After Charlie Brown's team loses their first game of the season, his team quit. Linus meets Charlie Brown with good news: Mr. Hennessey, operator of a local hardware store, is offering to sponsor Charlie Brown's team, place them in an organized league, and even buy them new uniforms. While Linus is inflating a pool, Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, appears in her bikini bathing suit. The excitement gets the better of Charlie Brown, and he eagerly tells the team the good news. Lucy is apprehensive, but states that if Charlie Brown can really get the team uniforms, they will give him another chance and return to the team. Later at home, Charlie Brown gets a phone call from Mr. Hennessey, and is told that the league doesn't allow girls or dogs. Charlie Brown tries to reason with Mr. Hennessey, but Mr. Hennessey replies that they are the league's rules, not his. Unwilling to sacrifice his friends, Charlie Brown has no choice but to turn down Mr. Hennessey's offer. Moments later, Charlie Brown relays the news to Linus, who tells him that Lucy and the team will most likely be angry with his decision. However, Charlie hits on an idea: he will not tell them until after the next game, figuring their lifted spirits will drive them to a great win. Linus says this may not be a good idea, but Charlie Brown feels it will work. The game starts off slowly, but as it picks up, the team begins to play spectacularly. Inspired by Snoopy successfully stealing second, third, and home, Charlie Brown attempts the same thing in the bottom of the ninth inning, successfully stealing second and third. However, Charlie tries to tie the game by stealing home, only to be thrown out at the plate, ending the game. Lucy and several others tell Charlie Brown that if it weren't for the uniforms and the league deal, they would quit. Charlie Brown then tells the team that he told Mr. Hennessey that the deal was off. This causes the team to yell in anger and storm off. As the girls complain about their misfortune and Snoopy is shown sharing their disgust, Linus speaks up telling them the real reason why Charlie Brown turned down the offer. Both Linus and Schroeder berate the girls and Snoopy for their selfishness. This causes the girls and Snoopy to feel terrible. They are uncertain what to do, until Lucy comes up with an idea to make up for the insults. Lucy and the other girls decide to create a baseball uniform for Charlie Brown. Linus insists there is no material available. However, Lucy responds. Seeing that Linus's security blanket is the only material, she angrily makes Linus give up his blanket. Lucy, the other girls, and Snoopy force Linus to act as a dress dummy. Finally, as Linus looks on, Snoopy, Lucy, and the other girls make the uniform by using Linus's security blanket. The dismayed Linus can only watch in horror as the girls and Snoopy destroy his blanket and make it into a baseball uniform for Charlie Brown. The girls and Snoopy present the newly made uniform shirt to Charlie Brown, who is very pleased with it. He is determined that his team will win the next day, but it rains, so there is no ball game. Charlie Brown just stands in the rain on the pitcher's mound, where Linus finds him and tells him that nobody will come to the field. When Charlie questions why Linus is looking at him nervously, Linus bitterly wails out and says to him that his uniform was made from his blanket. Charlie Brown then offers his best friend Linus by revealing the shirt's tail of his baseball uniform. He does it so Linus can use it like a security blanket. Linus happily accepts it and stands with it pressed against his cheek, sucking his thumb as he normally does. Finally, the two of them are seen standing in the pouring rain during the closing credits.
5 also appears, but is silent. This is also the first Peanuts special to not feature Tracy Stratford as Lucy van Pelt; she was replaced with Sally Dryer, who voiced Violet in the previous special. This is also the first special where Karen Mendelson voices Violet.
Music score
The music for Charlie Brown's All Stars! was composed and conducted by Vince Guaraldi and performed by the Vince Guaraldi Sextet.
"Charlie's Run"
"Charlie Brown and His All-Stars"
"Baseball Theme"
"Baseball Theme"
"Baseball Theme"
"All-Stars Theme"
"All-Stars Theme"
"Air Music"
"Pebble Beach"
"All-Stars Theme"
"Baseball Theme"
"Air Music"
"Baseball Theme"
"Trumpet Fanfare"
"All-Stars Theme"
"Air Music"
"Baseball Theme"
"Rain, Rain, Go Away"
"All-Stars Theme"
No official soundtrack for Charlie Brown's All Stars! was released, although select music cues have been made available on several compilation albums:
"Air Music" appeared on Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits, as "Surfin' Snoopy". The song was first used in A Charlie Brown Christmas when Snoopy expeditiously decorates his doghouse for Christmas, but was not included on the official soundtrack release.
A variation of "Rain, Rain, Go Away" appeared on Oh Good Grief!.
End credits
Created and Written by: Charles M. Schulz
Original Score Composed and Conducted by: Vince Guaraldi
A book about the television special was published shortly after it initially aired. In the book, Charlie Brown approaches him teammates and said the whole simple "we don't need them" line, then turns and walks away as his teammates heaps verbal abuse on him nonstop until Linus steps in to stand up for him, but without telling them why. In the book, Schroeder is not shown berating the girls and Snoopy along with Linus, although he does in the television show. It is Schroeder who says: "Those uniforms meant just as much to Charlie Brown as they did to you. Probably more!". Also, at the end, Linus just comes up to Charlie on the pitchers mound where Charlie had the new uniform shirt on, and without a word spoken, as if he knew, Charlie lets him use his shirt tail to hold up against his cheek like at the end of the show.
Home media
Charlie Brown's All Stars! was released in DVD format on March 2, 2004, grouped with the similarly-themed It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown and Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown. On July 7, 2009, it was released in remastered form as part of the DVD box set, Peanuts 1960's Collection.
Production notes
The scene where Snoopy is surfing is later used in Snoopy Come Home, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Snoopy's Reunion.
Like A Charlie Brown Christmas before it, this special also had sponsoring from Coca-Cola, which was later edited out from later broadcasts and video/DVD releases. As well, the original music cue "Surfin' Snoopy", which appeared in the first special, is re-used here.
This is the first non-holiday-oriented Peanuts special.
Even though Linus knows why Charlie Brown did not terminate the girls and Snoopy from his team, he can be seen getting angry and yelling at Charlie Brown with the others. And then turns on them and explains to them why Charlie Brown turned down the offer.
