Minor correction to yesterday’s post: I said “today I watched” in reference to a film I’d actually seen the previous day. Rather, I started it that day – Saturday – and watched the rest Sunday morning. It was starting to get late and I had an early morning. Just to clarify.

Miller had planned out a date night for us yesterday, so I let him pick the movie as well. (Not sure if I’ve mentioned before that my fiance and Miller are one and the same.) He isn’t a huge fan of scary movies, so his choice was It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Finding the movie was an adventure in its own right; he didn’t already own it and couldn’t locate it in either Target or Best Buy. I happened across possibly the only copy of The Great Pumpkin and It’s Magic, Charlie Brown on an endcap in Target’s sports drink section, for whatever strange reason.

Personally, I’ve always found the later Charlie Brown films to lack the charm of A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s not that I dislike them, I just never liked them as much, particularly the later revivals like It’s Magic and It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown. I have to give them credit for being very family friendly, whereas most Halloween-appropriate content isn’t. I just find the vignette format works better in the classic Christmas special.

I must admit that The Great Pumpkin has achieved a certain level of “classic”-ness as well as A Charlie Brown Christmas, though I’m not entirely sure I understand why. I had never seen It’s Magic before, and truthfully I wasn’t impressed. I usually find Snoopy’s antics amusing, and admittedly some of the jokes were kind of cute, but overall it felt less “family friendly” and more “lowest common denominator.” This is something I think we all need to appreciate more in Disney films: they have mastered the art of making a film that’s both kid- and parent-friendly. Overall, on a scale from one to Aladdin, I give the Great Pumpkin-It’s Magic combo a solid four.