About the Great Pumpkin

I thought I would give my readers something heartwarming for today's countdown to Halloween. I found on YouTube this video giving quite a lot of information about It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.It tells you a few trivial facts, but also explains why it became such beloved Halloween classic for children and why it is so compelling, even today. I, of course, really love it.

 

More than 50 years of the Great Pumpkin

For today's countdown to Halloween post, another reading suggestion: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I mean the book adaptation (novelization?) for its 50th anniversary (which was in 2016, if you'd like to know). Okay so it's basically the beloved children's classic in book form. It's funny, witty, sweet, atmospheric, with just a hint of sadness. I bought it to Wolfie because in this country, it's hard to actually watch the original on the telly. he did it only once, last year, and he loved it. So this book allows us to enjoy the Great Pumpkin every year.

Is there really a Great Pumpkin?

I blogged back in September about Charlie Brown's Book of Questions and Answers Book series, and the fourth book in particular, which I always wanted to have. There are many reasons for it and I am sharing one now: there is a whole section about Halloween in it. A whole section with a lot of useful information, some strips from Peanuts and some really, really, really gorgeous pictures not related to the comic strip. It has been haunting me, literally, ever since childhood, so I am so, so, so happy to own a copy of the book now. I will probably come back to it another time, right now I just wanted to share with you this very important question about the holiday: "Is there really a Great Pumpkin?" The book provides the best possible answer, based on all the knowledge we have on this subject which is so important for Halloween lovers.

The Great Pumpkin t-shirt

For today's countdown to Halloween post, another proof that social media know me too much. I don't think this is an official Peanuts by-product, but anyway I found it on my Facebook feed once. And I would love to have this tshirt. I have no pieceof clothing that specifically refers to Halloween and this one would be just fine, with its reference to It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Okay, so there is no official reference to the classic cartoon, but there is Snoopy in various disguises and Jack O'Lanterns and that's good enough for me.

It's the Great Pumpkin Train!

For today's countdown to Halloween post, a rather unique topic, which I blogged about in 2013. It brings three things together: my love of trains, my love of Halloween and my love of Peanuts comics. So I saw again on the Facebook page of LGB this car that is an homage to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. And I want it. Badly.

I miss(ed) The Great Pumpkin

I found this image on my Facebook feed, announcing It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on the 20th of October on ABC. I would have missed it anyway, but it means I missed telling my American and North American readers to watch it. Shame on me and accept my apologies. It does not air in England, or at least I have never seen it being featured on any channel. I have not seen the cartoon in ages, while it was a classic I never missed when I was living in Québec. We had it taped on VHS to make sure we would never miss it once. Now my brother PJ has it on DVD.  It is one of the few non horror movies I have on my to watch list for Halloween. You can read a post on it here. And you can read a brilliant analysis of why this cartoon is so clever and indeed profound here. Actually, thinking about how often I missed it since I live in the UK, I have decided to get my hand on it. Until then, here is an abstract from YouTube, where Linus explains pretty much what this is all about:

The Great Pumpkin and a train

This is a new, short countdown to Halloween post. I found this picture on the Facebook website of LGB trains. It represents, well, the whole Peanuts gang on a train wagon in a display about It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I LOVE this cartoon, which I blogged about here. I wish I had this wagon. Electric trains, Snoopy AND the Halloween season, this is just the perfect cocktail.

The Great Pumpkin

I usually watch horror movies during Halloween, but there is one movie I try to watch every year, which is all about Halloween and is not a horror movie, not even scary, yet I think it captures the season oh so perfectly. Other fans of Charles M. Schulz probably know that I am talking of course about It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. There is everything and more in it: the automnal atmosphere, leaves falling down, the fiery colours, the whole childhood rituals of Halloween, rendered perfectly, a little bit of playful fear, plenty of Jack O'Lanterns, a bit of World War 1 recreation with Snoopy fighting the Red Baron (I think Schulz wanted to remind people about Rememberance Day), the little relentless cruelties of childhood (Schulz was a master at depicting them) and of course the Great Pumpkin, which is quite a profound concept. You can read more about it here. But even if you don't care about profound themes of cartoons, you can enjoy this one as a seasonal treat. Here are the first minutes: