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 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 every day life; riding on the back of his mother's bicycle, coping with his crabby sister Lucy, being embarassed by his blanket-toting brother Linus and getting accused of harrassment when he asks the little pigtailed girl from his kindergarten class to come to Paris with him.
Snoopy types Rerun's invitation to Spike
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 Needles, California carrying his cactus friend 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 Spike but none of the other children are willing to take him in. Spike has no choice but to return to his desert home.
Rerun and Snoopy.
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
- Jimmy Bennett - Rerun van Pelt
- Ashley Rose - Lucy van Pelt
- Corey Padnos - Linus van Pelt
- Adam Taylor Gordon - Charlie Brown
- Hannah Leigh - Sally Brown
- Nick Price - Schroeder
- Jake Miner - "Pig-Pen"/Franklin
- Kaitlyn Maggio - The Little Pigtailed Girl/Violet
- Bill Melendez - Snoopy/Woodstock
Patty appears, but she is silent.
Trailer
Trailer for DVD release on an edition with Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!
Notes
- 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 time Rerun is seen riding his mother's bicycle.
- A number of scenes of Rerun playing with Spike are based on comic strips in which Rerun's interactions were actually with Snoopy.
Goofs
- When Rerun and the pigtailed girl are talking about their trip to Paris, a girl in the background is putting bricks in a box which is only partially full. in the next shot, it is full all the way to the top.
- 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.