The Great Pumpkin

[profsaffel]

As my four year old watches "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" the second time, chuckling and giggling and smiling along the way, I couldn't help but reflect...

I think the The Great Pumpkin movie is more than just a classic - it's fantastic entertainment (with some subtle social and political commentary) for kids and adults alike. I think back on my childhood every time I watch it. But at the same time, I find that it is so much slower and more dialogue heavy than today's tv for kids (and for adults, for that matter). Yet, I have to ask if any of you have young kids that enjoy this movie as well. If so, why do you think?

 

[scottb]

We do not have kids, but both enjoyed TGP when young.

Last year we went back + watched with great expectations + nostalgia...I gotta say, it was disenchanting....man, I had no idea Peanuts was so depressing. I know it's always risky to revisit cherished memories of the past, but it was a jolt.

Glad your kids can still see it the way we did the first time.

 

[Leche]

One of my son's favorites.

 

[82R100]

Last year we went back + watched with great expectations + nostalgia...I gotta say, it was disenchanting....man, I had no idea Peanuts was so depressing. I know it's always risky to revisit cherished memories of the past, but it was a jolt.

While some of the earliest TV programs are enchanting to revisit, others can appall. We played an episode of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In one time to show our son (in his 20's) what passed for humor back then. It was mortifying.

 

[The Nid Hog]

My kids grew up watching the Peanut's Halloween and Christmas shows. They certainly do have their melancholy side, but I think that it might seem sharper because of the relentlessly happy image--and, I think, phony--presented by most of today's programming. In some ways, Charlie Brown is like a middle aged man filled with anxiety. But children's lives also have their moments of sadness and loneliness--otherwise Peanuts would never have appealed to them like it did and does.

If all you remember is Snoopy dancing happily or pretending he's a pilot, you'll be in for a shock. But I think that they're still well worth watching (less so the newer, dumber ones). And the music is fantastic.

 

[_JP_]

I like the classic Peanuts shows! They all bring back memories of my youth.

Peanuts was never directed specifically towards children. While it is about children, the intended audience that Charles Shultz targeted were the parents. The dialogue of the characters in Peanuts was generally beyond what children of that age said decades ago.

 

[SRock]

TGP! Classic doesn't describe it. You are right it is a bit more dialogue heavy but I think that may have to do with a time when people cared about content and what their kids were watching. These days most cartoons are mindless/thoughtless and many center on violence or the risque.

This is one of m 5 year olds favorites and my 10 year old still enjoys watching it as well.

 

[Cutter]

I have loved all the Peanuts specials since I was a kid, but my kids act like it's a punishment to have to sit and watch them.