It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.

The special features music composed by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, whose contributions include the theme song "Linus and Lucy".

The sequence following Snoopy as a World War I flying ace and its depiction of Lucy pulling a football away from Charlie Brown have both become widely recognized in pop culture.

It received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its artistic style and music score, and it is often regarded as the best of the Peanuts television specials.

The success of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown led to the development of the Halloween special as a television genre.

During this time, Snoopy, dressed as a World War I flying ace, boards his doghouse, imagining it to be a Sopwith Camel fighter plane engaged in a dramatic aerial battle with the elusive Red Baron.

Snoopy's imaginary adventure takes a turn as he is "shot down," forcing him to navigate the treacherous countryside behind enemy lines.

To his embarrassment, the figure turns out to be Snoopy, prompting Sally to angrily berate Linus for leading her to waste her night.

Later, at 4 a.m., a concerned Lucy retrieves her brother from the cold pumpkin patch, tenderly bringing him home and putting him to bed.

However, Linus, deeply offended, launches into a passionate tirade, insisting that the Great Pumpkin will undoubtedly appear next year.

The program's cast includes:[1] The Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz first printed in 1950, and it became popular within its first years of publication.

[2]: 83 The writers began with disparate scenes from the comic strip to adapt, including Snoopy as a World War I flying ace and Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.

[5] Malendez insisted on having child actors in all of the Peanuts specials,[9] and he voiced Snoopy by recording himself saying nonsense words and then speeding it up.

Unlike previous Peanuts specials, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown incorporates frequent movement of the camera.

He drew from memory as he had previously visited similar areas in Europe, and he was given full creative freedom by Schulz and Melendez.

[11] Guaraldi had been in charge of music in both of the previous Peanuts specials, as well as the unaired 1963 documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

[12] Craft Recordings released the complete soundtrack album from the special on October 5, 2018, but faced criticism for the inclusion of sound effects.

[13] Craft Recordings reissued the soundtrack on August 26, 2022 using newly discovered original master tapes, without sound effects from the television special.

[10][15] The show aired against Star Trek on NBC and The Dating Game on ABC, earning 49% of the total market share with 17.3 million viewers.

[2]: 85 The special plays off of many traditional aspects of Halloween and celebrations associated with the holiday, including pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and wearing costumes.

[2]: 87–88  Schulz modeled Linus's devotion in part on that of children whose families were too poor to purchase vast amounts of Christmas presents, and the hope that things would be better next year if they maintained faith.

[2]: 86–87  Clay Gowran of the Chicago Tribune responded to the program by expressing support for the creation of additional Peanuts specials.

[21] The sequence of Snoopy crossing the French countryside has received extensive praise, including from other animators and artists such as Jeff Pidgeon and Paul Felix.