50 Years On, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Provides Timeless Life Lessons

The iconic Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, recently reached its 50th anniversary, having debuted on CBS in 1973. From then until Apple snatched the rights of the Peanuts property faster than Lucy grabbed the football from Charlie Brown at the top of their AppleTV+ launch, the special saw longevity in syndication. Personally speaking, whenever a Charlie Brown special aired on network television, it was a yearly event I never missed for the world. That applies to the Thanksgiving special the most, which was something of a rarity in TV holiday events. Unless you want to count every Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving episode as a special, then, by that means, you should.

For 50 years, generations of kids witnessed Snoopy scrapping with a chair in fluid hand-drawn animation, Vince Guaraldi passionately singing about Woodstock’s peculiarity in a joyously jazzy tune, and Charlie Brown adhering to an uninvited Peppermint Patty’s demands. But what made this holiday special as memorable as The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, or A Charlie Brown Christmas? It wasn’t the novelty; at the time of release, it was the tenth Peanuts special ever made. Well, the answer to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving‘s staying power lies in the timely social message of not doing an impromptu Thanksgiving and the character Franklin.

If you’re reading this, you likely know the story. But let’s refresh our memories!

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Charlie Brown and his sister Sally plan to head to their grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. But out of the blue, his tomboy admirer Peppermint Patty calls him up and invites herself, Marcie, and Franklin over for the holiday, not minding that Charlie Brown is a literal child and can only make toast. Linus, spawning out of nowhere, gives Charlie Brown the idea that he can have two Thanksgivings that day: a pregame with his friends, then the main course at grandma’s. Linus then enlists Snoopy and Woodstock to cook a Thanksgiving meal for everyone and set the table. You know, normal kid stuff.

After some shenanigans and mishaps involving a chair trying to throw hands with a dog, Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock cook the broke college student’s (or freelance journalist’s) daily meal plan: toast, pretzel sticks, popcorn, and jelly beans. When Peppermint Patty and the gang arrive, and Snoopy proudly displays the delicious food he made, she chastises Charlie Brown for having snacks and calling it a meal. (Even though any film critic can tell you popcorn is a meal.)

Marcie, being the voice of reason she is, gets Peppermint Patty to check herself, asking who invited themselves to Mr. Brown’s table. Marcie and eventually Peppermint Patty apologize to Charlie. In return, Charlie Brown’s grandmother invites everyone to go with him to her condominium for dinner.

And, of course, the special ends with Snoopy and Woodstock cooking an actual Thanksgiving meal, implying Woodstock is pulling an “Armie Hammer” with the turkey he won the wishbone over.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving proposed a valuable lesson to every generation: do not invite yourself to somebody’s house on Thanksgiving and expect them to show up for you as if you were the pope. If you want an impromptu Thanksgiving, that’s what you’ll get. Now, Charlie Brown could’ve gone to a deli and got some turkey meat, which would’ve been perfect for everyone’s meal. Turkey is turkey. But my thesis remains!

As someone who considers themselves a Peanuts fanatic––my first tattoo I have is of 1950s style Snoopy–– I’d say what makes A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving stand the test of time is its depiction of inconsideration and entitlement. Peanuts has always been authentic by showing kids being mean or misanthropic. Charles Schulz’s specific brand of tragicomedy wrung natural wit out of it. Every character has a distinctive personality, but the cartoon also displays the up and downs of social dynamics. Peppermint Patty receiving a less-than-desirable meal as a consequence of her actions is a perfect showcase of how kids shouldn’t treat their friends. It kicks off the special’s conflict and has a more than hilarious payoff, with Patty looking perplexed as Snoopy dishes out all the snacks to everyone at the table. Her diva-like anger affects poor Charlie Brown and Marcie, and the message is clear: don’t be a Peppermint Patty. Or at least, don’t assume people will adhere to your demands when they already have their own plans going on. Considering this came out around the same time as Sesame Street, which was also instrumental in teaching kids social developmental skills, the cynical comedic angle that made the series as beloved as it is to this day shines throughout the special.

A good chunk of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is spent with Snoopy and Woodstock clowning around to get the meal prepped. The animation here is incredible, and the matching song “Little Birdie” evokes a calm feeling that matches the autumnal watercolor background illustrations. Besides the lessons it offers, the special just gets you into the fall feeling.

Then, we must discuss Franklin, the only Black person at the table. In today’s lens, the image of him being alone on the opposite side of the table from everyone else might be jarring. But then again, think of his inception. Go back to 1968 when Franklin was newly introduced into the Peanuts comics after the late Harriet Glickman wrote to Schulz shortly after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Schulz’s distributor, United Feature Syndicate, was scared that backward states would take issue with the character’s mere existence. But Schulz was a champion for inclusion and challenged the adversary by threatening to end Peanuts altogether, notably stating, “Either you print it just the way I draw it, or I quit.” And the rest was history.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving wasn’t even Franklin’s first onscreen appearance. It was the theatrically released film Snoopy Come Home. Albeit a silent role then, Franklin had a speaking one in There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown. The continuation of his appearances challenged the masses to accept interracial friendships across America. At the time of this writing, the 51st Peanuts special called Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin is in development at Apple TV+. The project is slated to release next year and will explore the character’s origins. Maybe it’ll touch on the character’s progressive influence and importance to many Black cartoonists and animators in the medium, or reinvent Franklin. There’s a beauty in knowing that for many generations, kids seeing a Black character from the 1970s seated at a Thanksgiving table with his white friends haven’t cared about his race and just like him as a person.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving provides valuable life lessons and serves as a significant landmark in inclusion that’s timely no matter where Franklin’s seated.

Rendy Jones is a film and television journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. They are the owner of self-published outlet Rendy Reviews, a member of the Critics Choice Association, and a film graduate of Brooklyn College. They have been featured in Vulture, The Daily Beast, AV Club and CBC News.