How A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Inspired Kristin Chenoweth’s New Album’ Happiness Is … Christmas’
By Movieguide® Staff
Actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth said that A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS is at the heart of her new Christmas album, “Happiness Is… Christmas.”
“I wanted to do another Christmas song because, frankly, it makes me happy,” Chenoweth told Guideposts Magazine. “The music makes everybody happy. And when I was looking at the song selection, I knew that I wanted to do something that had to do with my deep DNA, which is Charlie Brown.”
“The name of the record is ‘Happiness is … Christmas,'” she added. “So what we did is we melded two songs together from CHARLIE BROWN the movie, and another song from the musical…”
The mashup includes lyrics like “Happiness is two kinds of ice cream / Building a snowman, climbing a tree,” alongside “Christmas time is here / Joyful everywhere,” Chenoweth explained.
“It’s a very special way to open the record,” she added. “And it goes from there to the Carpenters to Kay Starr to the blues.”
Aside from covering some holiday classics, Chenoweth’s album also includes an original comedic song called “Santa, I’ve Got a Bone to Pick with You.”
“We have an original piece called ‘Santa, I’ve got a Bone to Pick with You.’ And it’s basically about all the times that we thought we were getting something and we didn’t. So anyway, we wrote a kind of funny [song] for that.”
Read More: How Kristin Chenoweth Learned the True Meaning of Christmas
Chenoweth said that her hope for the album is to help listeners discover new music and celebrate old classics this Christmas season.
“This album of mine, it’s eclectic. And I hope people walk away going, wow, ‘My Dear Acquaintance,’ Peggy Lee. I didn’t even know that song,” she said. I hope they walk away knowing a lot of the music and then learning some too.”
“There’s a song that Jay Landers wrote, ‘Why Can’t it be Christmas Every Day?’ that’s really fun. And it begs the question of why can’t it be Christmas every day? Which is my question for you guys. Certainly if we lived like it was Christmas every day, I think we’d be a lot happier,” she concluded.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS is one of the best family-friendly movies to watch during the Christmas season. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
In the animated classic, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, Charlie Brown wonders why he feels sad despite the Christmas season. Charlie’s friend Linus asserts that he needs something productive to understand the reason for the season. Lucy dubs Charlie the director of the Christmas play, but Charlie picks a scrawny Christmas tree that his friends mock. Linus reminds Charlie Brown and everyone that the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS contains much of the wonderful spirit of the PEANUTS comic strip created by Charles Schultz. The music fits the onscreen action to a tee, and the animation is priceless. The voice actors are perfect. The animated short has many Christmas carols and stresses the value of serving others during Christmas. A few times, characters call each other stupid, and Lucy and Snoopy get into a tiff, but these elements are comical and don’t cast a shadow on the sweet story. Best of all, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS has a very strong Christian, biblical worldview that focuses on celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Read More: Why A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Stands the Test of Time
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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