You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown is the eighth Peanuts television special. It first aired in October 1972 before the U.S. Presidential election and is based on a strip that ran in October 1964.
After seeing the announcement for the upcoming election for class president, Linus suggests Charlie Brown run. After self-appointed political strategist Lucy polls the student body, she learns he has no chance but discovers Linus has a 99% chance of winning, so he throws his hat into the ring to run against Russell Anderson. At the debate between the candidates, Linus makes a lot of promises that excite the audience; however, he completely loses them when he begins to say a few words about the Great Pumpkin and is laughed off stage. The vote total comes down to 83-83 with only Russell left to vote. The ending has been altered from how it played out in the strips.
The episode is very amusing, filled with the humor and wit fans have come to expect from Charles Schulz. Standout sequences are Sally’s use of Charlie Brown in show and tell, Linus’ attempt at talk radio shows on new the format and unfamiliar the format must have been, and Lucy providing a little muscle to ensure Linus’ high approval rating.
The special had a couple of firsts: the television debuts of Woodstock and Snoopy’s persona Joe Cool. Joe even had his own theme song sung by Vince Guaraldi. It played as he hung out in the school hallway, trying to impress the ladies.
The Great Pumpkin connection is likely why this was previously paired with the Halloween special on the 2003 DVD release. The 2008 DVD release finds it now matched with He's A Bully, Charlie Brown, the last Peanuts special as of the writing of this review, which premiered in 2006. It combines two stories that appeared in the strips. Joe Agate is from 1995, and Peppermint Patty chasing after Charlie Brown was in 1989. Schulz had begun work on the special before his death in 2000 and producers Lee Mendelson and Bill Meléndez saw it to completion.
Article comments