A Charlie Brown Christmas
Title card
Genre	Christmas Family Comedy
Based on	Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
Written by	Charles M. Schulz
Directed by	Bill Melendez
Voices of	Peter Robbins Christopher Shea Kathy Steinberg Tracy Stratford Bill Melendez Ann Altieri Chris Doran Sally Dryer Karen Mendelson Geoffrey Ornstein
Music by	Vince Guaraldi
Opening theme	"Christmas Time Is Here"
Ending theme	"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Lee Mendelson
Producer	Bill Melendez
Editor	Robert T. Gillis
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	Lee Mendelson Film Productions Bill Melendez Productions
Budget	$76,000-96,000[1]
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	December 9, 1965 (1965-12-09)
Related
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1963) Charlie Brown's All Stars! (1966)
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A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 American animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Stratford, and Bill Melendez. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Melendez, the program made its debut on the CBS television network on December 9, 1965.^{[nb 1]} In the special, Charlie Brown (Robbins) finds himself depressed despite the onset of the cheerful holiday season. After Lucy Van Pelt (Stratford) suggests he direct a neighborhood Christmas play, his best efforts are ignored and mocked by his peers when he chooses a puny Christmas tree as a centerpiece.

After the comic strip's debut in 1950, Peanuts had become a worldwide phenomenon by the mid-1960s. The special was commissioned and sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, and was written over a period of several weeks, and produced on a small budget in six months. In casting the characters, the producers took an unconventional route, hiring child actors. The program's soundtrack was similarly unorthodox, featuring a jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi.

Its lack of a laugh track (a staple in American television animation in this period), in addition to its tone, pacing, music, and animation, led both the producers and the network to predict the project would be a disaster. However, contrary to their collective apprehension, A Charlie Brown Christmas received high ratings and acclaim from critics. It received an Emmy and a Peabody Award, and became an annual presentation in the United States, airing on broadcast television during the Christmas season for 56 years before becoming exclusively available on Apple TV+ streaming service. Its success paved the way for a series of Peanuts television specials and films. Its jazz soundtrack achieved commercial success, selling five million copies in the US.^[3] Live theatrical versions of A Charlie Brown Christmas have been staged.

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