It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977 TV Short) User Reviews

How can Lucy get away with everything when it's obvious that everything is her fault?

[Atreyu_II · 7/10 · 12 September 2009]

First of all, I don't think I have ever seen this before. After a period I had to cancel my plan of watching this due to the rush of modern life, I finally had the chance to watch this. To be sincere, I expected this to be a full-length movie, so I was kinda surprised when I realized it is a short.

Now, an opinion on this. It's not bad, it actually has that charm associated with Peanuts. It's simple, plain, predictable and relatively nice. Artwork isn't fabulous, but simplicity is a characteristic of Peanuts's artwork.

The story focus on Homecoming at Charlie Brown's school. Charlie and Linus are possible escorts for the Homecoming Queen and her court. Funnily, during the Parade, when Linus tells Charlie Brown that he will be the escort for the Queen, Charlie gets shocked because the Queen (whose name is Heather) is the Little Red-Haired Girl (who looks a bit like Lila from "Snoopy Come Home") and his shock is even greater when Linus tells him he must give her a kiss on the cheek before the first dance. By hearing this, Charlie feels very much like Linus without his blanket.

A Homecoming Game is included in this story. Charlie Brown is the team kicker. Unfortunately, Lucy is the placekick setter, which is an enormous mistake. Whenever Charlie Brown is about to kick the ball, Lucy pulls the ball away, sending Charlie Brown into the air. She is famous for this infamous trick, just as much as her well known bad temper.

Poor Charlie Brown! And then, of course, he gets blamed for the failures, while Lucy gets away all the time. She shouldn't be allowed to be the placekick setter. They should chose someone trustworthy - like Linus, for example.

Not even when Charlie Brown has a chance to become a hero can Lucy be nice to him. She just likes (and can't resist) to humiliate him. No wonder Charlie Brown has such a shaky self-esteem. He is too young to feel as miserable as he does, but Lucy contributes a lot for that.

And yet, Charlie Brown still goes to the dance. Peppermint Patty and Lucy maliciously mock him and Lucy even has the nerve of mouthing off «Who would want to be your date after today's game?». Lucy annoys me. I really can't blame Shroeder for strongly disliking her. Lucy is rude, aggressive, hostile, selfish, mean and unfair.

At least Charlie has the chance to kiss the Queen on her cheek, which makes him smile and feel so good in a way we rarely see on him. It's a pity, though, he doesn't remember this good thing that happened to him.

I like it, but I felt it was a bit too mean.

[ofpsmith · 7/10 · 15 July 2019]

It's no surprise that Charlie Brown (Arrin Skelley) is usually the kid at the short end of the stick but it rarely does it go this far. Charlie Brown has been selected for the school's football kicker at the Homecoming Game. Lucy Van Pelt (Michelle Muller) has the job of holding the ball in place. Even though you'd think that Lucy would make an exception to the rule of her pulling the ball away every time Charlie Brown tries to kick it, she doesn't and Charlie Brown is left humiliated in front of the entire stadium (with an audience way bigger than what an elementary school sports event would have.) In spite of this, Charlie Brown still shows up to the homecoming dance where he is the queen's escort (the queen in question being none other than Heather AKA The Little Red Haired Girl.) Charlie Brown attempts to put the unflattering episode behind him but Lucy and Peppermint Patty (Laura Planting) are there to tease him as much as possible (in spite of Lucy clearly being the one to blame.) Which is a big part of why I'm weary of this film. I remember seeing this for the first time when I was about 11 and thinking about how messed up Lucy is to Charlie Brown. Lucy being the bully is obviously not uncharacteristic of her in any way but in this one it's not really even that funny. She not only pulls the same old prank once again which results in his humiliation but (because apparently nobody saw her do this) she successfully shifts the blame to him. I really have to hand it to Charlie Brown for not loosing his temper and berating her. You might think that I don't like this one based on how mean I find it. But actually it's not that bad. The animation is classic Peanuts and the voice acting is still good as always. In general, this special is all right but just a tad more mean spirited than I'd like.

Enjoyable Peanuts TV special

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 31 January 2011]

Charlie Brown tries desperately to impress his redhead dream girl Heather at a football game only to have Lucy continually foil his attempts at kicking a winning field goal. However, despite losing the game Charlie still attends the homecoming dance so he can be Heather's escort. Charle B. Schulz's bright and compact script offers the usual winning blend of well-defined characters, a pleasant sense of humor, and a little pathos mixed in with all the silliness. The best and most inspired running gag has Snoppy popping up all over the place during the big game as the referee, a helicopter for Woodstock (his ears act as chopper blades), a member of the cheering squad, a member of the band, and even a doctor. Charlie Brown once again makes for a likable hard-luck protagonist: You just have to admire Chuck for having the guts to go to the dance after losing the game and having the courage to confront his dream girl (it's a gloriously sweet and lovely moment when Charlie Brown kisses her). Moreover, the football game is a memorably fierce and funny set piece, with Peppermint Patty giving vague instructions to her teammates and Lucy constantly pulling the ball away from Charlie Brown. The funky-groovin' discoid score by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen throbs to an incessantly thumping beat. A really fun and amusing romp.

Lucy should be thrown off the team.

[grendelkhan · 7 December 2003]

I saw this one in college. It makes the huge mistake of showing the Little Red-headed Girl. She is supposed to be a figure of mystery, the object of Charlie Brown's unfulfilled desires. Sparky should have made them change this.

The most amazing aspect of this is that Charlie Brown gets all of the team's ire, when it's that little b**** Lucy who keeps pulling the football away on every kick attempt. I don't advocate violence against women, but Lucy deserved a swift kick in the tuckus!

Stick with the classics, although it is fun to crank up the sound when Charlie Brown misses the football.

One of my favorite Peanuts specials of all time!

[HowardBParks · 9/10 · 26 December 2005]

This was one of my favorites, despite being also the most controversial of all the Peanuts specials. It also aired the year I was born: 1977, so I was an infant when it aired. This was also the first post-Vince Guaraldi special that aired since he died (the last one Vince scored was "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown" which aired a year earlier). Ed Bogas (who also scored the third Peanuts movie "Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown" which also came out in '77) and Judy Munsen took over for Vince, even including "Linus and Lucy", although it sounded real different. Bogas was also responsible for co-scoring the Ralph Bakshi films "Fritz The Cat" and "Heavy Traffic". The music was real funky and the groove was down-pact.

The special itself was a departure for Charles Schulz and company. For the first time ever, The Little Red-Haired Girl was seen, AND given a name: Heather. Plus, the Peanuts gang was on a Football team playing in a Homecoming game. Heather is the Homecoming Queen and Charlie Brown is her escort (how lucky is he!!!!!!!!!). He tries to impress her because he is the place kicker for the team (who was being coached by Peppermint Patty), but, alas, Lucy was holding the ball (CB even tried to use a kicking tee before being stopped by Ms. Van Pelt) and, in classic Peanuts form, pulls the ball away from Chuck, and you know the results. Because of Lucy (NOT CHARLIE BROWN, WHO GETS THE BRUNDT OF THE BLAME) they lose the game by one point. Then the Homecoming dance comes and CB must escort the Queen (Heather) and give her the traditional kiss (as pointed out by Linus throughout the program). Chuck is a barrel of nerves (mostly nervousness and anxiety-NO LIE! He as shaky as Linus without his blanket), but goes ahead with the procession. The kiss leads to Chuck in Dreamland.

I like this special for many reasons: 1. Some of the girls (Not the normal Peanuts girls) sported lashes (a Peanuts special first); 2. Snoopy is all over the place on this special (Woodstock's helicopter, referee, cheerleader's squad man, band member); 3. The Little Red-Haired Girl is finally seen (even though Schulz wasn't responsible for how she would look-Bill Melendez and co. have that distention-however she would finally appear in the strip in 1998 in a Spring Dance story as a silhouette dancing with Snoopy). This wouldn't be the last time we'd see her in animated form. She would appear in 1986's "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown", 1988's "Snoopy: The Musical", and most recently in 2002's post-Schulz special "A Charlie Brown Valentine".

Rough But an Accurate Depiction of a First Crush

[KinoBuff2021 · 7/10 · 3 February 2023]

'It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown' starts off with some rough treatment of Charlie Brown, but ends on a pretty lovable ending.

The hate is an all time high for Charlie Brown while he is faced with the pressure of impressing his crush, the Little Red-Haired Girl for the Homecoming Dance. Charlie Brown feels sick to his stomach, and things unfairly go against him as Lucy repeatedly pulls the football from him thus him being blamed for losing the football game. Charlie Brown get extra anxious but when his moment arrives with the Little Red-Haired Girl it exceeds his wildest dreams.

The constant flask CB received was frustrating, but that penultimate scene of his first kiss is just spectacular. I initially wasn't really feeling this special as the dialogue is fairly plain and CB's voice just seems too hoarse, but the accurate depiction of a crush (especially for the first time) just melted my heart. The portrayal of love through its anxiety and surreal moments has you recall similar moments from your own life.

This special was solid. While not the best Peanuts special its for sure a definite watch as the animation and representation of love just make you feel all gooey inside.

A bit boring

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 6/10 · 13 February 2005]

Since I am not American, I have no idea what a homecoming queen is and I am not familiar with their football rules. This Peanuts TV special is mainly about both so I was a little bit lost for most of it.

The story has Charlie Brown struggle (and unfairly lose) a football match and then finally get to meet his wannabe girlfriend (the little red-headed girl who finally see and is called Heather) at the Homecoming Ball (whatever that is). The build of dread as he approaches her is quite amusing and when he finally kisses her the reaction is brilliant. Too bad the rest of it is below par. Though the scenes with Woodstock pretending to be a TV cameraman and flying around on Snoopy (who's ear act as chopper blades) are typically surreal and undoubtedly the best moments.

One of the Weakest Peanuts Specials

[mrturk182 · 5/10 · 21 November 2015]

The fully-drawn figure of the Little Red-Haired Girl made its debut in 1977's It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Here, the Little Red-Haired Girl is the Homecoming Queen, and the football team is serving as her escorts. Linus explains to Charlie Brown that each escort must walk with her at the Homecoming Dance and give her a kiss on the cheek. Because Charlie Brown is on the football team, he realizes that he has to kiss the Little Red-Haired Girl. While this special is decent and it is a nice setup, it suffers from some big story blunders that viewers were able to point out when it first aired. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown drew controversy from the fanbase over the Little Red-Haired Girl. In the comics and previous specials, the Little Red-Haired Girl was only mentioned, but never seen. Here, it turns out that the Little Red-Haired Girl not only has a fully-drawn figure, but also a first name (Heather). After already seeing The Peanuts Movie, the debut of her fully-drawn figure doesn't really bother me as it did to everyone else in 1977.

But that's not the real complaint that I have with this special. During the Homecoming game, despite the fact that Charlie Brown did make a few mistakes, it was Lucy that blew the game because she pulled the ball away from Charlie on not 1, not 2, not 3, BUT FOUR FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS!!!!!!!! It was obvious that those field goals were very key for them. In fact, even Lucy herself told Charlie that she has no need to pull the ball away from him. So if you know that the game is on the line, and you know that you shouldn't do it, then DON'T DO IT!!!!! Sure, this football gag has provided funny moments in other times when they were just practicing for fun. They're not in that setup here, THEY'RE IN AN ACTUAL GAME! YOU HAVE TO KNOW BETTER! Then after the game, when everyone's at the Homecoming Dance, Lucy and the girls gang up on Charlie and blame him for the loss. I know it's part of your character to criticize him, BUT LUCY, LAST TIME I CHECKED, YOU PULLED THE BALL AWAY FROM HIM FOUR TIMES! OWN UP A LITTLE!

And here's another complaint that I have with this special. After Charlie Brown gives a kiss to the Little Red-Haired Girl, he has a dream sequence where he's flying through clouds and hearts, and then he wakes up in his bed. So, the Homecoming Dance, or even the game, was all a dream, right? WRONG! The next day, Linus told Charlie Brown that they lost the game by one point, AND THAT HE DID KISS THE LITTLE RED- HAIRED GIRL AT THE DANCE, AND THAT HE DANCED WITH HER AND EVERY OTHER GIRL THERE, AND THAT HE WAS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY! I JUST SAW HIM WAKE UP FROM A DREAM! HOW DOES THAT WORK?

Overall, I don't hate It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, but I was very disappointed by it, and the Peanuts have done better than this.

Not that bad, but not that good

[TomRMD · 5/10 · 7 April 2008]

I'll hail for the traditionalists that love to see The Little Red-Haired Girl as an unseen entity. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this would have jettisoned half of the show's plot of Charlie Brown trying to impress his heart's desire. Pedestrian, but not bad.

The other half, concerning the football game, is where a golden opportunity for karmic payback was missed for comedic effect. Lucy, on the last play, decides to pull the ball away *yet again* from Charlie Brown trying for a field goal. Savvy football fans should know that that ball is *still* alive, in the case of this being a *fake* field goal. In Lucy's case, she would be the target of the defenders trying to sack *her* with the ball. My humble rewrite would have Lucy, in full panic, run up and down the field in sheer terror, and despite herself, still end up scoring and winning the game! Lucy the hero, after all this? Well, it *is* still a Charlie Brown world.

Charlie finally gets his girl

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 23 November 2015]

In the tradition of the Peanuts Valentine's Day movies, "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" is, as the title already states, another love-themed Charlie Brown movie. Charlie is basically busy during the entire 25 minutes drooling over the cute redhead girl from his class. And the only thing that distracts us from it is a football game, in which Charlie, as usual, is the one that costs them the victory. Well, actually it's Lucy's fault, but Charlie once again has to take the blame. So he does. At least, there is some solace in the end for him on the romantic front. So was it just a dream or did it really happen? I usually like the redhead girl references in these films, but a whole movie on the matter seems too much in my opinion. Also this one totally lacked other story-lines or even scenes that do not involve Charlie with his crush. It's always nice to see a bit about the other characters as well, but not so in this one. The writer is Charles M. Schulz as usual. Director is not Melendez this time, but Roman, before he moved on to Garfield. In my opinion, it's no surprise this one wasn't Emmy nominated as these Peanuts half hour films usually were. It's certainly among the weaker ones and only the biggest fans of the series should check it out. Thumbs down.

Worst Peanuts special ever

[SHB_73 · 1/10 · 17 December 2010]

I have to be honest, I was never a big Peanuts fan mainly because of specials like this. This is one of the few shows which made me want to kick my TV because it made absolutely no sense. The only good thing about it is Charlie Brown finally gets a chance to kiss the little red-headed girl he has been chasing. But the events leading up to it I found were totally unfair to Charlie Brown. The Peanuts gang are playing a football game and Lucy does what she always does to Charlie Brown: she pulls the ball away whenever Charlie has to kick a field goal or kick off, She even pulls it away when he has a chance to win the game. What gets me mad is the fact that everybody blames Charlie Brown for losing the game. Does no one on the team see Lucy pulling the ball away!! To add more insult during the homecoming dance Peppermint Patty continues to belittle him and to make it worse Lucy joins in the teasing! I can't believe Charles Schultz approved this show! We know Charlie Brown is supposed to be the hard-luck loser but this time it wasn't his fault! It was Lucy! (Did I mention how much I hate Lucy.)It is a shame that Schultz passed away without letting Charlie Brown finally kick the football. But this special is a disgrace.

"NO, NO!!!! I HATE IT, I HATE IT, I DON'T WANT TO WATCH THIS!!!

[ben-thayer · 1/10 · 24 September 2020]

This is what I heard my 7yr old daughter screaming from the TV room. I had received the Peanuts 70s DVD set, and I put on It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown for her to watch. When the screaming started I ran in to see what had upset her, and she was nearly in tears. "I hate this show!!! I don't want to see it any more!!! Lucy pulled the ball away but the other kids blame Charlie Brown for losing the game!!! All he wants is friends and they're all so hateful to him! Why are they so mean to him?" And y'know...I had no answer. Then I remembered back to the 70s when I first saw this, and I recall feeling EXACTLY the same way. So I gave the DVD set away since no one from my family will be watching it. All the Peanuts cartoons had an ample dose of hatred aimed squarely at Charlie Brown, but this one really pushed that angle way above and beyond, to the point where it just wasn't entertaining. I'd rather not try to explain to my daughter why the other kids are so evil towards Charlie Brown, especially when I've never understood it myself.

So So

[trillspots-1 · 5/10 · 24 September 2015]

***Some spoilers Below***

A well-produced short, but has some issues.

In the football game, Lucy repeatedly pulls the football away. This is the long-running gag, but the second time, she asks if she would pull the football away in a game this important. He thinks and says no, but she had just done so! Of course, it happens again; they should have called this "You're A Moron, Charlie Brown," just for this point. My main issue here is that this happens in plain sight of everyone, but they all blame Charlie Brown, booing him or making caustic comments at his expense, but no one seems upset with (Satan's daughter) Lucy. If this were real, they would turn en-mass on Lucy in a kind of mob rule kind of way here. To take this to unbelievable extremes, it happens for a total of five times, getting similar responses each time.

I have been re-watching many of these childhood specials recently, and I've been struck at how outright nasty the kids are in them. I mean, I know kids often are cruel to each other, but if any child grew up with this kind of torture, he or she would likely socially degrade to the point of becoming a columbine-style school shooter. Yet in this one, the kids have very little reason to be angry with CB. Again, these kids would be shouting for Lucy's blood. Peanuts were apparently not as heartwarming as remembered from youth.

Additionally, the little red haired girl was supposed to be the girl CB never gets. Apparently, even though he can't remember it (and we don't get to see it,) he supposedly sweeps her off her feet and is the life of the party at the ball. This kind of blows the whole point of this unapproachable girl in the story-line.

As Far As I'm Concerned, The Bottom of the Barrel

[cricharddavies · 2/10 · 24 November 2006]

Okay. I'm not all that familiar with American educational traditions, but surely elementary school-kids don't have homecoming dances? From what I understand, it's more of a high school thing ... and the Peanuts gang are always supposed to be kids in elementary school. So right from the start, I'm jolted out of my enjoyment of this special by that.

Then we start adding other sources of incredulity. Charlie Brown has, for some reason, been picked to be the escort for the Homecoming Queen (the Little Red-Haired Girl.) Yahbuhwha? How did that happen? Was he wearing the sack again when the pick was made? And the peanuts gang are playing football -- against much bigger kids, I might add -- while wearing helmets over their usual clothes. Including Lucy in her blue dress.

Ah, yes, Lucy. Everyone knows that Lucy is going to pull the football out of the way when Charlie Brown goes to kick it. Everyone! She's famous for it! So who in their right mind would choose either of them as a place kicker and place kick holder? And then they blame Charlie Brown for screwing up? Doesn't anyone see Lucy holding the ball? Come on! Finally, we have the cheerleaders -- cheerleaders! -- doing a Snoopy cheer. While Snoopy is, in our world, a big time celebrity, in the milieu of Peanuts, he's just Charlie Brown's dog (and to a degree a neighborhood mascot.) While I can suspend disbelief enough to have him driving the kids in "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown", and being treated as human by most of the kids, the idea that he'd be the subject of cheers from people who probably don't know who he is strain my suspension to its breaking point.

There's one good moment in this special, that being of course the raptures that Charlie Brown flies into after he gives the Little Red-Haired Girl a kiss on the cheek. It's sweet but not cloying, but not enough to save this show, sad to say.

Another Predictable Peanuts Cartoon

[hfan77 · 5/10 · 30 September 2009]

I remember seeing "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown" when it first aired in the 70s and to me it was interesting to see the little red haired girl, who is named Heather but never, ever seen in the comic strip.

But unfortunately like many of the Peanuts cartoons, it suffers from predictability, especially in the football game scenes when Charlie Brown is the kicker and Lucy is the holder who pulls the ball away. The gag was funny in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving but becomes repetitive. And Charlie Brown, not Lucy takes the blame for losing the game. It just shows that I never liked Lucy in the cartoons. She's mean, bossy and a bully. It gets worse when she ridicules Charlie Brown at the homecoming dance.

However, the best scene is when Charlie Brown finally kisses the little red haired girl but unfortunately the next day, he doesn't remember anything that happened. It's a result of years of being bullied by Lucy and suffering from low self-esteem. It was something that he accomplished in his own life and he still felt depressed.

Of all the Peanuts cartoons that have aired, I would give it a major "Good grief!"