Opinion: Why people thought ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ would fail

It’s hard to imagine the holidays without “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. The 1965 broadcast has become a staple of the season for many generations.

But this beloved TV special almost didn’t make it to air. CBS executives thought the 25-minute program was too slowtoo serious and too different from the upbeat notions they imagined the audience would have. A cartoon about a depressed child seeking psychiatric counseling with no laugh track, lo-fi animation and a Bible passage seemed to fail.

But against all odds it became a classic. The program turned “Peanuts” from a popular cartoon into a multimedia empire — not because it was flashy or followed the rules, but because it was sincere.

As a business professor who has studied the “Peanuts” franchise, I see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as a fascinating historical moment. These days, an unassuming cartoon character voicing fierce, thought-provoking ideas is unlikely to make it onto the air. The special came together out of a fight at the last minute. Out of the blue, producer Lee Mendelson got a call from advertising agency McCann-Erickson: Coca-Cola wanted to sponsor an animated Christmas special.

Mendelson had previously failed to convince the agency of that sponsor a “Peanuts” documentary. This time, however, he assured McCann-Erickson that the characters would be a perfect fit.

Mendelson called cartoonist Charles “Sparky” Schulz and told him he had just sold “A Charlie Brown Christmas” — and they would have just months to write, animate and air the special.

Schulz, Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez worked quickly to put together a story. The cartoonist wanted to tell a story that cut through the glitz of holiday commercialism and brought the focus back to something deeper.

While Snoopy tries to win a Christmas light contest and Lucy proclaims herself the “Queen of Christmas” in the neighborhood play, a forlorn Charlie Brown searches for “the true meaning of Christmas.” He makes his way to the local masses aluminum treesa fashion at the time. But he is attracted to the one real tree – a humble, scrappy little thing – inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The spruce tree.”

These plot points would likely please the network, but other choices Schulz made proved controversial.

The show would use real children’s voices instead of adult actors, giving the characters an authentic, simple charm. And Schulz refused to add a laugh track, a standard in animated television at the time. He wanted the sincerity of the story to stand on its own, without artificial inducements to laughter.

Meanwhile Mendelson brought in jazz musician Vince Guaraldi to compose a soundtrack. The music was unlike anything typically heard in animated programming, mixing provocative depth with childhood innocence.

Most alarming to executives was Schulz’s insistence on including the heart of the nativity story in arguably the special’s most pivotal scene.

When Charlie Brown happily returns to his friends with the flimsy little tree, the gang ridicules his choice. “I guess I don’t know what Christmas is all about,” he sighs.

Cautiously but confidently, Linus assures him, “I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He shouts “Lights, please,” he quietly walks to the center of the stage.

In the silence, Linus recites the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, with its story of an angel appearing to trembling shepherds: “And the angel said to them: Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people . To you is born today in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

He concludes with the words of the “great company” that appeared with the heavenly host: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,” and takes up his security blanket and goes out into the wings. The rest of the gang soon realize that Charlie Brown’s tree isn’t so bad after all—it “just needs a little love.”

When Schulz discussed this idea with Mendelson and Melendez, they were hesitant. For much of American history, Protestant Christianity was standard in American culture, but in the years after World War II, the community had grown something more attentive to make room for Catholic and Jewish Americans. Unsure of how to deal with the changing norms, many mainstream entertainment companies in the 1960s tended to avoid religious subjects.

When they saw the evidence for the special, CBS executives were alarmed by the biblical aspects. But there simply wasn’t time to redo the whole dramatic arc, and pulling it wasn’t an option since the sponsor’s ads had already run.

Fortunately for the “Peanuts” franchise, when the special aired on December 9, 1965, it was an instant success. Almost half of American households tuned inand the program won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. Schulz had tapped into something audiences demanded: an honest, heartfelt message that cut through the commercialism.

Millions of viewers has continued to tune in to the special in the nearly 60 years since it first aired.

When researching my spiritual biography of Schulz, one of my favorite finds was a 1965 letter from a Florida seer, Betty Knorr. She praised the show for emphasizing “the true meaning of the Christmas season” at a time when “the mention of God in general (is) becoming silent.

The magic of Schulz’s work, however, is that it resonates across demographics and ideologies. Some fans find comfort in the show’s gentle message of faith, while others embrace it in one purely secular way.

Schulz’s art and gentle humor serve as safe entrances to some rather intense thoughts – whether they are psychiatric, cultural or theological. Or “Peanuts” cartoons can simply be heartwarming, festive entertainment.

Today both “Peanuts” empire and the Christmas industry is thriving. Back in the 1960s, commercial realities nearly derailed Schulz’s special, but those same forces ultimately secured the broadcast. The result is an enduring touchstone of innocence, hope and faith.

Stephen Lind is Associate Professor of Clinical Business Communication at USC’s Marshall School of Business and author of “A Charlie Brown religion.” This article was created in collaboration with the conversation.