Hi, apologies if this is in the wrong category as I'm completely new to posting on the LMW forums or really forums in general cuz it's been years since I've used one.
I recently got curious about the first edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, as I'm a big peanuts fan and I love the history of the series and comics. Knowing that we already have a copy of the original version of the special (albeit in not very good condition) I decided to contact the Charles M. Schulz museum (specifically their archivist, Sarah Breaux) for some information on it to see if they had anything new, and just to ask some general questions about the sponsorship ads.
Her email is listed on their website for contact, so I sent out a rather long email just asking about the Coca-Cola cut, the Laugh Track cut, and if they had a copy of the Christmas special or any info on why it hasn't been publicly released, and if the Schulz estate really did turn down a print of the special offered by Coca-Cola (according to ParamountCartoons on the IAD forums) . Sure, this might not be anything new or interesting, but here is the response I got (in image form):
I guess this confirms that the "laugh track" version of the special never actually got put into production or made, so its neither lost or unreleased, its non-existant.
We also now know, the reason why the Coke cut has never been re-released is just because of them pulling out from sponsoring the special, and them requiring residual payments for their brands appearance in the special. We'll never truly know if the Schulz estate didn't want a print of the special, or if Coca-Cola even has one to begin with.
Once again, sorry if my writing is sloppy or this info isn't exactly new or riveting.
Hi, apologies if this is in the wrong category as I'm completely new to posting on the LMW forums or really forums in general cuz it's been years since I've used one.
I recently got curious about the first edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, as I'm a big peanuts fan and I love the history of the series and comics. Knowing that we already have a copy of the original version of the special (albeit in not very good condition) I decided to contact the Charles M. Schulz museum (specifically their archivist, Sarah Breaux) for some information on it to see if they had anything new, and just to ask some general questions about the sponsorship ads.
Her email is listed on their website for contact, so I sent out a rather long email just asking about the Coca-Cola cut, the Laugh Track cut, and if they had a copy of the Christmas special or any info on why it hasn't been publicly released, and if the Schulz estate really did turn down a print of the special offered by Coca-Cola (according to ParamountCartoons on the IAD forums) . Sure, this might not be anything new or interesting, but here is the response I got (in image form):
I guess this confirms that the "laugh track" version of the special never actually got put into production or made, so its neither lost or unreleased, its non-existant.
We also now know, the reason why the Coke cut has never been re-released is just because of them pulling out from sponsoring the special, and them requiring residual payments for their brands appearance in the special. We'll never truly know if the Schulz estate didn't want a print of the special, or if Coca-Cola even has one to begin with.
Once again, sorry if my writing is sloppy or this info isn't exactly new or riveting.
I’m a bit of a Peanuts buff myself so I can clarify what you’re talking about.
What I’ve heard actually happened was that Coca-Cola initially approached Jean Schulz (the widow of Charles Schulz) about restoring the Coca Cola tags into the specials back in the early to mid 2000’s but she declined saying something along the lines of “they’re fine just how they are”. But yes the original version would require residuals to Coca Cola if it were to be officially rereleased, same goes for the other 60’s TV specials with sponsor bits, and not just the Peanuts ones. Keep in mind though that there’s way more differences in the original 1965 version than just the Coca Cola bits.
A much better quality copy of the 1965 version can actually be found on the Internet Archive under “Peanuts 1960’s Collection”.
Last Edit: Nov 25, 2023 23:18:59 GMT by nostalgiaguy
Hi, apologies if this is in the wrong category as I'm completely new to posting on the LMW forums or really forums in general cuz it's been years since I've used one.
I recently got curious about the first edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas, as I'm a big peanuts fan and I love the history of the series and comics. Knowing that we already have a copy of the original version of the special (albeit in not very good condition) I decided to contact the Charles M. Schulz museum (specifically their archivist, Sarah Breaux) for some information on it to see if they had anything new, and just to ask some general questions about the sponsorship ads.
Her email is listed on their website for contact, so I sent out a rather long email just asking about the Coca-Cola cut, the Laugh Track cut, and if they had a copy of the Christmas special or any info on why it hasn't been publicly released, and if the Schulz estate really did turn down a print of the special offered by Coca-Cola (according to ParamountCartoons on the IAD forums) . Sure, this might not be anything new or interesting, but here is the response I got (in image form):
I guess this confirms that the "laugh track" version of the special never actually got put into production or made, so its neither lost or unreleased, its non-existant.
We also now know, the reason why the Coke cut has never been re-released is just because of them pulling out from sponsoring the special, and them requiring residual payments for their brands appearance in the special. We'll never truly know if the Schulz estate didn't want a print of the special, or if Coca-Cola even has one to begin with.
Once again, sorry if my writing is sloppy or this info isn't exactly new or riveting.
I’m a bit of a Peanuts buff myself so I can clarify what you’re talking about.
What I’ve heard actually happened was that Coca-Cola initially approached Jean Schulz (the widow of Charles Schulz) about restoring the Coca Cola tags into the specials back in the early to mid 2000’s but she declined saying something along the lines of “they’re fine just how they are”. But yes the original version would require residuals to Coca Cola if it were to be officially rereleased, same goes for the other 60’s TV specials with sponsor bits, and not just the Peanuts ones. Keep in mind though that there’s way more differences in the original 1965 version than just the Coca Cola bits.
A much better quality copy of the 1965 version can actually be found on the Internet Archive under “Peanuts 1960’s Collection”.
I actually didn't know about Coca-Cola approaching Jean Schulz at all, thank you very much for the information! Its sad that we're probably not going to see a full restoration of the special any time soon, but I'm happy with the info given for now. The archive copy looks to be in better shape color wise, thanks for informing me about that too! I really do appreciate it.