 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Review Date: October 11, 2006
- NR
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2000
Common Sense Media says
Halloween isn't complete without this classic.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this Peanuts classic appeals to all ages. It promotes many favorite American Halloween traditions like trick-or-treating and apple bobbing, not to mention the infamous Great Pumpkin (who must have missed Linus' pumpkin patch somehow). When Snoopy dresses up as a WWI flying ace, he hams it up during a pretend battle atop his dog house -- complete with flying bullets. Some of the Halloween imagery (ghosts, skeletons) may alarm the very youngest viewers.
What's the story?
It's almost Halloween, and the optimism is infectious. Linus (voiced by Christopher Shea) is crafting his letter to the Great Pumpkin (think Santa in a pumpkin patch), Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins) is thrilled about being invited to a party, and Lucy (Sally Dryer) has the perfect witchy costume. No one believes Linus' tales of the Great Pumpkin's visit -- Sally (Kathy Steinberg) wants to, though, so she decides to spend the night waiting with Linus in the pumpkin patch. Charlie Brown, in his ghost costume that looks more like a potato, trick-or-treats all night, and all he has to show for it is a bag of rocks. Lucy bobs for apples and comes up with a beagle kiss -- blech!
Is it any good?
You can almost smell the donuts, cider, and piles of leaves on a crisp fall day when you start watching IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN. Generations of trick-or-treaters have grown up on this Peanuts classic. One of the most memorable images isn't the arrival of the Great Pumpkin (maybe next year, Linus), but rather of Snoopy hamming it up atop his red dog house as a WWI flying ace -- he takes his costume very seriously. He's so in character that he doesn't realize when he walks from the French countryside he's conjured up for himself into the Halloween party.
One of the sweetest moments is when Lucy retrieves a shivering Linus from the pumpkin patch and puts him to bed. It's a difficult end to the holiday for Linus, but he wakes up the next morning determined to wait in the pumpkin patch all over again, just like so many Peanuts fans will come back to this gem year after year.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about what their favorite Halloween traditions are. Have you ever tried apple bobbing? Do you like carving pumpkins? If you could hand out something extra special at Halloween, what would it be?
Families can also talk about how Snoopy took his Halloween costume so
seriously -- and just how funny it is to see him flying his dog house.
When you put on your costume, will you get into character? Why or why
not?
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AGE
Can Watch With Any Age Level
My family loves this movie. Great family fun, and one line ("I got a rock") has become family catch phrase. My son wants to dress up in Charlie Brown's poor cut up ghost sheet, my daughter wants to wait for the Great Pumpkin every year, and personally I want to don my own WWI Flying Ace costume. Nothing to worry about here.
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AGE
It's The Best!
A classic film, it doesn't feel like Halloween without watching this one. My children (and I!) have watched it since they were old enough to be interested in television, and know that the teasing and name calling is part of the cartoon. Although sadly a lot of kids do it in real life, mine do not.
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AGE
Doesn't send a good message to young kids on how to treat others with repect.
I've watched this movie classic since I was a child and can't believe the horrible message it's sending out to children on how poorly they treat each other. Name calling and putting each other down terribly bad. Lucy is down right horrible to everyone, including her brother till the very last part of the movie. I'm not sure where the original review of the movie came from but it's not as positive as it seems from the cover. You may not notice it as a child, but you definitely notice it as an adult with your children watching. We actually turned the movie off while watching it with our kids (ages 4 and 6) because of how horrible they treat each other. Bad example, bad message to send to kids. Just because they're the cute Peanuts characters doesn't make it right to degrade each other and put each other down and name call and think they're cute and funny.
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AGE
Good movie--and yes it does have language I don't like
My daughter (6) has watched this since she was 2. She asked us why they use the words stupid and blockhead and we just explained that we don't think it is nice. But it is still a great movie otherwise. This year our son (2) will get to watch also.
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Am I the first one to review this?
Five words: Nothing here is an Issue. Charlie Brown specials are instant classics and were before they premiered. Its just good clean entertainment.
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AGE
Not for young kids
This is not appropriate in my book. Stupid, blockheads? Really I trust this site but they were way off on this one. Maybe when my kids are 8 or something.
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Adorable.
Awee Charlie Brown is so cute and funny! It teaches kids how to be good friends and much more. The Halloween special is also very cute because it shows children to have 'spirit' in things, which they need when they get older when children will say things like Santa or the Easter Bunny doesn't exist. I personally do not think stupid, blockhead, or good grief are bad, they're expressions even teachers use. The only serious issue is children may say them to others, as if they were a bully.
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Kid, 12 years old
January 26, 2009
AGE
loved it
I think this is the best classic movie ever made in the history of classics! This show is definitely for everyone of all ages!
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Bill Melendez |
| Cast: | Christopher Shea, Peter Robbins, Sally Dryer |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 25 minutes |
| DVD release date: | September 12, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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