| Genre: | Animation |
| Creator: | Charles M. Schulz |
| Director: | Bill Melendez Sam Jaimes |
| Voices: | Chad Allen Jeremy Miller Melissa Guzzi Elizabeth Lyn Fraser Aron Mandelbaum Jason Muller Kristie Baker Bill Melendez |
| Composer: | Ed Bogas Desirée Goyette |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Executive Producer: | Lee Mendelson Charles M. Schulz |
| Producer: | Bill Melendez |
| Camera: | Nick Vasu |
| Runtime: | 28 minutes |
| Company: | United Media Productions Bill Melendez Productions Lee Mendelson Film Productions |
| Channel: | CBS |
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! is the 30th prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It aired on the CBS network on January 1, 1986.[1] The special focuses on Charlie Brown's difficulty finishing a book report over the holidays.[2] It was the last film made by Bernard Gruver, following his death on June 14, 1985, and it was considered to be his posthumous farewell. Another New Year's special, , was released on Apple TV+ on December 10, 2021.
While all the kids are happy that they get time off for Christmas vacation, Charlie Brown dreads how his teacher at the last minute assigned a book report on War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. There is one major distraction on his mind, the big New Year's party all his friends are attending, with Peppermint Patty continuously convincing him to attend. Charlie tries inviting the object of his desires, the Little Red-Haired Girl, but gets his hand caught in the mail slot.
With the party on his mind, he attempts to try to find another way to write the report, even going to a bookstore to find an audiobook and computer game of it, all to no avail. While at the party, he tries to finish the book on the front porch of the house, but falls asleep and misses the clock's striking of midnight but is more devastated when Linus reveals that he ended up dancing with the Little Red-Haired Girl, who showed up after all.
At the end of the special, Charlie hands his book report to the teacher and gets a D minus. Despite the poor grade, Charlie Brown is proud that he made an honest effort and avoided an outright failure. However, the teacher announces that the entire class will be made to read and report on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, overwhelming him even more.
The special was released on VHS by Kartes Video Communications in 1987 and by Paramount Home Video on September 28, 1994. Paramount would re-release the VHS in clamshell packaging on October 1, 1996. Warner Home Video released the special on DVD on October 6, 2009 as a bonus feature for the Remastered Deluxe Edition of I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.[3]
It was re-released as part of the box set Snoopy's Holiday Collection on October 1, 2013.