"IT'S THE EASTER BEAGLE, CHARLIE BROWN," THE TIMELESS PEANUTS EASTER SPECIAL, AIRS TUESDAY, MARCH 31 ON ABC

The classic, Emmy-nominated springtime "PEANUTS" special, "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown," produced and animated by the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz and the creative team that gave us many original "PEANUTS" holiday specials, will air TUESDAY, MARCH 31 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (Rebroadcast. OAD 3/25/05)

In "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown," a holiday is coming up for the "PEANUTS" pals, and that means there's a lot to do. Charlie, Sally, Lucy and Marcie get ready for the big day by making several unsuccessful attempts to prepare eggs for coloring -- by frying, waffle-ironing, toasting, roasting and finally making soup out of them -- while Linus insists no preparation is necessary. Not to worry, the Easter Beagle steps in to take care of everything!

Starring an unlikely round-headed hero and a unique cast of young characters wiser and wittier than their years, Charles Schulz's PEANUTS is not just the best-known, most-loved comic strip ever created, but a true global phenomenon. The PEANUTS characters are featured in 2200 newspapers, in classic television specials and on re-mastered DVDs, on stage, in hundreds of books and across the Internet. They have inspired every kind of consumer product from T-shirts to toothbrushes. And while translated into 25 languages, PEANUTS has introduced a vocabulary all its own: "Good grief!," "security blanket," "Happiness is...," "You blockhead!" As PEANUTS approaches its 60th anniversary in 2010, "Good ol' Charlie Brown" and his inseparable gang remain as fresh and vital as ever.

Over the past four decades, the library of PEANUTS animation has received five Emmy and two Peabody Awards. It has also received one Academy Award nomination, three Grammy nominations and fifteen additional Emmy nominations.

The cast of "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" includes Todd Barbee as Charlie Brown, Melanie Kohn as Lucy, Stephen Shea as Linus, Linda Ercoli as Peppermint Patty, Lynn Mortensen as Sally and James Ahrens as Marcie.

The special was created and written by Charles M. Schulz, executive-produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Phil Roman. The music was composed and performed by Vince Guaraldi.

This program carries a TV-G parental guideline.