Back to old tricks

Going by its trailer, the upcoming Peanuts Movie looks set to be a heartwarming crowd-pleaser. While it was a bit disorienting at first to see Charlie Brown, Snoopy and their gang of line-drawn friends in CG animation, director Steve Martino told The Hollywood Reporter that he and the crew worked to stay true to the simple aesthetic of creator Charles Schulz. “We spent hours and hours and hours deriving our poses from the comic strip, our design aesthetic — everything came from the comic strip,” said Martino.

The Peanuts Movie, which marks the 65th anniversary of its namesake comic strip, has an underdog and his dog as its main protagonists. In one storyline, Charlie Brown attempts to win the affection of the Little Red-Haired Girl. In another, Charlie Brown’s loyal beagle Snoopy takes on the Red Baron, his longtime nemesis.

Failure Face

Minnesota native Charles Schulz was 27 years old when the idea he had been pushing for years was finally published in seven newspapers in 1950, and the budding cartoonist earned $90 a week in royalties. Schulz, who received failing grades in school, tried to have his high school yearbook publish his original drawing of Snoopy, but was turned down. He did, however, manage to have Ripley’s Believe It or Not! run a drawing of his dog, Spike, when he was 15.

When the American humorist passed away at the age of 77 in February 2000, The New York Times wrote that as Schulz got older he began to think about the end of his strip. “His hand quavered, but he knew that he did not want anyone else to draw the cartoon.” In his 50-year illustration career, he singlehandedly brought to life over 18,000 “Peanuts” comic strips, and refused to let assistants ink or letter them.

Though Schulz promised that after he quit, no new “Peanuts” strips would be made, he probably would have appreciated this latest 3D animated feature. The Peanuts Movie, after all, boasts an original script penned by his son Craig Schulz, who also works as a private pilot in Santa Rosa, California, grandson Bryan Schulz, and co-writer Cornelius Uliano. Their new touches should help introduce Schulz’s beloved cartoon characters, products of the 1950s, to the current generation.

A Special Year

To make this anniversary year even more special, 20th Century Fox launched Peanutize Me!, a free online tool that lets you create a Peanuts character in your own image in time for The Peanuts Movie. “Charles Schulz always said there’s a little bit of him in all the characters he created,” director Steve Martino told USA Today.

After the success of their 2010 capsule collection, Peanuts and Lacoste return with another collaboration. Polo shirts in multiple colorways feature whimsical scaled-down graphics of characters such as Snoopy and Charlie Brown interacting with the iconic Lacoste crocodile. With the Schulz estate’s blessing, a range designed in partnership with UK streetwear store TSPTR sees lyrics by London-based electronic band Hot Chip emblazoned on tees and sweatshirts along with assorted members of Snoopy’s gang. The limited-edition items are available exclusively from Hot Chip’s webstore.

If you grew up reading “Peanuts” comics and watching the specials like I did, you’ll be glad to know that US network ABC is set to air It’s Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown, a holiday retrospective looking back at the five decades since A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired. Besides screening a digitally remastered version of the 1965 TV special, the special will include live performances of composer Vince Guaraldi’s famous soundtrack, as well as Hollywood stars talking about the show.

It’s hard to believe the Emmy Award-winning A Charlie Brown Christmas did not win CBS executives over when it was first pitched (they found the preview slow and they were concerned about religious themes when Linus read from the Bible at one point). Yet the Christmas special drew in 15.4 million viewers when it aired in 1965 and has since become a yuletide tradition. Hopefully The Peanuts Movie, the first Peanuts feature film in 35 years, will become just as popular.