A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"--the tenth animated "Charlie Brown" special--seems drastically different from "Great Pumpkin" and "CB Christmas." While "Pumpkin" and "Christmas" both include many tiny vignettes, "Thanksgiving" focuses on just one story.

A stranger comes to town. It's Peppermint Patty, a hurricane, an agent of chaos. Patti is a narcissist and a "user": she has little regard for others' feelings. When she finally understands that she has steamrolled and wounded Charlie, she doesn't apologize. She enlists Marcie to do the work for her.

With passive-aggressive strategies, Snoopy responds to Patty. Snoopy ruins Patty's Thanksgiving vision with a plate of toast. Also, he doesn't *serve* the toast--he just throws it in Patty's face. In a final twist, it's revealed that Snoopy actually does know how to roast a turkey. He just doesn't feel like using this skill for Patty's visit.

To me, the highlight of this installment is little Sally--who encourages Linus to join Patty on her adventure. "Eat with me, Linus....We can hold hands under the table...."

A mysterious and engaging story.

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