I got a rock!

Charles M. Schultz was, indeed, a genius. In fact, animated specials such as It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown remind us all of why he's missed. In terms of holiday classics, this one has the market cornered when it comes to "must see" productions during the Halloween season. It's great for everyone in the family, and has that Schultz brand of gentle humor that the world could use a bit more of these days.

Well, enough of that. For those of you who have been living under a rock since this was first aired in 1965, The Great Pumpkin is a simple tale about the Peanuts gang on Halloween. We're introduced to the Great Pumpkin, a character dreamed up by Linus.

The Great Pumpkin, it seems, is rather like Santa Claus in that he's supposed to rise from the most serene pumpkin patch he can find and deliver toys to the "good children." Linus cons Sally into spending the night in the pumpkin patch with him instead of heading out trick-or-treating with the rest of the gang. You can imagine how that turns out for young Sally.

Meanwhile, the gang goes trick-or-treating and Charlie Brown, as usual, comes across as the nice guy who is, unfortunately, a loser. He cuts up a sheet for a ghost costume and gets confused on the eyes. Therefore, he winds up with a sheet full of holes. While the other kids get candy and treats while going door to door, Charlie Brown winds up with a sack full of rocks. Charlie Brown has to model for the jack o' lantern, and the face for the pumpkin is sketched out on the back of his bald head. Indeed, Charlie Brown winds up being the loser, but is still hopeful at the end of the film.

Of course, you've got Snoopy running around doing his typical bit. In this film, he plays the World War I flying ace who's Sopwith Camel was shot down behind enemy lines. Snoopy shows up at the Halloween party. He shows up in the pumpkin patch while Linus and Sally are waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. Indeed, there's plenty of Snoopy here for fans of the animated beagle.

The animation is typical stuff from Schultz. While not overly detailed, the animation moves the story along nicely and is done in an inviting and friendly manner. There's nothing at all scary to this thing, but the atmosphere fits the festive mood of Halloween as seen through the eyes of children very well.

And, this is one Halloween special that everyone in the family will love. It won't scare the kids, and adults will be amused by all of it. Heck, a lot of us parents grew up watching this every year, so I figure most people are aware of it and enjoy the film.

The only gripe I have about this is that it's too short. It clocks in at 25 minutes and that means it ends too soon. However, having the video tape around is much better than the "old days" when it was on television once a year and was interrupted by commercials and plugs for Dolly Madison snack cakes (remember those days?) I can watch this as much as I want, and this thing finds its way in the VCR a few times whenever October rolls around.