You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown is the eighteenth Peanuts TV special. It originally aired on the CBS network on March 19, 1979, making it the last Peanuts TV special of the 1970s. It has been released to DVD by Warner Home Video as a bonus feature to You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown.
Plot[]
Peppermint Patty tells some friends that there is someone in their school for every event in the Junior Olympics, except for the decathlon. Nobody wants to enter that competition, because it is a very tough one. Suddenly, Charlie Brown arrives, and asks if there are any spots left for the Junior Olympics that he could enter. Lucy then tricks Charlie Brown, and tells him the decathlon is open, and is an easy event. Charlie Brown accepts to compete in the decathlon.
Peppermint Patty starts training Charlie Brown, with Marcie watching, and Snoopy following. Charlie Brown finds the training very difficult, and wonders if he is really suited for the event. Charlie Brown has trouble with everything he practices, and Patty soon realizes he indeed might not be suited for the event. She then decides to enter Marcie in the event as well, as a backup for Charlie Brown.
The decathlon is held the next day. Peppermint Patty introduces Charlie Brown to his competitors, Marcie, Freddie Fabulous from Fremont, and the "Masked Marvel", who is actually Snoopy wearing a black mask.
For the first event of the decathlon, Charlie Brown comes in last place, but Patty tells him he did well anyway. For the rest of the events for that day, all the players do well on some events, and not so well on others, with Charlie Brown being able to have a good finish on a couple. At the end of the first day, Freddie and Marcie are tied for first. Lucy says that she figured Charlie Brown would be his typical blockhead self, but that is not so due to his second place status. The Masked Marvel is currently dead last.
Day two starts off badly for Charlie Brown. First he feels nervous due to the increased pressure; then he performs badly in the 110 meter high hurdles (knocking down all but one hurdle and finishing last by a substantial margin). However, after a tough talk from Peppermint Patty, a great showing in the pole vault and first-place finishes in the discus and javelin throw catapult him into first place.
It all comes down to the final event, the 1500 meter race. If Charlie Brown wins, he wins the decathlon. The race starts, and Charlie Brown and Marcie wish each other good luck. When they start running, Charlie Brown takes the lead, making Lucy the think the world is ending. However, Charlie Brown starts thinking about how he expects to win, and does not keep his eyes on the track. He fails to see a curve in the track and instead runs onto a siding, and clear out of the stadium.
The next day, Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty are sitting under a tree. Charlie Brown apologizes for losing, and Patty says it is okay, because the school won anyway. It is then revealed that Freddie Fabulous and the Masked Marvel "got all tangled in the last ten yards." Marcie was the one who broke the tape, and thus won the 1500 meter race, making their school win. Marcie arrives and Charlie Brown congratulates her on the win. Marcie, in turn, replies, "You're a great competitor and a real gentleman. I think you're the greatest, Charles." She then lifts up her glasses and winks at Charlie Brown, making him blush.
Voice cast[]
- Arrin Skelly – Charlie Brown/5/Crowd
- Patricia Patts – Peppermint Patty
- Casey Carlson – Marcie/Crowd
- Michelle Muller – Lucy/Girl
- Daniel Anderson – Linus/Schroeder/Crowd
- Tim Hall – Freddie Fabulous/"Pig-Pen"
- Scott Beach – Announcer
- Bill Melendez – Snoopy/Woodstock (briefly)
Sally appears but is silent.
Notes[]
- This special was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (as was Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown).
- This is the first time in either comics or specials that Marcie's eyes are shown. The second was The Peanuts Movie.
- Charlie Brown's grunting as he tries to lift the barbell is the same grunting Daffy Duck made in the 1965 Warner Bros. cartoon Tease for Two when Daffy tries lifting a rock. This grunting was supplied by Mel Blanc.
- Although in this special Charlie Brown was shown to be in the same school as Peppermint Patty and Marcie, the comic strip and other animated specials have indicated that the two girls go to a different school across town.
- This special is the third Peanuts animated cartoon to depict teenagers, the previous two being the movie Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown and the special It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown.
- This special was one of the very first two Peanuts specials released on VHS, on a set released by Media Home Entertainment in June 1984 with Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown.
- Stock animation of Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown talking and sitting under the tree is used from There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown and/or It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.
- This is the second Peanuts special in which the adult actually speaks words rather than being represented with the plunger-muted trombone sounds.
- This special was produced after It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977), which many viewers complained was senselessly cruel to Charlie Brown, such as him being blamed by Peppermint Patty for ruining place kicks that were entirely and obviously Lucy's fault. This special is obviously meant to answer those complaints by having Charlie Brown compete in an individual sport where he does reasonably well without Lucy interfering. Furthermore, Peppermint Patty is Charlie Brown's coach and she is professional and supportive in that role, such as when she explains how Charlie Brown did well in his first decathlon event despite coming in last because his point score from it was good.
Goofs[]
- In the first scene the character of 5 is seen from behind, with "5" printed on the back of his shirt; the "5" is normally only on the front of his shirt.
- In the early scene in the gym, after Charlie Brown lifts a barbell once, Lucy says "What's so great about lifting two angel food cakes?". But you can clearly see the barbell has real dark-colored weights, so the gag is inappropriate.
- Peppermint Patty starts warning Charlie Brown of what he's doing in the 1500m run, even though he hadn't actually done it yet. She also tells him to open his eyes when she is clearly watching him from the back and couldn't have known his eyes were closed until he actually started running off the track.
External links[]
- You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown on the Internet Movie Database.
- You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown on the Big Cartoon Database.
- You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown on AllMovie.