Every year I put together a horror movie marathon for me and my friends around Halloween and this special is always on the play list. It just wouldn't be the Halloween horror movie marathon without it. The Great Pumpkin really evokes why we all fell in love with the Halloween season and holiday. The candy, the costumes, but most importantly the mysterious nature. As a child everything seemed so mysterious and grand which is what Linus is experiencing with his Great Pumpkin beliefs.

The Great Pumpkin really sets the mood for the Halloween season. If you have young kids you could do much worse than introduce them to this wonderful little special. It was a huge part of my childhood and I have many fond memories sitting with mom and dad watching this on CBS with the old Halloween-themed McDonald's commercials. It just brings me back to a simpler time.

Also, do not give out rocks as treats. That's just cruel.

I've been a lifetime Peanuts fan; I grew up with the comic strip and a number of the TV specials. It was always a cause for celebration to see these endearing characters and laugh at their assorted escapades.

Here, the character of Linus, ordinarily the most sensible of the children, indulges in his ongoing personal fantasy involving the almighty Great Pumpkin who in Linus' mind is the Santa Claus of the Halloween season, appearing in the most sincere of pumpkin patches and distributing toys to the faithful.

One can't help but be charmed by his dedication to this concept, even as it prevents him from enjoying the more conventional trappings of the holiday - specifically trick or treating, which his admirer Sally forgoes in order to be with him.

This lovable story does of course display a constant disarming sense of humour, in particular poor Charlie Browns' tendency to get rocks in his treat bag in place of candy - yet he doesn't let it get him down. Good old Snoopy continues to be a major cut up - whether he's indulging in his own flights of fancy, taking on the persona of the World War I Flying Ace forever facing off against his arch rival The Red Baron, and pretending to be making his way across enemy lines (this sequence features some of the best animation in the special), or stealing the show at Violets' Halloweeen Party. It's just too cute when he bops along to Schroeders' piano music and then sobs uncontrollably when the music turns dramatic.

The special remains bright and upbeat all the way through, with Linus ranting his way all through the closing credits about the supposed "stupidity" of waiting in a pumpkin patch. Everything about this can continue to appeal to all ages; 45 years later, it's still a charmer.

10/10