He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown is the fifth prime-time animated TV special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on February 14, 1968.[1]

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown
Genre	Animated television special
Created by	Charles M. Schulz
Written by	Charles M. Schulz
Directed by	Bill Melendez
Voices of	Peter Robbins Gail DeFaria Christopher Shea Sally Dryer Bill Melendez Ann Altieri Lisa DeFaria Matthew Liftin Glenn Mendelson Hilary Momberger Kerry MacLane
Theme music composer	Vince Guaraldi
Opening theme	"He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown"
Ending theme	"He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown"
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Lee Mendelson Bill Melendez
Editor(s)	Robert T. Gillis Steven Melendez
Camera setup	Nick Vasu
Running time	25:05
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	4:3
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	February 14, 1968
Chronology
Preceded by	You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967)
Followed by	Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz (1969)

Plot

Snoopy's persistent mischief is angering the other kids in the neighborhood, and they all demand that Charlie Brown do something about it because "He's your dog, Charlie Brown!"

In a letter to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, Charlie Brown writes that he is going to send Snoopy back for a refresher course in obedience. Snoopy loathes the idea, but Charlie Brown tells him it is for his own good. As it is a two-day trip, Charlie Brown calls Peppermint Patty and asks to let Snoopy stay there for one night en route; Peppermint Patty agrees, but a scheming Snoopy decides to stay on and has Peppermint Patty waiting on him hand and foot, which confuses her.

A week later, the Puppy Farm calls and informs Charlie Brown that Snoopy never showed up. When he finds out that he is still at Peppermint Patty's house, Charlie Brown goes over to her house with a leash to take Snoopy home, but the dog escapes and runs back. Peppermint Patty lets Snoopy stay, but instead of returning to the easy life he enjoyed before, Peppermint Patty puts him to work doing menial chores.

Later, when Lucy and Linus both start to miss Snoopy, Charlie Brown tries again to bring him home, but Snoopy breaks the leash and sends Charlie Brown away. That night, while doing dishes, Snoopy becomes infuriated and angrily starts breaking dishes, and Peppermint Patty puts him in the garage as punishment. While there, Snoopy realizes that he had a better life at home and starts to howl incessantly. When Patty comes out to check on him, he knocks her down, gathers all his belongings from inside the house and runs back home to an overjoyed Charlie Brown. The next day, after taking Linus on a wild blanket ride and picking a fight with Lucy, the gang is also glad that Snoopy is back. Contented, Snoopy goes to nap on his dog house.

Cast

• Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown
• Bill Melendez as Snoopy
• Sally Dryer as Lucy van Pelt
• Christopher Shea as Linus van Pelt
• Gail DeFaria as Peppermint Patty
• Glenn Mendelson as Schroeder
• Ann Altieri as Violet
• Lisa DeFaria as Patty
• Matthew Liftin as 5

Sally Brown, Frieda and Pig-Pen do not appear.

Roy appears but does not have a speaking role.

Credits

• Created and Written by: Charles M. Schulz
• Produced and Directed by: Bill Melendez
• Executive Producer: Lee Mendelson
• Original Score Composed and Performed by: Vince Guaraldi
• Arranged and Conducted by: John Scott Trotter
• Graphic Blandishment by: Ruth Kissane, Frank Smith, Dean Spille, Beverly Robbins, Bob Carlson, Ed Levitt, Frank Braxton, Bernard Gruver, Dick Thompson, Bill Littlejohn, Phil Roman, Bob Matz, Eleanor Warren, Faith Kovaleski, Manuel Perez, Jan Green, Alan Zaslove, Gwenn Dotzler
• Editing: Robert T. Gillis
• Assisted by: Steven Melendez
• Sound by: Producers' Sound Service
• Camera: Nick Vasu

Production notes

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown was the last Peanuts special featuring the majority of the original voice cast from the first Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.[2]

Both He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown and You're in Love, Charlie Brown were nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming in 1968.[3]

Stock footage from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) is used when Snoopy flies on his doghouse.

The ending segment where Snoopy and Lucy quarrel was inspired by a comic strip storyline that originally ran May 24–29, 1965. It was later adapted for The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983) episode "Snoopy: Man's Best Friend" and the French television series Peanuts (2014) episode "L'amour du risque".

Music score

The music score for He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown was composed by Vince Guaraldi (except where noted) and conducted and arranged by John Scott Trotter.[4] The score was recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Quintet on January 11, 1968, at United Western Recorders, featuring John Gray (guitar), Frank Strozier (alto saxophone), Ralph Peña (bass), and Colin Bailey (drums).[5]

Retitled variations of several songs previously released on Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown ("Pebble Beach," "Schroeder") were featured in He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown.[4]

1. "Red Baron" (version 1)
2. "Red Baron" (version 2)
3. "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" (version 1)
4. "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" (version 2)
5. "Peppermint Patty" (version 1)
6. "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" (version 3)
7. "Bon Voyage"
8. "Peppermint Patty" (version 2)
9. "Oh, Good Grief" (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson)
10. "Happiness Is"
11. "Charlie Brown and His All-Stars"
12. "Red Baron" (version 3)
13. "Schroeder's Wolfgang" (variation of "Choro," from the Guaraldi/Bola Sete album From All Sides)
14. "Red Baron" (version 4)
15. "Pebble Beach" (piano + flute, version 1)
16. "Schroeder"
17. "Pebble Beach" (piano + flute, version 2)
18. "Blue Charlie Brown" (slow version)
19. "The Red Baron" (version 5, minor key)
20. "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" (version 4)
21. "Linus and Lucy"
22. "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" (version 5, end credits)

No official soundtrack for He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown was commercially released. However, variations of "Peppermint Patty", "The Red Baron," "Oh, Good Grief," "Linus and Lucy," and the eponymous theme song (mistitled "It's Your Dog, Charlie Brown"), were released on the 1968 album Oh Good Grief!.[4][6]

Home media

He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown was rebroadcast yearly on CBS between February 1969 and June 1972. It was released on home video in the 1980s by Hi-Tops Video.

Snoopy Double Feature volume 2, a VHS release containing He's Your Dog and It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown, was released on March 11, 1994 (it would later be re-issued in 1997 after Viacom bought Paramount). The first DVD release came on July 7, 2009, in remastered form as part of the DVD box set Peanuts 1960s Collection. A separate DVD of the special and Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown was released on September 21, 2010.

References

1. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 196–197. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
2. Solomon, Charles (2012). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials. Chronicle Books. pp. 80–89, 191–192. ISBN 978-1452110912.
3. Lee Mendelson Film Productions Retrieved December 28, 2017.
4. Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts Song Library: He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
5. Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi Timeline: 1968". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
6. Ginell, Richard S. "Oh, Good Grief!". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 January 2020.

External links

• He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown on IMDb