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| image = Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown Title.png
| image = Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown Title.png
| alt = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
| alt = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
| caption = Title card for the short.
| caption = Title card for the short
| director = [[Jim Reardon]]
| director = [[Jim Reardon]]
| producer = Jim Reardon
| producer =
| writer = Jim Reardon
| writer = Jim Reardon
| based_on = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} -->
| based_on = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} -->
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| studio = [[California Institute of the Arts]]
| studio = [[California Institute of the Arts]]
| distributor = California Institute of the Arts
| distributor = California Institute of the Arts
| released = June 27, 1986
| released = {{Film date|1986|06|27}}
| runtime = 200 seconds
| runtime = 3:19
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = English
| language = English
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| gross =
| gross =
}}
}}
'''''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown''''' is a 1986 American [[animated cartoon|animated short]] fan film produced, written, 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]]''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfPXcCroPJc Dustin Lance Black Wins Original Screenplay: 2009 Oscars]</ref> The cartoon was made while he was at [[CalArts]].<ref>[http://blog.calarts.edu/2012/11/29/director-rich-moore-on-wreck-it-ralph-sensibility-its-a-calarts-thing/ Wreck-It Ralph Director Rich Moore on his Film Sensibility: ‘It’s a CalArts Thing’-CalArts blog]</ref> This cartoon, done entirely in black-and-white, has a rough, unfinished-looking style.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.retroist.com/2013/07/09/enjoy-the-disturbing-bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown/ |title=Enjoy the disturbing "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown" |website=The Retroist |access-date=2018-09-22 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110160201/https://www.retroist.com/2013/07/09/enjoy-the-disturbing-bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown/ |archivedate=2018-11-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
'''''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown''''' is a 1986 American [[animated cartoon|animated short]] student film written, directed, and animated by [[Jim Reardon]] while he was a student at [[CalArts]].<ref>[http://blog.calarts.edu/2012/11/29/director-rich-moore-on-wreck-it-ralph-sensibility-its-a-calarts-thing/ Wreck-It Ralph Director Rich Moore on his Film Sensibility: 'It's a CalArts Thing'-CalArts blog]</ref> ''Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown'' is black-and-white and has a rough, unfinished, hand-drawn look.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.retroist.com/2013/07/09/enjoy-the-disturbing-bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown/ |title=Enjoy the disturbing "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown" |website=The Retroist |access-date=2018-09-22 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110160201/https://www.retroist.com/2013/07/09/enjoy-the-disturbing-bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown/ |archivedate=2018-11-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
The short film is presented as a trailer for a faux [[List of Peanuts media#Specials|''Peanuts'' television special]].<ref>[https://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown-1002.html Cartoon Brew]</ref> The "special" is said to be due for broadcast on [[Tuesday#Nighttime|Tuesday night]] at 8:00&nbsp;p.m., and to be [[Sponsorship#television|sponsored]] by a foods company called [[Dolly Madison|Madison Barns]], "makers of [[Ding Dong]]s, [[Twinkie]]s, [[Homosexuality|pooftas]] and wussy cakes," but the advertisements were only announced and were not shown on the film.
The short film is presented as a trailer for a faux [[List of Peanuts media#Specials|''Peanuts'' television special]].<ref>[https://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown-1002.html Cartoon Brew]</ref> A narrator describes the premise of the special: [[Great Pumpkin|the Great Pumpkin]] has placed a bounty on [[Charlie Brown]], prompting the Peanuts characters to try to kill Charlie Brown in various ways, until the narrator announces Charlie Brown, "has been pushed too far." Charlie Brown cuts his hair into a [[Mohawk hairstyle|Mohawk]], adopts a thick accent similar to [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], and loads several weapons. Charlie Brown and the Peanuts characters then engage in a gunfight and a montage of chaotic violence with other cartoon and pop-culture characters including [[Popeye]], [[Godzilla]], [[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie and Dagwood]], [[Rocky Balboa]], Nazis, [[Mickey Mouse]], and [[Richard Simmons]]. The film ends with Charlie Brown smoking in bed alongside an obscured figure<ref>[https://letterboxd.com/film/bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown/ Letterboxd]</ref><ref>[http://animatedviews.com/2005/simpsons-directors-peanuts-parody-student-film-online/ Simpsons director's Peanuts parody student film online - Animated Views]</ref> as the narrator announces, "a special appearance by the [[Little Red-Haired Girl]]."


The film also includes several pop-culture and film references: Linus strangling Charlie Brown is a remake of [[Luca Brasi]]'s death in ''[[The Godfather]]'', Charlie Brown's Mohawk haircut is a reference to [[Taxi Driver|Travis Bickle in ''Taxi Driver'']], and Charlie Brown screaming, "Bitch!" after Lucy shoots him in the arm is a shot-by-shot remake of William Holden's gunfight in ''[[The Wild Bunch]].'' "Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown" is a reference to ''[[Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia]],'' and the end credit to Charles "Dutch" Schultz is a reference to [[Dutch Schultz]].
The short begins with the camera scrolling to the left side to show Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and Snoopy, who are kneeling in fear in front of [[Great Pumpkin|the Great Pumpkin]], who smokes a cigarette in front of the cast, as he puts a [[Bounty (reward)|bounty]] on [[Charlie Brown]]'s head on a wall, dead or alive, and thus prompting the entire ''[[Peanuts]]'' cast to try to kill him any way they can.<ref>[http://animatedviews.com/2005/simpsons-directors-peanuts-parody-student-film-online/ Simpsons director's Peanuts parody student film online-Animated Views]</ref> The first clip demonstrates Charlie Brown backing up while [[Lucy van Pelt|Lucy]] sets up for Charlie. He tells her if she is ready, but she gives him a moment as she strikes a match as she tries to get Charlie Brown to kick a bomb disguised as a football. When she lights the bomb up and calls him a blockhead, Charlie immediately rushes off to the football but when he kicks it, it explodes and goes to the title card. [[Schroeder (Peanuts)|Schroeder]] then appears, acting normal without his tiny piano in his hands. Charlie comes up to him and asks Schroeder what happened to his piano, only for his (full-sized, not toy) piano to fall on Charlie Brown's head while Schroeder ignores Charlie's question. [[Snoopy]] then prepares to fly like the flying ace but ends up getting shot by machine guns, as the narrator introduces him and the "Red Baron". Charlie then holds a [[York Peppermint Pattie]] (not the character as it was mentioned, as the character does not appear in the short film), and Snoopy bites off his hand (which [[Blood gush|gushes blood]]). Then it goes to the [[Kite-Eating Tree]] which falls on him. Meanwhile, in a scene with a wall of bricks, [[Linus van Pelt|Linus]] arrives next to Charlie and begins talking to him, but Linus ends up strangling him unconscious with his blanket after Charlie recognizes that everyone is after him.


== Production ==
Charlie attempts to finally escape, but he finds Linus, Lucy (holding a spiked bat), Schroeder, and Snoopy running toward him. Having had enough, Charlie arms himself with a pump-action shotgun, a submachine gun, and an M16 assault rifle. He then executes the entire ''Peanuts'' cast one by one (with an exception of Snoopy being almost shot, but with his brain being shown). Charlie then gets shot in the shoulder by Lucy with a pistol from behind, but he turns around with his shotgun and shoots, making Lucy's head explode. The film then goes on a strange and darkly humorous montage in which Charlie shoots and kills everyone in his way: scores of Mexican banditos, a [[Wehrmacht]] machine gun nest behind which [[Adolf Hitler]] is painting a picture of a flower, and two other soldiers, and [[Richard Simmons]] doing jumping jacks, who then falls through a window. This is followed by his sister, [[Sally Brown|Sally]], being [[Decapitation|decapitated]] by an axe.
⚫
The song "[[Charlie Brown (The Coasters song)|Charlie Brown]]" by [[The Coasters]] plays over the end credits, which end with a note from Jim Reardon:


⚫
{{cquote|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? <ref name="Pescovitz">{{cite web |author=David Pescovitz |title="Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown", animated Peanuts spoof by Simpsons director Jim Reardon |website=BoingBoing |url=https://boingboing.net/2017/05/12/bring-me-the-head-of-charlie.html |date=2012-05-12}}</ref>}}
Following this is another montage, this time of Snookles the Baby Dragon calmly breathing fire,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Ejaed9IsM&t=13s "Snookles 1986," ''YouTube'']</ref> Pig Pen vomiting profusely in Violet's face, two [[biplane]]s crashing into each other in midair, [[Dagwood Bumstead]] getting kicked in the testicles by his wife, [[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]] (which causes his head to pop off, resulting in a blood gush), [[Mickey Mouse]] getting hit on the head with a lead pipe while laughing, [[Rocky Balboa]] getting punched in the face by [[Popeye|Popeye The Sailor Man]], and [[Godzilla]] squeezing [[Dr. Pepper]] out of a giant soda can. It then ends showing off various characters, including some taken to the hospital, some lying on the ground, one of the aforementioned crashed biplanes, and even one character resembling Billy from [[The Family Circus|''Family Circus'']] hanging from a tree by a noose. Charlie Brown then announces, while holding his two guns, that "happiness is a warm [[Uzi]]" in a thick [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] accent, though an Uzi was never used. The screen cuts to him smoking a (presumably post-coital) cigarette in bed with the [[Little Red-Haired Girl]] (who, fittingly, is not fully seen), who asks Charlie Brown to turn off the bedroom light and go to sleep.<ref>[https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/70917-Bring-Me-The-Head-Of-Charlie-Brown BCDB]</ref><ref>[https://letterboxd.com/film/bring-me-the-head-of-charlie-brown/ Letterboxd]</ref>

⚫
The song "[[Charlie Brown (The Coasters song)|Charlie Brown]]" by [[The Coasters]] plays over the end credits. The credits end with a note from Jim Reardon:

⚫
{{cquote|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? <ref name="Pescovitz">{{cite web |author=David Pescovitz |title="Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown," animated Peanuts spoof by Simpsons director Jim Reardon |website=BoingBoing |url=https://boingboing.net/2017/05/12/bring-me-the-head-of-charlie.html |date=2012-05-12}}</ref><ref name="YT">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A15v4tTab0Y |website=[[YouTube]] |title=Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown}}</ref>}}

== References to other media ==
Jim Reardon makes several references to [[Sam Peckinpah]] films throughout the short. For example, the title itself – as well as the basic plot – is a play on Peckinpah's ''[[Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia]]''. The title is borrowed from ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]''{{'}}s parody of ''[[TV Guide]]''.
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=right|image1=CharlieBrownHolden1.jpg|image2=CharlieBrownHolden2.jpg|width=200|caption2=Charlie Brown shot by Lucy in the short (top); William Holden being shot by the prostitute in ''[[The Wild Bunch]]'' (bottom)}}
The Peanuts massacre is a major satire of the climax in Sam Peckinpah's classic film ''[[The Wild Bunch]]''. There are slow-motion death scenes intercut with rapid shots, much like Peckinpah's editing style. Violet's death scene, in which she spins around with her revolver, is a copy of Herrera's death scene at the start of the gun battle. The sequence in which Lucy shoots at Charlie Brown from behind and he spins around screaming and consequently kills her with a shotgun is shot-for-shot taken from the sequence where the prostitute shoots [[William Holden]] in the back. There is even a part where Charlie Brown waves his submachine gun around, screaming the famous [[Warren Oates]] scream, and the camera pan across several Mexican bandits being blown away. An interesting note is that Reardon actually uses sound bites from the movie in these two previous scenes.

The references to Peckinpah are made even more clear at the end of the film when Reardon dedicates it to Sam "The Man" Peckinpah.

There are some non-Peckinpah references made in the short, such as Charlie Brown's mohawk (a reference to [[Travis Bickle]] in ''[[Taxi Driver]]'') and Lucy's speaking in a [[John Wayne]] drawl. Reardon also identifies Peanuts creator [[Charles M. Schulz]] as "Charles M. 'Dutch' Schulz," as in mobster [[Dutch Schultz]].

[[Godzilla]] squeezing the giant [[Dr. Pepper]] can is a reference to the then-recent Dr. Pepper ad campaign featuring the famed monster surrounding the release of ''[[Godzilla 1985]]''.

When Charlie Brown's arm is bitten off by Snoopy, the screaming sound effect is [[William Hanna]]'s scream from the ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' cartoons (and not Peter Robbins's similar-sounding yell that was used in most ''Peanuts'' specials up to that point).
When Charlie Brown is being strangled by Linus, the sound effects are from the [[Monty Python]] skit "[[Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album|Farewell to John Denver]]".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsNNRCz7NXM Farewell To John Denver by Monty Python-Topic on YouTube]</ref>

The brief image of a small fire-breathing dragon is from ''Snookles'', an animated short by Juliet Stroud, which, like this film, was produced at the [[California Institute of the Arts]] in 1986.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091978/ Snookles (1986)-IMDB]</ref>


== Cast and credits ==
== Cast and credits ==
*'''Charlie Brown''' – Etienne Badillo, [[Rich Moore]], Mike Reardon, [[William Hanna]], [[William Holden]]
* '''Charlie Brown''' – Etienne Badillo, [[Rich Moore]], Mike Reardon, [[William Hanna]], [[William Holden]]
*'''Linus van Pelt''' – Nate Kanfer
* '''Linus van Pelt''' – Nate Kanfer
*'''Lucy van Pelt''' – Bret Haaland
* '''Lucy van Pelt''' – [[Bret Haaland]]
*'''Great Pumpkin''' – [[Jeff Pidgeon]]
* '''Great Pumpkin''' – [[Jeff Pidgeon]]
*'''Additional Voices''' – Ed Bell, Bruce Johnson, Mike Reardon, Bret Haaland
* '''Additional Voices''' – Ed Bell, Bruce Johnson, Mike Reardon, Bret Haaland
*'''Narration''' – [[Rich Moore]]
* '''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
* '''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 Peckinpah|Sam "The Man" Peckinpah]]
* Dedicated to [[Sam Peckinpah|Sam "The Man" Peckinpah]]
* "Peanuts Theme" – [[Vince Guaraldi]]
* "Peanuts Theme" – [[Vince Guaraldi]]
* "Charlie Brown" – [[The Coasters]] (wrongly credited as [[The Platters]].)
* "Charlie Brown" – [[The Coasters]] (wrongly credited as [[The Platters]])
* A Jim Reardon Cartoon – Made at Cal Arts, U.S.A.
* A Jim Reardon Cartoon – Made at Cal Arts, U.S.A.


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== External links ==
== External links ==
*{{IMDb title|0282396|Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown}}
* {{IMDb title|0282396|Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A15v4tTab0Y ''Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown''] at [[YouTube]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A15v4tTab0Y ''Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown''] at [[YouTube]]
*[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqfp3d ''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown''] on [[Dailymotion]]
* [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqfp3d ''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown''] on [[Dailymotion]]


{{Peanuts}}
{{Peanuts}}
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[[Category:American student films]]
[[Category:American student films]]
[[Category:American animated short films]]
[[Category:American animated short films]]
[[Category:Counterculture of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Dutch Schultz]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Dutch Schultz]]
[[Category:1986 short films]]
[[Category:1986 short films]]
[[Category:1986 comedy films]]
[[Category:1986 comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s rediscovered films]]
[[Category:Rediscovered American films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:Films released on YouTube]]
[[Category:Films released on YouTube]]

[[de:Der große Kürbis#Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown]]
[[de:Der große Kürbis#Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown]]

Revision as of 03:41, 20 June 2024

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown
Title card for the short
Directed byJim Reardon
Written byJim Reardon
StarringEtienne Badillo
Rich Moore
Mike Reardon
William Hanna
William Holden
Bret Haaland
Nate Kanfer
Jeff Pidgeon
Narrated byRich Moore
Edited byJim Ryan
Production
company
Distributed byCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Release date
  • June 27, 1986 (1986-06-27)
Running time
3:19
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown is a 1986 American animated short student film written, directed, and animated by Jim Reardon while he was a student at CalArts.[1] Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown is black-and-white and has a rough, unfinished, hand-drawn look.[2]

Plot

The short film is presented as a trailer for a faux Peanuts television special.[3] A narrator describes the premise of the special: the Great Pumpkin has placed a bounty on Charlie Brown, prompting the Peanuts characters to try to kill Charlie Brown in various ways, until the narrator announces Charlie Brown, "has been pushed too far." Charlie Brown cuts his hair into a Mohawk, adopts a thick accent similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and loads several weapons. Charlie Brown and the Peanuts characters then engage in a gunfight and a montage of chaotic violence with other cartoon and pop-culture characters including Popeye, Godzilla, Blondie and Dagwood, Rocky Balboa, Nazis, Mickey Mouse, and Richard Simmons. The film ends with Charlie Brown smoking in bed alongside an obscured figure[4][5] as the narrator announces, "a special appearance by the Little Red-Haired Girl."

The film also includes several pop-culture and film references: Linus strangling Charlie Brown is a remake of Luca Brasi's death in The Godfather, Charlie Brown's Mohawk haircut is a reference to Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, and Charlie Brown screaming, "Bitch!" after Lucy shoots him in the arm is a shot-by-shot remake of William Holden's gunfight in The Wild Bunch. "Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown" is a reference to Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and the end credit to Charles "Dutch" Schultz is a reference to Dutch Schultz.

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? [6]

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.

References

  1. ^ Wreck-It Ralph Director Rich Moore on his Film Sensibility: 'It's a CalArts Thing'-CalArts blog
  2. ^ "Enjoy the disturbing "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown"". The Retroist. Archived from the original on 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  3. ^ Cartoon Brew
  4. ^ Letterboxd
  5. ^ Simpsons director's Peanuts parody student film online - Animated Views
  6. ^ David Pescovitz (2012-05-12). ""Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown", animated Peanuts spoof by Simpsons director Jim Reardon". BoingBoing.
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