brown can really get the team uniforms, they will give him another chance and return to the team. Charlie Brown says he can promise them uniforms. Later at home, Charlie Brown, gets a phone call from Mr. Hennessey, and is told he will be able to make a uniform for the boys on the team, but the league does not allow girls or dogs. This means he can't make Charlie Brown's team uniforms unless he drops the girls (namely Lucy, Violet, Patty, and Frieda) and the dog (Snoopy). Charlie Brown tries to reason with Mr. Hennessey, but is told that the stipulations are the league's rules, not his. Unwilling to sacrifice his friends, Charlie Brown is left with no choice but to turn down Mr. Hennessey's offer.
Moments later, Charlie Brown relays the news to Linus, who tells him that Lucy and the team will most likely be angry with his decision. However, Charlie Brown has an idea. He will not tell them figuring their lifted spirits will drive them to a great win. Then after the game, they will be so happy about the win, they will forget about the uniforms Charlie Brown promised. Linus says this may not be a good idea, but Charlie Brown feels it will work.
Charlie Brown fails to steal home.
The game starts off slowly, but as it picks up, the team begins to play spectacularly. Unfortunately, they lose the game in the end when, in the last inning, Charlie Brown's bid to tie the game by stealing home fails.
Having failed to win them the game, Lucy and several others tell Charlie Brown that if it were not for the uniforms and the league deal, they would quit. Charlie Brown then tells the team (leaving out the reasons why) that he told Mr. Hennessey that the deal was off. This causes the team to yell in anger and storm off, including Linus (though his reason was his disagreement with Charlie Brown for concealing the truth). As the girls complain about their misfortune (and Snoopy is shown sharing their disgust), Linus speaks up telling them the real reason why Charlie Brown turned the offer down. Both Linus and Schroeder berate the girls and Snoopy for their selfishness; pointing out that Charlie Brown was not willing to sacrifice them just to get the uniforms. This causes the girls and Snoopy to feel terrible for being so hard on Charlie Brown. They are uncertain what to do, until Lucy comes up with an idea to make up for the insults: make a special uniform for Charlie Brown. And they do just that, using the only fabric available: Linus' beloved security blanket.
The girls and Snoopy present the newly-made uniform (complete with the words "Our Manager" on the front) to Charlie Brown, who is very pleased with it. He is determined that his team will win the next day, but the next day, it rains, so there is no ball game. Charlie Brown just stands in the rain on the pitcher's mound, where Linus finds him and tells him that nobody will come to the field. He then looks nervously at Charlie Brown, and tells him that his uniform was made from his blanket. So Charlie Brown lets Linus hold the shirt-tail against his cheek and suck his thumb. The two of them stand together in the pouring rain, while the credits roll.
Notes
- Originally this special was to have been called Good Grief, Charlie Brown. A short piece in the December 15, 1965 issue of the New York Times mentions this special as an impending production to air in June of 1966, and refers to it by that title.
- Mr. Hennessey once again sponsors the team in It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown, but no longer cares if the girls and Snoopy are on the team. This is due to relaxations in baseball player admittance policies by the 1990s.
- The final CBS airing of the special was in 1982 and it would not air on American television again until ABC aired it following a repeat airing of It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown on April 7, 2009. Since then, it has always aired following It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.
Goofs
- Charlie Brown mentions that "we have five boys, three girls and one dog", but there are actually four girls on his team.
Voice cast
- Peter Robbins - Charlie Brown
- Sally Dryer - Lucy van Pelt
- Christopher Shea - Linus van Pelt
- Ann Altieri - Frieda
- Glenn Mendelson - Schroeder
- Cathy Steinberg - Sally Brown
- Geoffrey Ornstein - "Pig-Pen"
- Lynn Vanderlip - Patty
- Karen Mendelson - Violet
- Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter - Shermy
- Bill Melendez - Snoopy
5 appears but is silent.