This Is America, Charlie Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids This Is America, Charlie Brown |
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| Genre | Documentary Animated television special |
| Created by | Charles M. Schulz |
| Written by | Charles M. Schulz Lee Mendelson Bill Melendez |
| Directed by | Bill Melendez Sam Jaimes Evert Brown Sam Nicholson |
| Starring |
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| Theme music composer |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Lee Mendelson Bill Melendez |
| Cinematography | Nick Vasu |
| Editor(s) | Gordon D. Brenner Chuck McCann Warren Taylor |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates United Feature Syndicate |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | October 21, 1988 – May 23, 1989 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown (1988) |
| Followed by | You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown (1990) |
This Is America, Charlie Brown is a special animated TV show that teaches you about important moments in American history. It has eight parts, like a short series. All your favorite characters from the Peanuts comic strip, created by Charles M. Schulz, are in it!
The show first aired on CBS from 1988 to 1989. Sometimes, grown-ups appeared in the show alongside the Peanuts gang. This was pretty rare for Peanuts cartoons! The adults were drawn in a style similar to other works by Peanuts director Bill Melendez.
Even though the whole series hasn't been shown on TV much since 1990, one episode called "The Mayflower Voyagers" was often shown. It helped fill out the time slot for the A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special until 2019. After that, Peanuts shows moved to Apple TV+.
Contents
Music and Sounds
The music for This Is America, Charlie Brown was created by many talented people. These included Ed Bogas, who often worked on Peanuts shows, and famous jazz musicians like Dave Brubeck and Wynton Marsalis. David Benoit also contributed music and later became the main composer for other Peanuts specials.
The show continued a tradition of using jazz music, which was started by the original Peanuts composer, Vince Guaraldi. Even though Guaraldi passed away in 1976, some of his famous songs, like "Linus and Lucy", were still used. Singers like The Winans, Desirée Goyette, and Lou Rawls also lent their voices to the show's songs.
Meet the Voices
Many actors brought the Peanuts characters to life in this series. Here are some of the main voice actors:
Regular Voice Actors
- Erin Chase: Charlie Brown (She was the first girl to voice Charlie Brown!)
- Erica Gayle: Lucy van Pelt
- Brittany M. Thornton: Sally Brown
- Brandon Stewart: Linus van Pelt
- Jason Mendelson: Peppermint Patty
- Marie Cole: Marcie
- Curtis Andersen: Schroeder
- Hakeem Abdul-Samad: Franklin
- Bill Melendez: Snoopy and Woodstock
Other Voices You Might Hear
Sometimes, different actors voiced the characters, especially in specific episodes. For example, Jeremy Miller (who you might know from Perfect Strangers) voiced Linus in "The Birth of The Constitution."
Other characters like Pig-Pen and Violet also appeared, but they didn't have any speaking lines.
Many other voice actors played important historical figures or other characters in the episodes. These included Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, and Hal Smith.
Explore American History with Peanuts
This series takes you on a journey through different times in American history. Each episode focuses on a special event or topic.
| Episode # | Title | Airdate | What Happens in the Episode |
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| 1 | The Mayflower Voyagers | October 21, 1988 | In 1620, the Peanuts gang travels on the Mayflower ship to start a new home called Plymouth Colony. They face many challenges, but with help from Native Americans like Samoset and Squanto, they learn to survive. This leads to the first Thanksgiving celebration! |
| 2 | The Birth of the Constitution | October 28, 1988 | The story takes place in 1787 in Philadelphia. The Founding Fathers are working hard to write the Constitution, which is the main set of rules for the United States. Charlie Brown and his friends help out too, with Snoopy as a watchdog and Linus as an usher. |
| 3 | The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk | November 4, 1988 | In 1903, Charlie Brown and Linus visit Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They watch as the Wright Brothers try to fly their very first airplane! Peppermint Patty and Marcie even help as mechanics, and Snoopy oversees the exciting event. |
| 4 | The NASA Space Station | November 11, 1988 | Linus dreams that he, Charlie Brown, and their friends travel into outer space aboard a space station. It's an adventure among the stars! |
| 5 | The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad | February 10, 1989 | Charlie Brown tells the amazing story of how two companies built the First Transcontinental Railroad. This huge railway connected the eastern and western parts of the United States. The episode ends with the gang seeing the railroad finished in Promontory, Utah in 1869. |
| 6 | The Great Inventors | March 10, 1989 | The Peanuts gang gives reports on famous American inventions. Linus talks about Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone. Peppermint Patty and Marcie discuss Thomas Edison and his inventions. Charlie Brown shares a report about the invention of the automobile. |
| 7 | The Smithsonian and the Presidency | April 19, 1989 | The gang visits the Smithsonian Institution, a famous museum in Washington D.C. While there, they learn about three past presidents of the United States. |
| 8 | The Music and Heroes of America | May 23, 1989 | Schroeder and Franklin try to put on a school show about great American musicians, from Stephen Foster to John Philip Sousa. But Snoopy and Lucy cause some funny interruptions! Lucy wants to give her report on famous American heroes like Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. on the same stage. In the end, Charlie Brown shares his favorite song: Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy". |
Where to Watch
The episodes of This Is America, Charlie Brown were first released on video tapes. Later, they came out on DVD in 2006. After a change in who owned the rights, Warner Home Video re-released the series on DVD in 2014. You can also find it on digital platforms.
