Directed by:	Larry Leichliter Bill Melendez
Written by:	based on Peanuts characters by Charles M. Schulz
Release date:	December 9, 2003
Running time:	48 minutes
Rating:	TV-G
Available on:	VHS DVD iTunes

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is the fourth and most recent Christmas television special based on the newspaper comic strip Peanuts. This hour-length special originally aired on ABC on December 9, 2003.

SynopsisEdit

Having seen the relationship between Snoopy and Charlie Brown, Rerun van Pelt is desperate for a dog for Christmas; however, his mother and Lucy do not believe that he is ready for or capable of caring for one and they refuse. Frustrated, he asks Charlie Brown if he can play with Snoopy. While initially cooperative, Snoopy quickly tires of Rerun's idea of fun and games, and after a while he begins to snub him.

Rerun initially asks Santa Claus to bring him a dog, but he soon loses hope that Santa will comply. Instead, at Rerun's urging, Snoopy commissions his brother, Spike, to make a trip to the Twin Cities. When he arrives, the Van Pelts are appalled to see his notoriously slender figure and take him in. After a short stay, Spike regains significant weight but ultimately decides to return to his home in the desert. Rerun is left to play with Snoopy.  When Rerun invites Snoopy to pull him on his sled, Snoopy chooses instead to sit in the sled, forcing Rerun to do the pulling.  That's when Rerun finally agrees with his mother and Lucy that dogs are too much trouble.

AvailabilityEdit

The special was first released to VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on October 26, 2004. Paramount's DVD release also contained Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales and a documentary about the making of A Charlie Brown Christmas as bonus features. Warner Home Video later released it as a "Remastered Deluxe Edition" DVD on October 6, 2009. Instead of the bonus specials from the previous DVD, this one also included Happy New Year, Charlie Brown.

VHSParamount Home Entertainment, 2004

DVDParamount Home Entertainment, 2004

DVDWarner Home Video, 2009

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CastEdit

See alsoEdit

• Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales

External linksEdit

• Peanuts Wiki: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
• I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• Archived ABC Feature Page for I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown