| Peanuts | |
|---|---|
 ThePeanuts gang Top row left to right:Woodstock,Snoopy,Charlie Brown Bottom row left to right:Franklin,Lucy Van Pelt,Linus Van Pelt,Peppermint Patty,Sally Brown | |
| Author | Charles M. Schulz |
| Website | www |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded, in reruns |
| Launch date |
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| End date |
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| Syndicate(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Humor,gag-a-day, satire, children |
| Preceded by | Li'l Folks |
Peanuts (briefly subtitledfeaturing Good ol' Charlie Brown) is asyndicateddaily andSunday Americancomic strip written and illustrated byCharles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward.Peanuts is among the most popular and influential comic strips ever published, with 17,897 strips published in all,[1] making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being".[2] At the time of Schulz's death in 2000,Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of roughly 355 million across 75 countries, and had been translated into 21 languages.[3] It helped to cement thefour-panel gag strip[4] as the standard in the United States,[5] and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion.[1] Following successful animated TV and stage-theatrical adaptations over the years, five animated theatrical films have been released.
Peanuts focuses on a social circle of young children, where adultsexist but are rarely seen or heard. The main character,Charlie Brown, is meek, nervous, and lacks self-confidence. He is unable to fly a kite, win a baseball game, or kick a football held by his irascible friendLucy, who always pulls it away at the last instant.[6]Peanuts is a literate strip with philosophical, psychological, and sociological overtones, which was innovative in the 1950s.[4] Its humor is psychologically complex and driven by the characters' interactions and relationships.
Schulz drew every strip, through nearly 50 years, with no assistants, including the lettering and coloring process.[7][8]
Peanuts was originally sold under the title ofLi'l Folks, but that had been used before, so they said we have to think of another title. I couldn't think of one and somebody at United Features came up with the miserable titlePeanuts, which I hate and have always hated. It has no dignity and it's not descriptive. [...] What could I do? Here I was, an unknown kid fromSt. Paul. I couldn't think of anything else. I said, why don't we call itCharlie Brown and the president said "Well, we can't copyright a name like that." I didn't ask them aboutNancy orSteve Canyon. I was in no position to argue.
Peanuts had its origin inLi'l Folks, a weekly panel cartoon that appeared in Schulz's hometown newspaper, theSt. Paul Pioneer Press, from 1947 to 1950 as a precursor toPeanuts. Elementary details of the cartoon shared similarities toPeanuts. The name "Charlie Brown" was first used there. The series also had a dog that looked much like the early 1950s version of Snoopy.[10]
Schulz submitted hisLi'l Folks cartoons toUnited Features Syndicate (UFS), who responded with interest. He visited the syndicate inNew York City and presented a package of new comic strips he had worked on, rather than the panel cartoons he submitted. UFS found they preferred the comic strip.[9][11] When UFS was preparing to syndicate the comic strip asLi'l Folk, Tack Knight, who authored the retired 1930s comic stripLittle Folks, sought to claim exclusive rights to the title being used. Schulz argued in a letter to Knight that the contraction ofLittle toLi'l was intended to avoid this conflict, but conceded that the final decision would be for the syndicate. A different name for the comic strip became necessary after legal advice confirmed thatLittle Folks was a registered trademark.[12] Meanwhile, the production manager of UFS noted the popularity of the children's programHowdy Doody. The show featured an audience of children who were seated in the "Peanut Gallery", and were referred to as "Peanuts". This inspired the decided title that was forced upon Schulz, to his lifelong consternation.[13]
Schulz hated the titlePeanuts, which remained a source of irritation to him throughout his life. He accused the production manager at UFS of not having seen the comic strip before giving it a title, and he said that the title would only make sense if there was a character named "Peanuts".[14] On the day it was syndicated, Schulz's friend visited a news stand in uptown Minneapolis and asked if there were any newspapers that carriedPeanuts, to which the newsdealer replied, "No, and we don't have any with popcorn either", which confirmed Schulz's fears concerning the title.[15] Whenever Schulz was asked what he did for a living, he would evade mentioning the title and say, "I draw that comic strip with Snoopy in it, Charlie Brown and his dog".[16] In 1997 Schulz said that he had discussed changing the title toCharlie Brown on multiple occasions in the past but found that it would ultimately cause problems with licensees who already incorporated the existing title into their products, with unnecessary expenses involved for all downstream licensees to change it.[17]
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Charlie Brown is a young boy. He is the main character, acting as the center of the strip's world and serving as aneveryman.[18][19][20] While seen as decent, considerate, and reflective, he is also awkward, deeply sensitive, and said to suffer from aninferiority complex. Charlie Brown is a constant failure: he can never win a ballgame; he can never successfully fly a kite.[19][21] His sense of determination regardless of the certainty of failure can be interpreted as either self-defeating stubbornness or admirable persistence. When he fails, however, he experiences pain and anguish through self-pity.[21] The journalistChristopher Caldwell observed this tension between Charlie Brown's negative and positive attitudes, stating: "What makes Charlie Brown such a rich character is that he's not purely a loser. The self-loathing that causes him so much anguish is decidedly not self-effacement. Charlie Brown is optimistic enough to think he can earn a sense of self-worth."[22] Schulz named Charlie Brown after a colleague of his while working atArt Instruction, whose full name was Charlie Francis Brown.[23]
Readers and critics have explored whether Schulz based Charlie Brown on himself. This question often carried the suggestion that the emotionally sensitive and depressed behavior of Charlie Brown drew from Schulz's own life or childhood experiences.[24][25][26] Commenting on the tendency of these conclusions being drawn, Schulz said in a 1968 interview, "I think of myself as Charles Schulz. But if someone wants to believe I'm really Charlie Brown, well, it makes a good story."[27] He explained in another interview that the comic strip as a whole is a personal expression, and so it is impossible to avoid all the characters presenting aspects of his personality.[26] BiographerDavid Michaelis made a similar conclusion, describing Charlie Brown as simply representing Schulz's "wishy-washiness and determination".[28] Regardless, some profiles of Schulz confidently held that Charlie Brown was based on him.[29]
Snoopy is a dog, who later in the development of the strip would be described as abeagle.[30] While generally behaving like a real dog and having a non-speaking role, he connects to readers through having human thoughts.[31][32] Despite acting like a real dog some of the time, Snoopy possesses many different anthropomorphic traits. He frequently walks on his hind legs and is able to use tools, including his typewriter. He introduces fantasy elements to the strip by extending his identity through various alter egos. Many of these alter egos, such as a "world-famous" attorney, surgeon or secret agent were seen only once or twice, although others (such as theWorld War I flying ace, or the sunglasses-wearing "Joe Cool") were featured many times over a period of years.[33] His character is a mixture of innocence and egotism; he possesses childlike joy, while on occasion being somewhat selfish.[34][35] He has an arrogant commitment to his independence but is often shown to be dependent on humans.[33][34] Schulz was careful in balancing Snoopy's life between that of a real dog and that of a fantastical character.[36] While the exterior of Snoopy's doghouse is of small dimensions, the interior is described in the strip as having such things as a recreation room, a library, a pool table and being adorned with paintings ofAndrew Wyeth andVan Gogh. However, it was never shown, as it would have demanded an inappropriate kind ofsuspension of disbelief from readers.[37]
Linus and Lucy are siblings; Linus is the younger brother, and Lucy is the older sister.[38]
Lucy is bossy, selfish and opinionated, and she often delivers commentary in an honest albeit offensive and sarcastic way.[39][40] Schulz described Lucy as full of misdirected confidence, but having the virtue of being capable of cutting right down to the truth.[41] He said that Lucy is mean because it is funny, particularly because she is a girl: he posited that a boy being mean to girls would not be funny at all, describing a pattern in comic strip writing where it is comical when supposedly weak characters dominate supposedly strong characters.[42] Lucy at times acts as a psychiatrist and charges five cents for psychiatric advice to other characters (usually Charlie Brown) from her "psychiatric booth", a booth parodying the setup of alemonade stand.[43] Lucy's role as a psychiatrist has attracted attention from real-life individuals in the field of psychology; the psychiatrist Athar Yawar playfully identified various moments in the strip where her activities could be characterized as pursuing medical and scientific interests, commenting that "Lucy is very much the modern doctor".[21]
Linus is Charlie Brown's most loyal and uplifting friend and introduces intellectual, spiritual and reflective elements to the strip. He offers opinions on topics such as literature, art, science, politics andtheology. He possesses a sense of morality and ethical judgment that enables him to navigate topics such as faith, intolerance, and depression. Linus acts as a philosopher and open ear to Charlie Brown's dilemmas and worries. Schulz enjoyed the adaptability of his character, remarking he can be "very smart" as well as "dumb".[44] He has a tendency of expressing lofty or pompous ideas that are quickly rebuked.[39] He finds psychological security fromthumb sucking andholding a blanket for comfort. The idea of his "security blanket" originated from Schulz's own observation of his first three children, who carried around blankets. Schulz described Linus's blanket as "probably the single best thing that I ever thought of". He was proud of its versatility for visual humor in the strip, and with how the phrase "security blanket" entered the dictionary.[45][46]
Peppermint Patty and Marcie are two girls who are friends. They attend a different school than Charlie Brown, on the other side of town, and so represent a slightly different social circle from the other characters.[47]
Peppermint Patty is atomboy who is forthright and loyal and has what Schulz described as a "devastating singleness of purpose".[48] She frequently misunderstands things, to the extent that her confusion serves as the premise of many individual strips and stories; in one story she prepares for a "skating" competition, only to learn with disastrous results that it is forroller skating and notice skating.[49] She struggles at school and with her homework and often falls asleep in school. The wife of Charles Schulz, Jean Schulz, suggested that this is the consequence of how Peppermint Patty's single father works late; she stays awake at night waiting for him. In general, Charles Schulz imagined that some of her problems were from having an absent mother.[50]
Marcie is bookish and a good student.[47] Schulz described her as relatively perceptive compared to other characters, stating that "she sees the truth in things"[48] (although she perpetually addresses Peppermint Patty as "sir"). The writer Laura Bradley identified her role as "the unassuming one with sage-like insights".[51]
In addition to the core cast, other characters appeared regularly for a majority of the strip's duration:
As well as the above, several other characters were introduced and then faded out of prominence during the strip's run:
Peanuts began as adaily strip on October 2, 1950, in seven newspapers:Minneapolis Tribune, the hometown newspaper of Schulz;The Washington Post;Chicago Tribune;The Denver Post;The Seattle Times; and two newspapers inPennsylvania,Evening Chronicle (Allentown) andGlobe-Times (Bethlehem).[66]
Schulz was required to draw the strip in four equally sized panels, to allow editors to run the strip horizontally, vertically, or 2-by-2.[67]
By October 1951, the strip appeared in 36 newspapers. Schulz sought to rival with other then-contemporary newspaper comics, such asPogo which appeared 80 newspapers at the time, andNancy which appeared in 400.[68]
Schroeder began playing his piano in September 1951, and revealed his love for Beethoven in November 26, 1951.[69]
Schulz began to draw a half-page formatSunday strip that first appeared in newspapers on January 6, 1952. The strip was in 40 newspapers in the US.[70]
The design of the characters quickly developed in the first two years of the strip, with less exaggerated proportions and slightly more realistic postures.[67]
In February 1952, Schulz indicated that the strip had reached a certain level stylistic maturity: Schulz recommended that very early strips should not be reprinted when book publisher Rinehart & Company proposed that the strips from 1950 and 1951 be collected into a book, where "characters were beginning to develop and the ideas were changing".[71]
Over the course of four years the strip began to syndicate outside of the US, being translated into Spanish and syndicated in Latin American countries with the titleCarlitos.[72]
On April 9, 1965,Peanuts became the subject of an edition ofTime magazine; the characters appeared on the front cover along with the title "The World According To Peanuts", signalling the strip's ascension in American culture.[73] The 1960s is generally considered to be the "golden age" for the strip.[22]
The strip appeared in 1,480 newspapers in the US by 1975, and in 175 outside the US.[74]
BeginningLeap Day, February 29, 1988, the four-panel format for the daily strip was discontinued in favor of a free-form horizontal format that offered Schulz more creative freedom; Schulz began to regularly draw three-panel strips, as well as two panel and single panel strips.[75] Schulz's pen lines during this period began to be rendered frazzled and wobbly due to him developing anessential tremor in his hand, resulting in the graphical style of strips being significantly different than earlier decades. While such a medical condition would normally justify hiring assistant artists, as was normal for other popular newspaper comic strips at the time, Schulz asserted his ideals of craftsmanship by continuing to draw the strip like this.[76]
Schulz announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.[76]
The last daily strip appeared on January 2, 2000. The last Sunday strip, concluding the strip as a whole, appeared on February 13, 2000. Schulz died in his sleep in hisSanta Rosa, California, home on February 12, the night before the last strip; commentators have noted the close timing of these two events as unusual.[2] Michaelis surmised, "To the very end, his life had been inseparable from his art. In the moment of ceasing to be a cartoonist, he ceased to be".[77]
Schulz received theNational Cartoonists Society Humor Comic Strip Award forPeanuts in 1962, theReuben Award in 1955 and 1964 (the first cartoonist to receive the honor twice), theElzie Segar Award in 1980, and theMilton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.A Charlie Brown Christmas won aPeabody Award and anEmmy;Peanuts cartoon specials have received a total of twoPeabody Awards and fourEmmys. For his work on the strip, Schulz has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame (as does Snoopy) and a place in theWilliam Randolph Hearst Cartoon Hall of Fame.Peanuts was featured on the cover ofTime on April 9, 1965, with the accompanying article calling it "the leader of a refreshing new breed that takes an unprecedented interest in the basics of life."[78]
The strip was declared second in a list of the "greatest comics of the 20th century" commissioned byThe Comics Journal in 1999.[79] The top-ranked comic wasGeorge Herriman'sKrazy Kat, a strip Schulz admired (and in fact was among his biggest inspirations), and he accepted the ranking in good grace, to the point of agreeing with it.[80] In 2002TV Guide declared Snoopy and Charlie Brown tied for 8th[81] in its list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time",[82] published to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
Schulz was included in the touring exhibition "Masters of American Comics". His work was described as "psychologically complex", and his style as "perfectly in keeping with the style of its times."[83]
Despite the widespread acclaimPeanuts has received, some critics have alleged a decline in quality in the later years of its run, as Schulz frequently digressed from the more cerebral socio-psychological themes that characterized his earlier work in favor of lighter, more whimsical fare. For example, in an essay published in theNew York Press at the time of the final daily strip in January 2000, "Against Snoopy",Christopher Caldwell argued that Snoopy, and the strip's increased focus on him in the 1970s, "went from being the strip's besetting artistic weakness to ruining it altogether".[84]
Many cartoonists who came after Schulz have cited his work as an influence, includingLynn Johnston,Patrick McDonnell, andCathy Guisewite,[85] the latter of whom stated, "A comic strip likemine would never have existed if Charles Schulz hadn't paved the way".[86]
The December 1997 issue ofThe Comics Journal featured an extensive collection of testimonials toPeanuts. Over 40 cartoonists, from mainstream newspaper cartoonists to underground, independent comic artists, shared reflections on the power and influence of Schulz's art.Gilbert Hernandez wrote, "Peanuts was and still is for me a revelation. It's mostly fromPeanuts where I was inspired to create the village of Palomar inLove and Rockets. Schulz's characters, the humor, the insight ... gush, gush, gush, bow, bow, bow, grovel, grovel, grovel ..."Tom Batiuk wrote: "The influence of Charles Schulz on the craft of cartooning is so pervasive it is almost taken for granted." Batiuk also described the depth of emotion inPeanuts: "Just beneath the cheerful surface were vulnerabilities and anxieties that we all experienced, but were reluctant to acknowledge. By sharing those feelings with us, Schulz showed us a vital aspect of our common humanity, which is, it seems to me, the ultimate goal of great art."[87]
Cartoon tributes have appeared in other comic strips since Schulz's death in 2000 and are often displayed at theCharles Schulz Museum.[88] On May 27, 2000, many cartoonists collaborated to include references toPeanuts in their strips. Originally planned as a tribute to Schulz's retirement, after his death that February, it became a tribute to his life and career. Similarly, on October 30, 2005, several comic strips again included references toPeanuts and specifically theIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown television special. On November 26, 2022, over 100 cartoonists included references to Peanuts and Charles Schulz in their strips to celebrate his 100th birthday.[89]
Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations inPeanuts as consistent with parts ofChristian theology and used them as illustrations in his lectures on the gospel, as explained in his bookThe Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several he wrote on religion,Peanuts, and popular culture.
Giant helium balloons of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Woodstock have been featured in the annualMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City since 1968. This was referred to in a 2008Super Bowl XLIIcommercial for Coca-Cola, in which the Charlie Brown balloon snags a Coca-Cola bottle from two battling balloons (Underdog andStewie Griffin). The Snoopy balloon appeared outside the window of Leonard Bernstein's Central Park West apartment in a scene in the movie Maestro, released in 2023.[90]
Snoopy has been the personal safety mascot for NASA astronauts since 1968,[91] and NASA issues aSilver Snoopy award to its employees or contractors' employees who promote flight safety. The black-and-white communications cap carrying anaudio headset worn since 1968 by theApollo,Skylab, andSpace Shuttle astronauts was commonly referred to as aSnoopy cap.[92]
TheApollo 10lunar module'scall sign wasSnoopy, and thecommand module's call sign wasCharlie Brown.[93] While not included in the mission logo, Charlie Brown and Snoopy became semi-official mascots for the mission.[94][95] Charles Schulz drew an original picture of Charlie Brown in a spacesuit that was hidden aboard the craft to be found by the astronauts once they were in orbit. This drawing is now on display at theKennedy Space Center.
The name of the Brazilian rock bandCharlie Brown Jr., formed in 1992, is named after the character Charlie Brown. The idea came about whenChorão, the band's lead singer, ran over a coconut water stand where there was an image of the character printed on the facade of the establishment.[96]
Peanuts on Parade isSt. Paul, Minnesota's tribute toPeanuts.[97] It began in 2000, with the placing of 101 five-foot-tall (1.5 m) statues of Snoopy throughout the city of Saint Paul. The statues were later auctioned at theMall of America inBloomington, Minnesota. In 2001, there was "Charlie Brown Around Town", 2002 brought "Looking for Lucy", and in 2003, "Linus Blankets Saint Paul".[98] Permanent bronze statues of the Peanuts characters are found in Landmark Plaza in downtown St. Paul.[99]
Peanuts characters, and Charles Schulz have been recognized several times in U.S. commemorative postage stamps. A Peanuts World War I Flying Ace U.S. stamp was released on May 17, 2001. The value was 34 cents, first class.[100] A Charlie Brown Christmas forever stamp was issued on October 2, 2015.[101] In 2022, the U.S. Postal Service commemorated the 100th anniversary of Schulz's birth with postage stamps honoring him "alongside his beloved characters".[102]
In 2001, theSonoma County Board of Supervisors renamed the Sonoma County Airport, located a few miles northwest of Santa Rosa, theCharles M. Schulz Airport in his honor. The airport's logo features Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace (goggles/scarf), taking to the skies on top of his red doghouse (theSopwith Camel). A bronze statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy stands in Depot Park in downtown Santa Rosa.[103]
ThePeanuts characters have been featured in many books over the years.[104][105] Some represented chronologicalreprints of the newspaper strip, while others were thematic collections such asSnoopy's Tennis Book, or collections of inspirational adages such asHappiness Is a Warm Puppy. Some single-story books were produced, such asSnoopy and the Red Baron. In addition, many of the animated television specials and feature films were adapted into book form.
The primary series of reprints was published byRinehart & Company (laterHolt, Rinehart and Winston) beginning in 1952, with the release of a collection simply titledPeanuts. This series, which presented the strips in rough chronological order (albeit with many strips omitted from each year) continued through the 1980s, after which reprint rights were handed off to various other publishers.Ballantine Books published the last original series ofPeanuts reprints, includingPeanuts 2000, which collected the final year of the strip's run.
Coinciding with these reprints were smaller paperback collections published byFawcett Publications. Drawing material from the main reprints, this paperback series began withThe Wonderful World of Peanuts in 1962 and continued throughLead On, Snoopy in 1992.
Charles Schulz had always resisted republication of the earliestPeanuts strips, as they did not reflect the characters as he eventually developed them. However, in 1997 he began talks withFantagraphics Books to have the entire run of the strip, which would end up with 17,897 strips in total, published chronologically in book form.[106] In addition to the post-millenniumPeanuts publications are BOOM! Studios restyling of the comics and activity books, and "First Appearances" series. Its content is produced by Peanuts Studio, subsequently an arm of Peanuts Worldwide LLC.
The entire run ofPeanuts, covering nearly 50 years of comic strips, was reprinted inFantagraphics'The Complete Peanuts, a 26-volume set published over a 12-year period, consisting of two years per volume published every May and October. The first volume (collecting strips from 1950 to 1952) was published in May 2004; the volume containing the final newspaper strips (including all the strips from 1999 and seven strips from 2000, along with the complete run ofLi'l Folks[107]) was published in May 2016,[108] with a twenty-sixth volume containing outside-the-daily-stripPeanuts material by Schulz appeared in the fall of that year. A companion series, titledPeanuts Every Sunday and presenting the complete Sunday strips in color (as the mainComplete Peanuts books reproduce them in black and white only), was issued in ten volumes published between December 2013 through November 2022.
In addition, almost allPeanuts strips are now also authoritatively available online atGoComics.com (there are some strips missing from the digital archive).Peanuts strips were previously featured onComics.com.
Several books have been released to commemorate key anniversaries ofPeanuts:
The strip was first adapted into animation inThe Tennessee Ernie Ford Show. A TV documentary,A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1963), featured newly animated segments, but it did not air due to not being able to find a channel willing to broadcast it.[110] It did, however, shape the team forA Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), a half-hour Christmas special broadcast onCBS. It was met with extensive critical success.[111] It was the first of aset ofPeanuts television specials (second counting the 1963 documentary), and forms a selection of holiday-themed specials which are aired annually in the US to the present day,[112][113] includingIt's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown[114] (1966), andA Charlie Brown Thanksgiving[115] (1973). The animated specials were significant to the cultural impact ofPeanuts; by 1972, they were remarked as being "among the most consistently popular television specials" and "regularly have been in the top 10 in the ratings".[116] Many of the specials were acquired byApple TV+ in 2020.[117] The first feature-length film,A Boy Named Charlie Brown, came in 1969,[118] and was one of four which were produced before the comic strip ended. A Saturday morning television series,The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show aired in 1983, each episode consisting of three or four segments dealing with plot lines from the strip.[119] An additional spin-off miniseries,This Is America, Charlie Brown, aired in 1988, exploring thehistory of the United States.[120]
The characters continue to be adapted into animation after the comic strip ended in 2000, with the latest television specialSnoopy Presents: A Summer Musical made in 2025. A series of cartoon shorts premiered oniTunes in 2008,Peanuts Motion Comics, which directly lifted themes and plot lines from the strip.[121] In 2014, the French networkFrance 3 debutedPeanuts by Schulz, a series of episodes each consisting of several roughly one-minute shorts bundled together.[122] The latest feature-length film,The Peanuts Movie, was released in 2015 by20th Century Fox andBlue Sky Studios.[123] ThreePeanuts Apple TV+ series,Snoopy in Space,The Snoopy Show, andCamp Snoopy both premiered in 2019, 2021, and 2024, respectively.[124][125][126][127] The characters also make a guest appearance inMariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special in 2020.[128] On November 6, 2023, a new feature film fromWildBrain (the company behind the recent Peanuts content since 2018) and Peanuts Worldwide was announced by Apple TV+. Production started in 2024.[129][130]
The albumA Charlie Brown Christmas was recorded in 1965, the original soundtrack from the animated television special of the same name.[131] It was performed by thejazz trio led by pianistVince Guaraldi.[132] It enjoys enduring critical, commercial, and cultural success; employing a sombre and whimsical style, songs such asChristmas Time Is Here evoke a muted and quiet melody,[132] and arrangements such as the traditional carolO Tannenbaum improvised in a light, off-center pace.[131] The album has continued popularity to the present day; writer Chris Barton for theLos Angeles Times praised it in 2013 as "one of the most beloved holiday albums recorded",[131] andAl Jazeera described it as "one of the most popular Christmas albums of all time".[133] The album was added to the national recording registry of theLibrary of Congress in 2012, being regarded as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important".[131]
The American rock bandThe Royal Guardsmen recorded four novelty songs from 1966 to 1968 as tributes to Snoopy. The first song was released as the singleSnoopy Vs. The Red Baron (1966), based on the storyline of Snoopy sitting atop his dog house imagining himself as a World War I pilot, battling the German flying aceThe Red Baron. The band would later release two more similar songs in 1967,Return of The Red Baron andSnoopy's Christmas. In 1968 they recordedSnoopy for President.[134]
The characters first appeared in live stage production in 1967 with the musicalYou're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, scored byClark Gesner. It is a collection of musical sketches, where the characters explore their identities and discover the feelings they have for each other.[135] The play was performedoff-broadway, as well as later being performed as a live telecast onNBC.[116] The play continued to have other professional performances, in the LondonWest End, and later aBroadway revival, while also being a popular choice of musical by amateur theater groups such as schools.[136]
A second musical premiered in 1975,Snoopy! The Musical, scored byLarry Grossman with lyrics byHal Hackady. A sequel toYou're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,Snoopy! is also a collection of musical sketches, though focused on Snoopy.[135] It was first performed in San Francisco,[137] and eventuallyoff-Broadway for 152 performances.[138]
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown andSnoopy!!! The Musical were both further adapted as animated television specials, respectively,in 1985[139] andin 1988.[135] Going in the opposite direction from animation to live production, is the 2016A Charlie Brown Christmas, based onthe 1965 animated television special. It is considered a generally faithful readaptation, although it features the additional characters Woodstock and Peppermint Patty who did not exist in the strip when the original was made.[140]
The characters from the comic have long beenlicensed for use onmerchandise, the success of the comic strip helping to create a market for such items. In 1958, the Hungerford Plastics Corporation created a set of fivevinyl dolls of the most famous characters (Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and Schroeder); they expanded this line in 1961 to make the dolls slightly larger and included Sally and Pig-Pen.[141] An early example of the characters appearing in promotional material was strips and illustrations drawn by Schulz for the 1955 instructional booklet for theKodak Brownie camera,The Brownie Book of Picture Taking.[142] Another early campaign was on behalf ofFord Motor Company; magazine illustrations, brochure illustrations, and animated television spots featuring the characters were used to promote theFord Falcon from January 1960 into 1964.[142] Schulz credited the Ford campaign as the first time where licensing the characters earned "a lot of money". However, he expressed a dislike of illustrating the adverts, describing it as "hard work" and would have preferred to dedicate equivalent effort to drawing theSunday format strips.[143]
Some licensing relationships were maintained long-term. Hallmark began printing greetings cards and party goods featuring the characters in 1960.[2] In the late 1960s,Sanrio held the licensing rights in Japan for Snoopy. Sanrio is best known forHello Kitty and its focus on thekawaii segment of the Japanese market.[144] Beginning in 1985, the characters were made mascots and served as spokespeople for theMetLife insurance company, with the intention to make the business "more friendly and approachable".[145] Schulz justified the licensing relationship with MetLife as necessary to financially support his philanthropic work, although refused to openly describe the exact details of the work he was financing.[146] In 2016, the 31-year licensing relationship with MetLife ended.[145] The relationship resumed in 2023 with Snoopy returning as a mascot for pet insurance.[147]
In 1999, it was estimated that there were 20,000 different new products each year adorning a variety of licensed items, such as: clothing, plush toys of Snoopy,Thermos bottles, lunch boxes, picture frames, and music boxes.[2] The familiarity of the characters also proved lucrative for advertising material in both print and television,[148] appearing on products such asDolly Madison snack cakes,Chex Mix snacks,Bounty paper towels,Kraft macaroni cheese andA&W Root Beer.[149]
The sheer extent to which the characters are used in licensed material is a subject of criticism against Schulz.Los Angeles Times pointed out that "some critics [say] Schulz was distracted by marketing demands, and his characters had become caricatures of themselves by shilling for Metropolitan Life Insurance, Dolly Madison cupcakes and others."[150] Schulz reasoned that his approach to licensing was in fact modest, stating "our [licensing] program is built upon characters who are figuratively alive" and "we're not simply stamping these characters out on the sides of products just to sell products" while also adding "Snoopy is so versatile he just seems to be able to fit into any role and it just works. It's not that we're out to clutter the market with products. In fact anyone saying we're overdoing it is way off base because actually we are underdoing it".[151]
The Peanuts characters have appeared in several video games, such asSnoopy in 1984 byRadarsoft,Snoopy: The Cool Computer Game byThe Edge,Snoopy and the Red Baron for theAtari 2600,Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular (1989,Nintendo Entertainment System),Snoopy's Magic Show (1990,Game Boy),Snoopy Tennis (2001,Game Boy Color),Snoopy Concert which was released in 1995 and sold to the Japanese market for theSuper NES, and in October 2006, a second game titledSnoopy vs. The Red Baron byNamco Bandai for the PlayStation 2. In July 2007, the Peanuts characters appeared in theSnoopy the Flying Ace mobile phone game by Namco Networks. In November 2015,Snoopy's Town Tale was launched for mobile byPixowl, featuring the entire Peanuts gang along with Snoopy and Charlie Brown.[152]
In 1980 (with a new edition published in 1990), theFunk & Wagnalls publishing house also produced a children's encyclopedia called theCharlie Brown's 'Cyclopedia. The 15-volume set features many of the Peanuts characters.
In April 2002,The Peanuts Collectors Edition Monopoly board game was released by USAopoly. The game was created by Justin Gage, a friend of Charles and Jeannie Schulz. Gage dedicated the game to Schulz in memory of his passing.[153]
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In 1983,Knott's Berry Farm, in Southern California, was the first theme park to license thePeanuts characters, creating the firstCamp Snoopy area and making Snoopy the park's mascot. Knott's expanded its operation in 1992 by building an indoor amusement park in theMall of America, calledKnott's Camp Snoopy. The Knott's theme parks were acquired by the national amusement park chainCedar Fair LP in 1997, which continued to operateKnott's Camp Snoopy park until the mall took over its operation in March 2005.[154] Cedar Fair had already licensed thePeanuts characters for use in 1992 as an atmosphere,[155] so its acquisition of Knott's Berry Farm did not alter the use of those characters. In 2024, Cedar Fair merged withSix Flags, resulting in the latter inheriting the Peanuts characters license.
Snoopy is currently one of the official mascots of theSix Flags parks, primarily in the former Cedar Fair operated areas. It was previously used in all of the park logos but it has since been removed. Before 2011, Cedar Fair also operated a Camp Snoopy area atDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom,Worlds of Fun, andValleyfair featuring variousPeanuts-themed attractions. There is still a Camp Snoopy area atCedar Point,Carowinds,Kings Island, Knott's Berry Farm andMichigan's Adventure.
In 2008,Cedar Point introducedPlanet Snoopy, a children's area where Peanuts Playground used to be. This area consists of family and children's rides relocated from Cedar Point's sister parkGeauga Lake after its closing. The rides are inspired by Peanuts characters. In 2010, theNickelodeon Central andNickelodeon Universe areas in the formerParamount Parks (California's Great America,Canada's Wonderland,Carowinds,Kings Dominion, andKings Island) were replaced byPlanet Snoopy. In 2011, Cedar Fair announced it would also add Planet Snoopy toValleyfair,Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, andWorlds of Fun, replacing the Camp Snoopy areas. ″Carowinds″ Planet Snoopy was rethemed to Camp Snoopy.
Also, thePeanuts characters can be found atUniversal Studios Japan in the Universal Wonderland section along with the characters fromSesame Street andHello Kitty,[156] and in the Snoopy's World in Hong Kong.
An exhibition in partnership with theCharles M. Schulz Museum titledGood Grief, Charlie Brown! Celebrating Snoopy and the Enduring Power of Peanuts opened atSomerset House in London on 25 October 2018, running until 3 March 2019. The exhibition brought togetherCharles M. Schulz's original Peanuts cartoons with work from a wide range of acclaimed contemporary artists and designers inspired by the cartoon.[157]
There is a trail called A Dog's Trail AcrossCardiff,Caerphilly andPorthcawl. The trail featuresSnoopy from Peanuts.[158]
On June 3, 2010, United Media sold all its Peanuts-related assets, including its strips and branding, to a new company,Peanuts Worldwide LLC, a joint venture of theIconix Brand Group (which owned 80 percent) and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates (20 percent). In addition, United Media sold its United Media Licensing arm, which represents licensing for its other properties, to Peanuts Worldwide.[159][160] United Feature Syndicate continued to syndicate the strip, until February 27, 2011, whenUniversal Uclick took over syndication, ending United Media's 60-plus-year stewardship of Peanuts.[161]
In May 2017, Canada-based DHX Media (nowWildBrain) announced that it would acquire Iconix's entertainment brands, including the 80% stake of Peanuts Worldwide and full rights to theStrawberry Shortcake brand, for $345 million.[162] DHX officially took control of the properties on June 30, 2017.[163]
On May 13, 2018, DHX announced it had reached a strategic agreement in whichSony Music Entertainment Japan (whose consumer products division has been a licensing agent for the Peanuts brand since 2010) would acquire 49% of its 80% stake in Peanuts Worldwide for $185 million, with DHX holding a 41% stake and SMEJ owning 39%.[164] The transaction was completed on July 23.[165] Two months after the sale's completion, DHX eliminated the rest of its debt by signing a five-year, multi-million-dollar agency agreement withCAA-GBG Global Brand Management Group (a brand management joint venture betweenCreative Artists Agency and Hong Kong-basedGlobal Brands Group) to represent the Peanuts brand in China and the rest of Asia excluding Japan.[166][167][168]
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