A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

After growing up with these two classics since I was a boy, it's practically not the Christmas season without seeing the 2D animated specials The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (reviewed separately) and A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Peanuts Gang's Christmas special is so timeless and sweet that it reminds us of simpler times -- times that can still be ours in our homes and in our hearts, if we choose to set aside the artificial hustle and bustle of the season and to seek the spiritual meaning of the holiday (as Linus so ably spells out in his Nativity narration from Scripture). All the inimitable innocence of the Peanuts kids' voices are here -- Charlie Brown, Sally, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Pig Pen, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and even Snoopy -- and the gang dances to the scatting piano chords of Vince Guaraldi's Whimsy Salad. Yes, the animation is simple and the audio is scratchy -- but that's part of why we love this show, now a 40-plus-year-old tradition. Don't miss it -- ever! 5 stars. (5-14-09 posted 5-19-09)