Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Peanuts. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, cited by cartoonists including Jim Davis, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey.
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz that ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, and 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". By the time of Schulz's death in 2000, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of around 355 million in 75 countries, and was 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.
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 reluctant to go out because his day might just be spoiled, but on others, he hopes for the best and tries as much as he can to accomplish things. He is easily recognized by his trademark zigzag patterned shirt.
Linus Van Pelt is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy Van Pelt and older brother of Rerun Van Pelt. He first appeared on September 19, 1952, but was not mentioned by name until three days later. He was first referred to two months earlier, on July 14. Linus spoke his first words in 1954, the same year he was first shown with his security blanket.
Rerun Van Pelt is Linus and Lucy's youngest 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.
Schroeder is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. He is distinguished by his prodigious skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of classical music and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in particular. Schroeder is also the catcher on Charlie Brown's baseball team, though he is usually seen walking back to the pitcher's mound with the baseball, never throwing it—admitting in one strip he did not want the other team to discover his lack of ability. He is also the object of the unrequited infatuation of Lucy van Pelt, who constantly leans on Schroeder's piano, much to Schroeder's annoyance. Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus and Snoopy are occasionally depicted leaning on Schroeder's piano.
Lucille “Lucy” Van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is characterized as a "fussbudget", crabby, bossy and opinionated girl who bullies most other characters in the strip, particularly Linus and Charlie Brown.
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 with another early character, Patty on the curb, 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.
Sally Brown is a fictional character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She is the younger sister of main character Charlie Brown. She was first mentioned in May 1959 and throughout a long series of strips before her first appearance in August 1959. Cathy Steinberg was the first to voice Sally in 1965 for the CBS special A Charlie Brown Christmas; she was six years old at the time.
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.
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 the CBS network on April 16, 1984.
A Charlie Brown Celebration is the 23rd prime-time animated television special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, who introduced the hour-long special. It was originally aired on the CBS network on May 24, 1982, and consists of a number of stories adapted from the comic strip.
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown is the 36th prime-time animated TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on the CBS network on November 27, 1992.
You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown is the 37th prime-time animated television special based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. It premiered on January 18, 1994 on NBC. It was the last new Peanuts special to air on television until A Charlie Brown Valentine in 2002, and the last before Schulz's death in 2000.
Snoopy: The Musical is the 31st prime-time animated TV specials, 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.
He's a Bully, Charlie Brown is the 44th prime-time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the ABC network on November 20, 2006. It is the second most recent Peanuts television special and is primarily based on a story from the Peanuts comic strips originally appearing in April 1995. He's a Bully, Charlie Brown was an idea Schulz had pitched, and worked on before his death on February 12, 2000. Schulz's working title for the special was It's Only Marbles, Charlie Brown. Animation was produced by Toon-Us-In.
Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown is a 1986 American animated short film directed and animated by Jim Reardon, who would later become director and storyboard consultant for The Simpsons, and one of the co-writers of the Oscar-winning 2008 animated feature film, WALL-E. The cartoon was made while he was at CalArts. This cartoon, done entirely in black-and-white, has a rough, unfinished-looking style.
Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the Peanuts movies 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.
Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown is a Peanuts animated television special that was released in 2011. The special is the 45th Peanuts special and the first produced without Bill Melendez on the production team. 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.
