The Christmas season has no shortage ofclassic specialsin which audiences can indulge.
Perhaps no specialdoes this better thanA Charlie Brown Christmas.
His creationstill touches audiencesto this day.
Image Via CBS
However, CBSwasinterested in an adaptation.
Schulz, Mendelson, andBill Mendelsongot to work on the outline, but plenty more problems would soon arise.
Over the course of making it, the team would goover budget by a whopping $20,000.
Image via CBS
Financial troubles were only a part of the problem.
The Peanuts characters were not made for animation, and provedexceptionally difficultto translate into the new medium.
Animato,Bill Littlejohn, recalled, ThePeanutscharacters were not designed for animation.
Charlie Browns design proved incredibly challenging due to the shape of his head.
I don’t know what I’m going to tell the agency.
If I tell them what I think, they’re going to cancel the show.
As the special got closer to airing, Mendelson and Melendez werent sure the special was going to work.
We thought that it was maybe just too slow and we had failed poor Charlie Brown, Mendelson said.
CBS wasnt pleased with the special at all.
The data pipe complained about the child actors, the music and animation throughout.
They agreed to put it on the air but told the creatives that it just doesn’t work.
Luckily, viewers didnt agree.
Interestingly,the reluctant Schulz didnt look fondly upon it at first.
According to his widow,Jean Schulz, he immediately moved forward professionally, focusing on the next thing.
That’s when he really felt the pride in having been a part of the creation of it.
