Art of Advent Day 6

By Audrey O’Rafferty

Still from Bill Melendez’s A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). Based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M Schulz.

Image courtesy of Apple.

9 December 2025 will mark the sixtieth birthday of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The beloved Christmas special holds just as much emotional weight and viewing enjoyment today as it did sixty years ago, and I would like to briefly explore why.  

The special was the first in the Charlie Brown animated series, and it started off as a documentary about the Peanuts comic strip. However, it was not until the project was bought by Coca Cola that it was turned into an animated special. There wasn’t much time given for the project, which is why the animation looks simple and at times choppy and is titled within the credits ‘graphic blandishments.’ In fact, the lyrics to the now famed song ‘Christmas Time is Here’ were written in about ten minutes by the producer, Lee Mendelson, because they were unable to source a lyricist.  

But, these imperfections, combined with the relatable, bittersweet story are what I believe make the film so beloved. No, it’s not perfect, but the aesthetic and music have a true warmth; you can tell human beings created it. The voice actors were played by real, untrained children roughly matching the ages of the characters, when typically, during this time, adults would voice children in animated features. But the lack of perfection in their voices further adds to the special’s authenticity. Moreover, the film’s plot—which features a lonely Charlie Brown, distraught over the season’s commercialisation and culminates in everyone coming together to turn the now iconic, imperfect Christmas tree into something beautiful—is something many can deeply connect with.  

The story’s perfectly imperfect holiday melancholy, simple yet heartwarming message, and visual humanity majorly contribute to its timeless appeal, and undoubtably are what will keep viewers coming back for the next sixty years.   

Bibliography

Cavna, Michael. “50 years later, the gospel truth behind why tonight’s ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ endures.” The Washington Post, December 24, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/11/30/50-years-later-the-gospel-truth-behind-why-tonights-a-charlie-brown-christmas-endures/.

Cavna, Michael. “Charles Schulz and the creative faith in the making of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'”. National Catholic Reporter, December 24, 2024. https://www.ncronline.org/culture/charles-schulz-and-creative-faith-making-charlie-brown-christmas.