Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, the creator of the comic strip Peanuts which features his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists in history, and cited by many cartoonists as a major influence, including Jim Davis, Murray Ball, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey.
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.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. The third Peanuts special, and the second holiday-themed special, to be created, it was written by Schulz along with director/animator Bill Melendez and producer Lee Mendelson. The cast included Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea as Linus Van Pelt, Sally Dryer as Lucy Van Pelt, and Melendez as Snoopy. The special features music composed by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, whose contributions include the theme song "Linus and Lucy". It aired on broadcast television every year from its debut in 1966 until 2020 when it became an Apple TV+ exclusive.
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.
Rerun Van Pelt is Linus and Lucy's younger brother in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. Lucy Van Pelt, his sister, disparagingly calls the situation a "rerun" of the birth of her brother Linus, so Linus nicknames the child "Rerun". Despite Lucy's disappointment, she becomes a warm and protective older sister.
Frieda is a fictional character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She is known for having naturally curly hair, of which she is extremely proud.
Woodstock is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. He is a small yellow bird of unknown species and Snoopy's best friend. The character first appeared in the March 4, 1966, strip, though he was not given a name until June 22, 1970. He is named after the Woodstock festival of 1969.
Snoopy Come Home is a 1972 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Bill Melendez and written by Charles M. Schulz, based on the Peanuts comic strip. Marking the on-screen debut of Woodstock, who had first appeared in the strip in 1967, the main plot was based on a storyline from August 1968. The only Peanuts film during composer Vince Guaraldi’s lifetime without a score composed by him, its music was composed by the Sherman Brothers, who composed the music for various Disney films like Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
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.
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown is the fifth prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally broadcast on the CBS network on February 14, 1968.
Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown is the 20th prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on the CBS network on October 24, 1980. The special won an Emmy Award in 1981 for Outstanding Animated Program.
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.
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is the 43rd prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. The special first aired on ABC on December 9, 2003. The special is about Linus and Lucy's younger brother, Rerun, wanting a pet dog for Christmas.
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is the 41st prime-time animated TV special based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It originally aired on ABC December 8, 2002. It was thereafter broadcast each Christmas season after that through to 2019 as a companion segment in an hour-long slot featuring an unedited version of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown is the 39th and last animated special produced under the supervision of Charles M. Schulz. Based on characters from the comic strip Peanuts, it was originally released exclusively in VHS and DVD formats on September 12, 2000, seven months after Schulz's death.
Snoopy! The Musical is the 31st prime-time animated TV special based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It is an animated adaptation of the musical of the same name, and originally aired on the CBS network on January 29, 1988.
Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. He also appears in all of the Peanuts films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the comic strip and is considered more famous than Charlie Brown in some countries. The original drawings of Snoopy were inspired by Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs.
Weapon Brown is a 2002 comic book published by Death Ray Graphics and written by Jason Yungbluth, the author of Deep Fried, an anthology comic also published by Death Ray Graphics, in which the Weapon Brown character and story first appeared split across four issues in a story called A Peanut Scorned. The entire story was compiled from these four issues of Deep Fried, had new content added, and was then released as a one-shot issue in December 2002.
Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown is the 45th Peanuts animated television special, released in 2011. It was the final network TV special based on the comic strip, before the franchise moved to Apple TV+ in 2020. The special is the first one produced without Bill Melendez on the production team, following his death in 2008. It is also the first special without the direct involvement of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, Lee Mendelson Productions or Bill Melendez Productions. In addition, it is the first Peanuts special produced in part under Warner Bros. Television, which holds the home media distribution rights to the Peanuts specials.
