Franklin | |
---|---|
Peanuts character | |
First appearance | July 31, 1968 |
Last appearance | November 5, 1999 (Peanuts comic strip) |
Voiced by | Various voice actors See below |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Franklin is a fictional character in the comic strip Peanuts , created by Charles M. Schulz. Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first black character in the strip. [1] He is the second person of color to appear in the strip, debuting a year after José Peterson, a polite, biracial athlete of Mexican and Swedish ancestry who was introduced in 1967. [2] [3] Franklin goes to school with Peppermint Patty and Marcie.
In his first appearance, he met Charlie Brown when they were both at the beach. [4] Franklin's father was a soldier fighting in Vietnam, to which Charlie Brown replied "My dad's a barber... he was in a war too, but I don't know which one." Franklin later paid Charlie Brown a visit and found some of Charlie Brown's other friends to be quite odd. His last appearance in the Peanuts comic strip was on November 5, 1999, three months before Schulz's death. [5]
While his surname is never confirmed in the comic strip, some animated specials, beginning with You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown , give his full name as Franklin Armstrong. Schulz chose the surname as a nod to African-American cartoonist Robb Armstrong, who would later contribute to Welcome Home, Franklin , a direct-to-Internet special based around the character.
A Los Angeles schoolteacher named Harriet Glickman wrote to Schulz on April 15, 1968 (11 days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.), urging him to introduce a black character into Peanuts. [6] On April 26, Schulz wrote back, saying that he had thought about this, but was afraid of "patronizing our Negro friends." [7] This began a correspondence between Schulz and Glickman that led to Schulz's creation of Franklin. [8] [9] In an interview in 1997, Schulz discussed receiving a letter from a Southern editor "who said something about, 'I don't mind you having a black character, but please don't show them in school together.' Because I had shown Franklin sitting in front of Peppermint Patty... I didn't even answer him." [10]
In a 1988 interview, he recounted other negative reactions towards the integration of Franklin with the white characters. “I finally put Franklin in, and there was one strip where Charlie Brown and Franklin had been playing on the beach, and Franklin said, ‘Well, it’s been nice being with you, come on over to my house some time.’ Again, they didn’t like that.” Schulz argued with Larry Rutman, president of King Features Syndicate at the time (distributor of Peanuts comic strips to newspapers). Schulz said, “I remember telling Larry at the time about Franklin—he wanted me to change it, and we talked about it for a long while on the phone, and I finally sighed and said, “Well, Larry, let’s put it this way: Either you print it just the way I draw it or I quit. How’s that?” [11] Franklin's skin color was mentioned in The Charlie Brown Dictionary, a picture dictionary using the Peanuts characters; he was referred to in the definition of "black" in showing a picture of him talking on the telephone, where the color of the telephone is black. The description also says that "black may also refer to Franklin's skin tone, which is also known as a Negro person." [12]
In his initial appearances, Franklin seemed confused by all the strange things in Charlie Brown's neighborhood, especially Linus and his obsession with the Great Pumpkin. Schulz said of Franklin's first appearance, July 31, 1968, when he met Charlie Brown at the beach, "They'd never met before because they went to different schools," adding, "but they had fun playing ball so Charlie Brown invited Franklin to visit him." [13] Franklin quoted the Old Testament, and had no anxieties or obsessions. [13] Franklin and Charlie Brown also enjoyed sharing stories about their grandfathers.
In the animated films and television specials, Franklin is shown to be a skilled dancer. He leads Marcie in a waltz in Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown , performs an elaborate break-dancing routine in It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown , and performs another break-dancing number (while also rapping) in It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown . Franklin also seems to possess some musical ability as he is shown playing instruments from time to time. In the holiday special Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! , he is shown playing the guitar at Peppermint Patty's New Year's party.
As a permanent character of the comic strip, Franklin is also a frequent character in the animated Peanuts television specials and movies. Unlike most characters, however, he did not appear in animation until the 1970s with his debut being a silent role in the 1972 movie Snoopy Come Home at Snoopy's farewell party. His first speaking role is in the 1973 special There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown , in which he is voiced by Todd Barbee.
In a Weekend Update commentary on a 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live , Chris Rock, who hyperbolically stated that Franklin had not said a single word for 25 years, related his own childhood experience as the only black student in his grade school class. [14] In another Saturday Night Live cold opening in February 2000, the Saturday after Schulz's death, Tim Meadows portrayed a grown-up Franklin (with facial appliances to make his head look as round as the comic strip), eulogizing Schulz on Nightline , saying, "Charles Schulz understood regardless of race, we're all the same; we have heads as large as our bodies, and our mouths disappear when we turn sideways."
In the 1994 animated television special You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown , Franklin's full name is given as Franklin Armstrong. According to Robb Armstrong, the African-American creator of the comic strip Jump Start , Schulz called him during the special's production and asked if he could make "Armstrong" Franklin's last name, and Robb Armstrong, considering it a "tremendous honor", gave his permission. [15] Since this surname is never mentioned in the comic strip (nor in any other special for three decades), it is generally considered to be outside of Peanuts canon. [16]
Franklin reappeared as a supporting character in 2015's The Peanuts Movie .
In November 2020, BBC Radio 4 broadcast Franklin, [17] a radio play based around Schulz's creation of Franklin.
In February 2024, Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin , [18] a special revolving around Franklin's introduction to Charlie Brown and his friends, was released. Robb Armstrong continued his contributions to Franklin's legacy by co-writing the special, which again gives his surname as Armstrong. [19]
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. Peanuts is among the most popular and influential in the history of comic strips, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being". 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. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States, and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion. In 2015, a movie adaptation was released by Blue Sky Studios.
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip Peanuts, syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown is one of the great American archetypes and a popular and widely recognized cartoon character. Charlie Brown is characterized as a person who frequently suffers, and as a result, is usually nervous and lacks self-confidence. He shows both pessimistic and optimistic attitudes: on some days, he is apprehensive to even get out of bed because he is unable to face the world, but on others, he hopes to accomplish things and is determined to do his best. Charlie Brown is easily recognized by his round head and trademark zigzag patterned shirt. His catchphrase is "Good Grief!"
Peppermint Patty is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. Her full name, very rarely used in the strip, is Patricia Reichardt. She is one of a small group in the strip who live across town from Charlie Brown and his school friends. She has freckles and "mousy-blah" hair, and generally displays the characteristics of a tomboy. She made her first appearance on August 22, 1966. The following year she made her animated debut in the TV special You're in Love, Charlie Brown and began coaching a baseball team that played against Charlie Brown, and thereafter had other adventures with him. Uniquely, she refers to Charlie Brown and Lucy as "Chuck" and "Lucille", respectively. In most of her appearances, she is attracted to Charlie Brown, based on her reactions. Her birthday is October 4.
Marcie is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.
Shermy is a fictional character from the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles Schulz. Schulz named him after a friend from high school. When Peanuts made its debut on October 2, 1950, Shermy sat on the curb with another early character, Patty, and spoke the first lines of dialogue, ending with "Good ol' Charlie Brown ... How I hate him!" which is ironic, considering how he became one of Charlie Brown's closest friends, along with Linus van Pelt and Schroeder.
Patty is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Patty was formerly a major character whose role was reduced in later years; she never developed a distinct personality like Lucy or Sally. She is sometimes confused with Peppermint Patty, a different and later character with a similar name. Patty appeared in the first Peanuts strip, with Shermy and Charlie Brown, on October 2, 1950.
The Little Red-Haired Girl is an unseen character in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, who serves as the object of Charlie Brown's affection, and a symbol of unrequited love. The character was first mentioned in the strip on November 19, 1961.
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown is a 1980 American animated mystery comedy film produced by United Feature Syndicate and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman. It was the fourth full-length feature film to be based on the Peanuts comic strip and the final one produced during Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz's lifetime.
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown is the 27th prime-time animated musical television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on April 16, 1984.
A Charlie Brown Celebration is the 23rd prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, who appears in a live-action prologue, and the first hour-long special. It originally aired on the CBS network on May 24, 1982, and consists of a number of stories adapted from the comic strip.
Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown is a prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on January 5, 1979.
Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown is the 28th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on March 20, 1985.
A Charlie Brown Valentine is the 40th animated television special based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It features the Peanuts characters during the week leading up to Valentine's Day. It is the second Valentine's Day-themed Peanuts special, following Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975).
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown is the 36th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1992.
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Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin or simply Welcome Home, Franklin is a 2024 animated television special in the Peanuts franchise, the first to center on the African-American character of Franklin Armstrong. The character, introduced in the comic strip on July 31, 1968, was the first Black character in the strip. The special was co-written by Robb Armstrong, Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano from a story by Armstrong and Scott Montgomery, and was directed by Emmy-winner Raymond S. Persi, with Caleb Bellavance starring in the title role. The film was released during Black History Month of 2024.