A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and, along with the fact that this year is the 100th birthday of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, I was prompted to write something about the 1973 Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The special itself still has plenty of warmth and humor, as do many of the other specials based on the Peanuts strip. In recent years, however, there has been some controversy due to the moment in which the gang are seated at the dinner table Snoopy has made up. Franklin is seen seated alone on one of the long sides of the table, which has prompted cries of racism.

I can certainly understand why this would anger some, especially today. However, I must note that Franklin is still treated nicely throughout the rest of the special. For instance, he and Charlie Brown high-five each other when they meet up at the latter's home. Later, Franklin is seen proudly singing alongside the other characters as they depart for Charlie Brown's grandmother's home. Not to mention the fact that in the later special It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977), Franklin is seen dancing with a white girl. Prior to Franklin's first appearance in the strip in 1968, Schulz said that he was open to the idea of having a black character in his strip, but wanted to make sure he could do it in a non-condescending way. Some would later criticize the character for not having any quirks as the other Peanuts characters, but I always thought he had a characteristic that stood out. Franklin often offers a shoulder to other characters. For instance, he criticized his school's new dress code, which prohibited Peppermint Patty from wearing sandals. He would also have many deep discussions about family with Charlie Brown and Linus. Hence, Franklin could be viewed as a child wise beyond his years. Indeed, the only time Schulz truly stumbled in terms of Franklin was in a 1971 strip when Peppermint Patty wants an ice pond to herself to practice skating over Franklin's objections that he wants to practice hockey. Her response is asking him how many black NHL players are there. But even then, Schulz quickly apologized for any offense it may have caused. Also, (at the risk of sounding like I'm just making excuses), Schulz personally drew all the 20,000+ strips which comprise Peanuts, so it was inevitable that some of the gags would fall flat. Schulz and others didn't exactly praise some of the animation in the specials. For instance, look at the manner in which the tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) drastically changes shape once it is decorated.

The gaffe some now see in Thanksgiving could be another example of that. I like to think (and indeed hope) that this was a fluke and nothing more. Regardless, the series itself made up for it.