Oscalress Animated Films Part 8

Oscalress Animated Films Part 8: The Peanuts Movie (2015)

Today, I will not only be talking about The Peanuts Movie. I will also talk about one of the most celebrated, talented, and influential cartoonists of the 20th Century: Charles Monroe Schulz.

Charles Schulz (or Sparky, named after a comic book character called Spark Plug) got his start on cartooning in 1947 with a comic strip called Li'l Folks. It was a bit of an early ancestor to the Peanuts comics.

In 1950, the very first Peanuts comic strip made its debut.

The characters looked very different than how we know them today. And believe it or not, characters like Schroeder, Lucy and Linus van Pelt, and Sally Brown made their debuts as babies!

However, they would all eventually be aged to Charlie Brown's age.

Another notable difference to point out is that Snoopy was a regular dog. He wouldn't become anthropomorphic until the late 1960s.

Peanuts soon became popular worldwide. In 1965, Sparky teamed up with animators Bill Melendez and Lee Mendleson and created the first Peanuts TV special: A Charlie Brown Christmas.
 

In the next couple of decades, Sparky would work with Melendez and Mendleson on more TV specials, like It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975), and She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown (1980). There were also four theatrical movies: A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969), Snoopy, Come Home (1972), Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977), and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (1980).
 

Then, on February 11th, 2000, after creating nearly 18,000 Peanuts comic strips, Charles Schulz passed away at the age of 77. However, Melendez would be involved with two more Peanuts specials before his death in 2008: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003) and He's a Bully, Charlie Brown (2006). They may not be perfect, but the latter was better than other animated TV shows at the time.

Fast-forward to 2015: Television is now populated with more mature cartoons like Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe, and Gravity Falls, just to name a few. Many 21st century kids probably won't have an interest in characters like Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy or Linus van Pelt, or Peppermint Patty. However, in November of that year, it would all change: Blue Sky Studios, who perfectly brought beloved hand-drawn characters to 3D with Horton Hears a Who, was assigned to make a feature-length 3D Peanuts movie, simply called 'The Peanuts Movie'. Unlike other animated movies that year, instead of being about a half-blood vampire child who idols a Muppet spoof, banana-loving Twinkies, multicolored emotions in an 11-year-old girl's brain, or a sheep venturing into the big city, The Peanuts Movie was about human children with oblong-shaped heads. It introduced the Peanuts gang to a new generation of kids.

The Peanuts Movie became Blue Sky's best-reviewed movie to date, and grossed more money and earned better reviews than Pixar's other film that year, The Good Dinosaur.

Sparky's influence can be seen in several contemporary cartoons. In the Nicktoon Doug, the titular character has a dog named Porkchop, who acts a bit like Snoopy.

Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki in Hey Arnold are similar to Charlie Brown and Lucy van Pelt respectively, though Arnold isn't a jinx like Chuck (a nickname Charlie Brown would be given).

There are several references and homages to Peanuts in The Loud House, even going as far as sneaking this particular gag in one episode.
 

And Jonny 2x4 in Ed, Edd n Eddy, is similar to Linus van Pelt, though he's no where near as sophisticated as Linus.

I would like to conclude this week's Oscarless Animated Films by saying thank you to Blue Sky Studios, for staying extremely true to Sparky's work. Please let your next feature, Ferdinand, rank among The Peanuts Movie.
That's all I have to say about this week's Oscarless Animated Feature. Tune in next week when I talk about one of Hayao Mizayaki's most kid-friendly movies since My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo!