A Charlie Brown Christmas Is The Epitome Of Both Storytelling And Christmas

Peanuts is a fundamental part of my life, to put it lightly. Charlie Brown was the first fictional character I encountered who understood and expressed melancholy emotions, someone who assured me I wasn't alone in feeling like an outsider. He stills remains a terrific and relatable character, and each year I eagerly await watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, a special that never fails to compel me.

There's a moment in this special I only recognized a year or two ago, but it's now one of my favorite bits in the half-hour. Take a look at it below:

A simple image, simply Charlie Brown watching snow fall. But the underlying emotion of the show makes the moment more powerful than that; it's Charlie inspecting the world he's about to enter that he knows is full of challenges that he can't defeat. But he'll still put on his coat and face empty mailboxes, neighbors who don't understood sarcasm and a dog whose gone commercial. This kind of imagery evoking emotion through simplicity is the sort of uniqueness the special brings at every turn.

The aforementioned moment depicted in gif form in this article is, like many memorable moments from this special, courtesy of the animation of the half-hour story. I can't believe folks thought this wouldn't work, because man is it integral to how well this special works. The animation style not only recreates the comic strip beautifully, but also helps create a sense of simultaneous melancholy and warmth in the special, emotions that come through in spades for many (myself heartily included) during the holiday season.

The animation also helps create effective moments that help convey the characters emotions in entertaining ways, whether they do so in a stylized manner (Charlie Brown's eager smile after being asked to direct the Christmas play) or subtle (the little nervous look Charlie Brown has whenever Lucy mentions her beauty). It's this kind of thoughtfulness that runs prominently throughout, the kind of thoughtfulness that would help make Linus Van Pelt pleased.

Ah, Linus. Well, this special wouldn't be complete without him would it? Linus is a fascinating character, a fellow who can at once clutch a blanket while spouting statements of wisdom. The latter come to the surface in one of the specials most beloved moments, where he tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas. Once again, simplicity comes to the rescue as Linus simply speaks briefly of Jesus, reminding Charlie Brown of what this Christmas season is truly all about. It's a beautiful scene that puts a kick in my step as well as good o'l Charlie Brown.

That of course lifts Charlie Browns spirit, and he decides to decorate a meager little tree other children have mocked. Placing a single ornament on it makes it bend to the ground, and good Lord, I've seen this every year in my life, and Charlie Brown's simple declaration of "I killed it" just breaks my heart every time. His hopes have been crushed just after being lifted, a brutal moment that feels all too true to life. A Charlie Brown Christmas retains it's comic strip inspirations knack for depicting not only the harshest realities of life, but also it's most beautiful moments. After all, can anyone on this planet watch the finale, after even Lucy notes that Charlie Brown, despite being a blockhead, did get a nice tree, where all of the children harmonzie to "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"? I know I can't. And I also know that both my Christmas season and life wouldn't be complete without the miraculous TV special known as A Charlie Brown Christmas.