Peanuts Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Peanuts Wiki

I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown is the forty-third Peanuts TV special. It first aired on ABC on December 9, 2003. The main character in the special is Rerun van Pelt. Like all specials that were produced after the death of Charles M. Schulz, the plot is a combination of various stories that had previously appeared in the strip.

Plot[]

At the start of the special, the audience is introduced to Rerun and sees some of the difficulties that he faces in his everyday life: riding on the back of his mother's bicycle, coping with his crabby sister Lucy, being embarrassed by his blanket-toting brother Linus and getting accused of harassment when he asks the Little Pigtailed Girl from his kindergarten class to come to Paris with him.

Rerun wishes that he had a dog but his mother refuses to get one. Not having a dog of his own, he asks Charlie Brown several times if he can play with Snoopy. At first, Snoopy agrees and the small boy and the dog play happily together. However, Snoopy seems to tire of Rerun's games and suddenly stops seeing the boy. Rerun asks Charlie Brown if Snoopy has any brothers or sisters. He is told about Belle, Marbles, Olaf, Andy, and Spike. Rerun thinks that Spike might make a good pet. Snoopy writes to Spike and asks him to visit. Spike agrees and makes the long trip from his home outside his farm, carrying his jar with him.

When Spike arrives, Lucy is shocked to see how skinny he is. She takes him in to nurse him back to health. However, after the dog recovers, Rerun's mother will not allow him to stay in their house any longer. Charlie Brown tries to find a new home for him but none of the other children are willing to take him in. Spike has no choice but to return to his home in the desert.

Rerun is saddened to see Spike go. To cheer him up, Lucy enters Rerun in the annual school Christmas pageant.  While Rerun has only one line to recite, he nervously forgets it just moments before he is supposed to deliver it. After whispering his problem to Lucy, she tells him that he had better remember it, or she will slug him back at home. Rerun suddenly remembers the line and delivers it in time. After Lucy wishes him "Merry Christmas," Rerun thanks her, then faints.

Rerun asks Charlie Brown if Snoopy will pull him on his sled. When the dog eventually agrees to come out and play, Rerun finds himself pulling Snoopy on the sled instead. He finally decides that dogs are too much trouble after all.

At the end of the special Charlie Brown "breaks the fourth wall" by saying, "Sometimes I ask myself, 'When will it all end?' and then a voice comes to me that says, 'Right after the credits.'"

Voice cast[]

Eudora and Patty Swanson appear, but they are silent.

Notes[]

  • This is the fourth Christmas-themed TV special.
  • This is Rerun's fourth television appearance.
  • This is the seventh time Charlie Brown says, "Why can't I have a normal dog like everybody else?" in a TV special.
  • This is the second TV special in which Rerun is seen riding his mother's bicycle, the first one being It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.
  • Several scenes of Rerun playing with Spike are based on comic strips in which Rerun's interactions were actually with Snoopy.
  • Several quotations said by Rerun while riding on his mother's bicycle are recycled from the "Snoopy: Team Manager" segment "Rerun".
  • In the original comic strip of the Christmas play, in the end, Linus is the one who keeps whispering to Lucy, not Rerun.
  • This special is the second time Snoopy's brothers Marbles, Spike, and Andy appear in a Peanuts special, the first being 1991's Snoopy's Reunion. His sister Belle is also mentioned but not seen.
  • The scene in which Lucy fattens up Spike was previously used in the "Snoopy's Brother Spike" episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.
  • This is the last Peanuts special to be released on VHS and DVD by Paramount.
  • The telescript for this special was transcribed from Schulz's other strips.
  • When Linus says big sisters are "the crabgrass on the lawn of life", it was originally Snoopy's opinion of cats in the comic strips.
  • The music for Christmas Time Is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas can be heard in the special.

Goofs[]

  • When Rerun and the Little Pigtailed Girl are talking about their trip to Paris, a girl in the background is putting bricks in a box that is only partially full. In the next shot, it is full all the way to the top.
  • Rerun draws a football stadium with 60,000 fans in it. Then he turns the paper over to draw a better face. When he says, "I'm just drawing your ear", the football stadium that he drew cannot be seen.
  • The size of Rerun's head changes constantly throughout the special.
  • In one shot of Rerun and Charlie Brown talking to each other, Rerun is almost the same height as Charlie Brown.
  • In many scenes, notes can be heard from Schroeder's piano while he does not touch the keys. This is one of the many specials where this is done due to poor piano accuracy in terms of animation.
  • Schroeder says that Beethoven never owned dogs, but he actually owned five dogs.
  • Rerun states that he had been given 50 cents from the girl when they were talking about their trip to Paris, but when he attempts to buy Snoopy from Charlie Brown, he claims that he does not know anything about money.
  • This special makes the common mistake of implying that Snoopy only has five siblings that Rerun is told, Molly and Rover are not shown in the special.

Soundtrack[]

  1. Re-Run's Theme, Linus & Lucy, Re-Run's Theme2, Linus & Lucy2
  2. Oh Good Grief
  3. Pebble Beach
  4. Spike's Theme (slow intro)
  5. Re-Run's Theme3 (no intro, fast)
  6. Christmastime Is Here
  7. Skating
  8. Re-Run's Theme4 (fast)
  9. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 'Pathetique' III. Rondo Allegro
  10. Christmas Is Coming
  11. Red Baron alt.
  12. Re-Run's Theme5 (slow, no intro)
  13. Re-Run's Theme6 (fast)
  14. Charlie Brown Theme
  15. Re-Run's Theme7 (very slow)
  16. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionate' III. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
  17. Christmastime Is Here2
  18. Re-Run's Theme8, Jingle Bells, ReRun's Theme9
  19. Oh Good Grief2
  20. Red Baron alt.2
  21. Spike's Theme2 (longest intro)
  22. Re-Run's Theme10 (alt. intro)
  23. Sonata No. 18, Op. 31, No. 3 Scherzo. Allegretto Vivace
  24. Re-Run's Theme11 (alt intro)
  25. Spike's Theme3 (no intro)
  26. Linus & Lucy3
  27. Re-Run's Theme12 (fast)
  28. Charlies Blues
  29. Spike's Theme4 (long intro)
  30. Christmastime Is Here
  31. Re-Run's Theme13 (alt. intro)
  32. Re-Run's Theme14 (credits)

Gallery[]

External links[]

Peanuts Animated Features
TV Specials Released 1960s A Charlie Brown Christmas ā€¢ Charlie Brown's All-Stars ā€¢ It's the Great Pumpkin... ā€¢ You're in Love... ā€¢ He's Your Dog... ā€¢ It Was a Short Summer...
1970s Play It Again... ā€¢ You're Not Elected... ā€¢ There's No Time for Love... ā€¢ A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ā€¢ It's a Mystery... ā€¢ It's the Easter Beagle... ā€¢ Be My Valentine... ā€¢ You're a Good Sport... ā€¢ It's Arbor Day... ā€¢ It's Your First Kiss... ā€¢ What a Nightmare... ā€¢ You're the Greatest...
1980s She's a Good Skate... ā€¢ Life Is a Circus... ā€¢ It's Magic... ā€¢ Someday You'll Find Her... ā€¢ A Charlie Brown Celebration ā€¢ Is This Goodbye...? ā€¢ It's an Adventure... ā€¢ What Have We Learned...? ā€¢ It's Flashbeagle... ā€¢ Snoopy's Getting Married... ā€¢ You're a Good Man... ā€¢ Happy New Year...! ā€¢ Snoopy!!! The Musical ā€¢ It's the Girl in the Red Truck...
1990s Why, Charlie Brown, Why? ā€¢ Snoopy's Reunion ā€¢ It's Spring Training... ā€¢ It's Christmastime Again... ā€¢ You're in the Super Bowl... ā€¢ It Was My Best Birthday Ever...
2000s It's the Pied Piper... ā€¢ A Charlie Brown Valentine ā€¢ Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales ā€¢ Lucy Must Be Traded... ā€¢ I Want a Dog for Christmas... ā€¢ He's a Bully...
2010s Happiness Is a Warm Blanket...
2020s For Auld Lang Syne ā€¢ It's The Small Things... ā€¢ To Mom (and Dad), With Love ā€¢ Lucy's School ā€¢ One-of-a-Kind Marcie ā€¢ Welcome Home, Franklin
Movies A Boy Named Charlie Brown ā€¢ Snoopy, Come Home ā€¢ Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown ā€¢ Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!!) ā€¢ The Peanuts Movie
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Season 1 "Snoopy's Cat Fight" ā€¢ "Snoopy: Team Manager" ā€¢ "Linus and Lucy" ā€¢ "Lucy vs. the World" ā€¢ "Linus' Security Blanket" ā€¢ "Snoopy: Man's Best Friend" ā€¢ "Snoopy the Psychiatrist" ā€¢ "You Can't Win, Charlie Brown" ā€¢ "The Lost Ballpark" ā€¢ "Snoopy's Football Career" ā€¢ "Chaos in the Classroom" ā€¢ "It's That Team Spirit, Charlie Brown" ā€¢ "Lucy Loves Schroeder"
Season 2 "Snoopy and the Giant" ā€¢ "Snoopy's Brother Spike" ā€¢ "Snoopy's Robot" ā€¢ "Peppermint Patty's School Days" ā€¢ "Sally's Sweet Babboo"
This Is America, Charlie Brown "The Mayflower Voyagers" ā€¢ "The Birth of the Constitution" ā€¢ "The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk" ā€¢ "The NASA Space Station" ā€¢ "The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad" ā€¢ "The Great Inventors" ā€¢ "The Smithsonian and the Presidency" ā€¢ "The Music and Heroes of America"
Snoopy in Space "The Application" ā€¢ "Training" ā€¢ "The Graduation" ā€¢ "Welcome to the ISS" ā€¢ "I Never Promised You a Space Garden" ā€¢ "Space Sleepwalking" ā€¢ "The Journey on Orion" ā€¢ "Crater Crash" ā€¢ "Searching for Moon Rocks" ā€¢ "You're a Good Moon, Charlie Brown" ā€¢ "The Next Mission" ā€¢ "Mars or Bust"
Others Peanuts (2014 TV series) ā€¢ Peanuts Motion Comics ā€¢ The Snoopy Show
Advertisement