Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown
Title card for the short.
Directed by	Jim Reardon
Written by	Jim Reardon
Starring	Etienne Badillo Rich Moore Mike Reardon William Hanna William Holden Bret Haaland Nate Kanfer Jeff Pidgeon
Narrated by	Rich Moore
Edited by	Jim Ryan
Production company	California Institute of the Arts
Distributed by	California Institute of the Arts
Release date	June 27, 1986
Running time	200 seconds
Country	United States
Language	English

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown is a 1986 American animated short fan film directed and animated by Jim Reardon, who would later become the director and storyboard consultant for The Simpsons, and one of the co-writers of the Oscar-winning 2008 animated feature film WALL-E. The cartoon was made while he was at CalArts. This cartoon, done entirely in black-and-white, has a rough, unfinished-looking style.

Plot

The short film is presented as a trailer for a faux Peanuts television special. A narrator describes the premise of the special: the Great Pumpkin puts a bounty on Charlie Brown, prompting efforts by the rest of the Peanuts cast to make attempts on his life. A sequence of clips follows showing multiple characters killing Charlie Brown in various ways. The narrator then announces that Charlie Brown has been pushed too far, and he transforms into a Rambo-like character with a thick accent similar to that of Arnold Schwarzenegger and guns them all down. This scene is blended with a montage of chaotic and violent acts involving various cartoon characters and popular figures including Popeye The Sailor Man, Godzilla, and Richard Simmons. The narrator then announces a special appearance by the Little Red-Haired Girl as Charlie Brown is shown in bed with an obscured figure.

Production

The song "Charlie Brown" by The Coasters plays over the end credits, which end with a note from Jim Reardon:

The creator of this picture wishes to state that he does not in any way wish to tarnish or demean the beloved characters of Charles M. "Dutch" Schulz's comic strip, Peanuts. No malice or damage to their goodwill was intended. So please don't sue me, because it will drag through the courts for years, and I haven't got a lawyer – and besides, you've already got half the money in the world, and I haven't got any. OK?

Cast and credits

• Charlie Brown – Etienne Badillo, Rich Moore, Mike Reardon, William Hanna, William Holden
• Linus van Pelt – Nate Kanfer
• Lucy van Pelt – Bret Haaland
• Great Pumpkin – Jeff Pidgeon
• Additional Voices – Ed Bell, Bruce Johnson, Mike Reardon, Bret Haaland
• Narration – Rich Moore
• Others – Ed Bell, Dale McBeath, Bob Winquist, Mike Giaimo, Craig Smith, Bret Haaland, Nate Kanfer, Doug Frankel, Mike Reardon, Rich Moore, Russ Edmonds, Hal Ambro, Dan Hansen, Jim Ryan, Tony Fucile, Jeff Pidgeon, Bob McCrea, Sarge Morton, Mom, Eileen, and Beverly
• Dedicated to Sam "The Man" Peckinpah
• "Peanuts Theme" – Vince Guaraldi
• "Charlie Brown" – The Coasters (wrongly credited as The Platters.)
• A Jim Reardon Cartoon – Made at Cal Arts, U.S.A.

External links

• Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown at IMDb
• Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown at YouTube
• Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown on Dailymotion