You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown

Sally Brown returned home from school and told Charlie Brown that she cannot open her locker. Charlie Brown promised to help her open her locker every day from now on, and Sally took him in for Show and Tell, which is an education.

At school, Charlie Brown saw an election poster for Student Body President. Linus van Pelt thought that Charlie Brown would make a great president, but he is convinced that nobody would have to vote for him. Lucy appointed herself as his campaign manager and took a student poll, which only confirmed Charlie Brown's belief. When Lucy announced they will need to find another candidate, Sally Brown suggested Linus, and Lucy took another poll, which is almost unanimously favorable toward Linus, so he entered the election.

Linus' campaign, assisted by Lucy and Charlie Brown, is vigorous and enthusiastic, and he takes a huge early lead in the opinion poll against his opponent, Russell Anderson. At an assembly, Linus and Russell each make a campaign speech, with Linus receiving a rapturous response from the audience. However, at a subsequent assembly, he commits a major blunder when he goes off-script. He begins talking about the Great Pumpkin. Charlie Brown and Lucy scream in frustration because they already heard it a million times. This got him laughed off the stage, much to the anger of Lucy.

When election day finally arrived, it is a back and forth affair with the lead changing hands several times. The votes are tied when the final vote is submitted by Russell himself, who decided that Linus would have to be a better president, to which the final ballot count, 84 to 83, declared Linus the winner. Following his victory, Sally prodded Linus to go to the principal and lay down the law, only to have the law laid down to him by the principal. After he sheepishly revealed this to Sally, she accused Linus of selling out like all other politicians. She angrily kicked her locker and walked away, without realizing that she has finally opened it.

• Chad Webber as Charlie Brown
• Stephen Shea as Linus van Pelt
• Robin Kohn as Lucy van Pelt
  • Jean Vander Pyl as Lucy van Pelt (whispering)
• Hilary Momberger as Sally Brown
• Todd Barbee as Russell Anderson
• Linda Ercoli as Violet
• Brian Kazanjian as Schroeder
• Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock

This special marked the debut television appearance of Woodstock, whose feature film debut was in Snoopy, Come Home, also released in 1972.

Patty, Frieda, Pig-Pen, 5, and Shermy also appear.

The plot from You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown was taken from a story that ran in the comic strip in October 1964, in which Linus runs for school president with Charlie Brown as his running mate. In the original storyline, Linus blows the election (and Charlie Brown's bid for Vice President) after bringing up The Great Pumpkin in his final speech and being laughed off stage–again after leading in the polls at the time. Unlike the television special, Linus' opponent is never seen or mentioned. This special first aired under the title You're Elected Charlie Brown. It was subsequently changed after Charles Schulz realized that Charlie Brown was neither elected nor does he run. This explains why there is a caret between the words "You're" and "Elected" on the chalkboard (there was no time to redo the entire cel).

The music for You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown was composed by Vince Guaraldi and conducted and arranged by John Scott Trotter. The score was performed by the Vince Guaraldi Quintet on August 22, 1972, at Wally Heider Studios, featuring Tom Harrell (trumpet), Pat O'Hara (flute), Seward McCain (electric bass) and Glenn Cronkhite (drums).[4]

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown is notable for marking the debut of Snoopy's "Joe Cool" theme song, sung by Guaraldi.[5]

No official soundtrack for You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown was released, although select music cues have been made available on several compilation albums:[5][6]

• Both the vocal and extended instrumental versions of "Joe Cool" as well as "Incumbent Waltz (Theme from You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown)" (variation No. 4) appeared on Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials (2007)[7]
• "Oh, Good Grief" and the chimes-driven version of the Peanuts signature tune, "Linus and Lucy" appeared on Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2 (2008).[8]

The special was first released on home video on RCA's SelectaVision CED format in 1982 along with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It was released on VHS and Betamax by Media Home Entertainment in 1985, along with A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was released on VHS again in 1988, this time under their kids subdivision Hi-Tops Video. On August 17, 1994, it accompanied It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown on a Snoopy Double Feature release from Paramount Home Entertainment. It has been released on DVD twice, first as a "bonus feature" on the September 12, 2000 It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown DVD[9] then on its own as part of Warner Home Video's "Remastered Deluxe Edition" line of Peanuts specials on October 7, 2008.[10]

In 2008, iTunes released a quasi-remake of You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown from Warner Bros. as the first of the Peanuts Motion Comics series. The two-part webisode, entitled "Linus for President/The Election," followed the original comic strip segments rather than the TV special. It was released under the permission of Charles Schulz's wife Jeannie. Rather than the traditional Peanuts special animation, Warner Bros. used the original comic segments and used the latest technology to move the characters' body parts.

• You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown at IMDb