Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown | |
---|---|
Peanuts character | |
First appearance | May 30, 1948 (first mention) October 2, 1950 (official debut) |
Last appearance | February 13, 2000 (comic strip) February 6, 2000 (final new drawing appearance) |
Created by | Charles M. Schulz |
Voiced by | Various voice actors See below |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Family | Sally Brown (younger sister) Unnamed parents Silas Brown (paternal grandfather) Unnamed paternal grandmother Unnamed aunt Unnamed uncle Snoopy (pet) |
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the
The character's creator, Charles M. Schulz, said that Charlie Brown "has to be the one who suffers, because he is a caricature of the average person. Most of us are much more acquainted with losing than we are with winning."[1] Despite this, Charlie Brown does not always suffer, as he has experienced some happy moments and victories through the years, and he has sometimes uncharacteristically shown self-assertiveness despite his frequent nervousness. Schulz also said: "I like to have Charlie Brown eventually be the focal point of almost every story."[2] Charlie Brown is the only Peanuts character to have appeared regularly in the strip throughout its entire 50-year run.
Charlie Brown is eight years old for most of the strip's floating timeline. Initially, he suggests he lives in an apartment, with his grandmother occupying the one above his; a few years into the strip, he moves to a house with a backyard.[4] He is always referred to as "Charlie Brown" and never simply "Charlie" by most of the other characters in the strip, including his sister, Sally (who also refers to him as "big brother") and Snoopy, his dog (who sometimes calls him "the round-headed kid"), with the exception of Peppermint Patty and Marcie who address him as "Chuck" and "Charles" respectively.
History
1940s–1950s
The character's name was first used on May 30, 1948, in an early Schulz comic strip titled
Charlie Brown's relationships with other Peanuts characters initially differed significantly from their later states, and their concepts were grown up through this decade until they reached their more-established forms. An example is his relationship with
On May 30, 1951, Charlie Brown is introduced to
In early 1959, Charlie Brown (and other Peanuts characters) made his first animated appearances after they were sponsored by the Ford Motor Company in commercials for its automobiles, as well as for intros to The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show. The ads were animated by Bill Melendez for Playhouse Pictures, a cartoon studio that had Ford as a client.[citation needed]
1960s
In the 1960s, the Peanuts comic strip entered what most readers consider to be its Golden Age, reaching its peak in popularity, becoming well-known in numerous countries, with the strip reaching 355 million readers.[15]
In 1965, the
The success of A Charlie Brown Christmas was followed by the creation of a second CBS television special,
The stage adaptation of a concept album titled You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, based on Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and Patty, went into rehearsal in New York City on February 10, 1967. Prior to its opening, the musical had no actual libretto; it was several vignettes with dialogue adapted from Peanuts strips and a musical number for each one.[20] Since Patty was such a weakly defined character in Schulz's strip, she became a composite character in the musical, with much of her material originating with Violet and Frieda in the strip.[citation needed] On March 7, 1967, the musical premiered off-Broadway at Theatre 80 in the East Village, featuring Gary Burghoff as Charlie Brown.[20]
On December 4, 1969, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, the first feature length animated film based on Peanuts was released. The film was a box office success, earning 6 million dollars at the box office, against its 1 million dollar budget. The film was generally well received by critics.
Charlie Brown and Snoopy reached new heights on May 18, 1969, when they became the names of the
1970s
During the 1970s, Charlie Brown appeared in twelve Peanuts television specials that were produced as a result of the success of the earlier TV specials. Charlie Brown also appeared in two animated feature films (Snoopy Come Home and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, released on August 9, 1972, and August 24, 1977, respectively).[citation needed]
1980s
Fourteen more Peanuts television specials were produced in the 1980s, two of which were musicals (one is the animated version of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown).[citation needed]
Another full-length animated Peanuts film, titled Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) was released on May 30, 1980.[24][25]
1990s
Six television specials featuring Charlie Brown were produced during this decade.[citation needed]
Within the comic strip, a storyline got Charlie Brown the character Peggy Jean as a girlfriend; this relationship lasted for roughly nine years.[citation needed]
Final comic strip appearance
Charlie Brown made his final appearance in the very last original Peanuts strip, which was published on February 13, 2000—the day following Schulz's death. Despite ending its original run in 2000, repeats of the comic strip are still being published as of 2024. [26]
Post-comic strip appearances
After the comic strip ended, Charlie Brown continued to appear in more television specials. On November 20, 2006, the special He's a Bully, Charlie Brown beat a Madonna concert special with its 10 million views, although Peanuts was no longer in its heyday. As of 2016, the latest of Charlie Brown's original television appearances is Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, which came out on October 1, 2011.[citation needed]
The Peanuts Movie
An animated film starring Charlie Brown,
The film received largely positive reviews from critics[28][29] and audiences alike,[30] and grossed $246 million worldwide against its $99 million budget,[31] making it a box office success.
Inspiration
Charlie Brown's traits and experiences are inspired by those of Schulz, who admitted in interviews that he'd often felt shy and withdrawn in his life. In an interview on Charlie Rose in May 1997, Schulz observed: "I suppose there's a melancholy feeling in a lot of cartoonists, because cartooning, like all other humor, comes from bad things happening."[32] Furthermore, both Charlie Brown's and Schulz's fathers were barbers and their mothers housewives. Charlie Brown's friends, such as Linus and Shermy, were named after good friends of Schulz, and Peppermint Patty was inspired by Patricia Swanson, one of Schulz's cousins on his mother's side. Schulz devised the character's name when he saw peppermint candies in his house.[33][34] Even Charlie Brown's unrequited love for the Little Red-Haired Girl was inspired by Schulz's own love for Donna Mae Johnson, an Art Instruction Inc. accountant. When Schulz finally proposed to her in June 1950, shortly after he'd made his first contract with his syndicate, she turned him down and married another man.
Personality
Charlie Brown is a shy, meek, kind, innocent, gentle-hearted character with many anxieties.[35][36]
Charlie Brown is normally referred to by his full name (with the exceptions of
Charlie Brown cares very deeply for his family and friends, even if he was maltreated by them. His care for his sister is shown on a strip from May 26, 1959,[39] when he reacts to the birth of his sister Sally by exclaiming "A BABY SISTER?! I'M A FATHER! I mean my DAD's a father! I'm a brother! I have a baby sister! I'm a brother!" Two strips later, Charlie Brown continues the celebration of her birth by handing over chocolate cigars to his friends. When Charlie Brown was maltreated by his companions (most often Lucy, Violet and Patty), he does not usually take out his anger on them, but often retaliates and even manages to turn the tables. An example is a strip from 1951, which features Violet and Patty telling Charlie Brown that they are not going to invite him to their party, with Charlie Brown replying that he does not wish to go to their "dumb ol' party" anyway, leading the two girls to invite him.
Christopher Caldwell has stated that "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, and his willingness to do so by exposing himself to humiliations is the dramatic engine that drives the strip. The greatest of Charlie Brown's virtues is his resilience, which is to say his courage. Charlie Brown is ambitious. He manages the baseball team. He's the pitcher, not a scrub. He may be a loser, but he's, strangely, a leader at the same time. This makes his mood swings truly bipolar in their magnificence: he vacillates not between kinda happy and kinda unhappy, but between being a "hero" and being a "goat"."[2]
Birthday and age
Charlie Brown's age is neither normally specified nor consistently given. His birthday occurs in the strip published on October 30, 1950.[40] He is four years old in a strip published November 3, 1950.[41] He aged slowly over the next two decades of the strip's floating timeline, being six years old as of November 17, 1957, and "eight-and-a-half years old" by July 11, 1979. Other references continue to peg Charlie Brown as being approximately eight years old.[42] A strip published on April 3, 1971, suggests he was born around 1963 (setting up the gag that when he is 21, it will be 1984).[43]
Voice actors
- Peter Robbins (1963–1969)
- Chris Inglis (1971)
- Chad Webber (1972–1973)
- Todd Barbee (1973–1974)
- Duncan Watson (1975–1977)
- Dylan Beach (1976)
- Arrin Skelley (1977–1980)
- Liam Martin (1978)
- Michael Mandy (1980–1982)
- Grant Wehr (1981)
- Brad Kesten (1983–1985)
- Michael Catalano (1983)
- Brett Johnson (1984–1986)
- Kevin Brando (1984–1985; singing voice)[44]
- Chad Allen (1986)
- Sean Colling (1988)
- Erin Chase (1988–1989)
- Jason Riffle (1988)
- Susan Sheridan (1988; Nationwide Building Society commercial)[45]
- Kaleb Henley (1990)
- Phillip Shafran (1991)
- Justin Shenkarow (1992)
- Jamie E. Smith (1992)
- Jimmy Guardino (1993)
- Steven Hartman (1995–1997)
- Quinn Beswick (2000)
- Miles Purinton (2002)[46]
- Wesley Singerman (2002–2003)
- Adam Taylor Gordon (2003)
- Spencer Robert Scott (2006)
- John Adam Plenge (2007)
- Alex Ferris (2008–2010)
- Trenton Rogers (2011)
- Tony Terraciano (2013–2015; MetLife commercials)[47]
- Noah Schnapp (2015)
- Kelly Jean Badgley (2015; Teleflora commercial)[48]
- Aiden Lewandowski (2016)
- Gaston Scardovi-Mounier (2018–2019)
- Ethan Pugiotto (2019–2022)
- Tyler James Nathan (2021-2023)
- Etienne Kellici (2021,2022,2023-present)
Reception
Charlie Brown, along with Snoopy, was ranked eighth on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.[49]
Shrine of the Eternals
Charlie Brown was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2017.[50] Similar in concept to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, criteria for inclusion in the Shrine of the Eternals differs in that statistical achievement is not a primary consideration for induction,[51] and fictional characters are eligible for induction.[51] Charlie Brown was the first fictional character inducted to the Shrine.
References
- ISBN 0-03-015081-7
- ^ a b "Against Snoopy". StrausMedia. Christopher Caldwell. January 4, 2000. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ "Super Bowl XLIX: From TV specials to 'The Peanuts Movie,' why Charlie Brown's football pratfall is a comedy classic". Washington Post. February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for December 25, 1950". GoComics. December 25, 1950.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (November 3, 1950). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 03, 1950 | GoComics.com". GoComics.
- ISBN 978-1-4197-1639-3.
- ^ "Peanuts cartoon 06 March 1951". March 6, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts comic strip 07 February 1951". February 7, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts comic strip 16 August 1951". August 16, 1951. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts cartoon 30 May 1951". May 30, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts cartoon 1 June 1951". June 1, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts cartoon 30 May 1951". September 24, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts cartoon 10 October 1951". October 10, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts comic strip 26 November 1951". November 26, 1951. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "60 interesting facts about Charles Schulz". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. November 24, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Whoopi Goldberg, Lee Mendelson; et al. (2004). The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
- ^ Solomon 2013, p. 49.
- ^ Bang 2012, p. 190.
- ^ Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown back on public TV after a year away". CNET. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ a b "FAQ Part II: Composers & Writers and their works - You're A Good Man Charlie Brown". juglans.demons.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ^ "Newsroom for February 14, 2000", CNN, retrieved October 12, 2007
- ^ "Snoopy on Apollo 10". Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
- ^ "Charlie Brown and Snoopy at Apollo 10 Mission Control". Archived from the original on June 19, 2001. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
- ^ Melendez, Bill; Roman, Phil (May 30, 1980), Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) (Animation, Adventure, Comedy), Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Bill Melendez Productions, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, retrieved March 14, 2022
- ^ "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ Berman, Marc (February 13, 2021). "Today in History: The Last 'Peanuts' Comic Strip Appears in 2000". Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ Cavna, Michael (April 7, 2014). "You're a Good Plan, Charlie Brown: A peek into the meticulous vision behind 2015's 'Peanuts' feature film". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
- ^ "The Peanuts Movie (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "The Peanuts Movie reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 9, 2015). "'Spectre' $70.4M Opening: Still 2nd Highest 007 Debut Behind 'Skyfall', But Not That Far From 'Quantum Of Solace' – Monday AM". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "The Peanuts Movie (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ^ Kleon, Austin (October 17, 2007). "Charles Schulz on Charlie Rose". austinkleon.com.
- ^ "Charlie Brown was the name of one of ...", Chicago Tribune, March 26, 2000.
- ^ Michaelis 2008, p. 335
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7910-4854-2
- )
- ^ "Peanuts comic strip 30 March 1993". March 30, 1993. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts comic strip 04 April 1995". April 11, 1995. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts cartoon 26 May 1959". Gocomics.com. May 26, 1959. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
- ^ "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for October 30, 1950". GoComics. October 30, 1950.
- ^ "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 3, 1950". GoComics. November 3, 1950.
- ^ Bang, Derrick (March 11, 2011). "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Charles Schulz and his Peanuts cartoon strip" (text). FiveCentsPlease.org. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
- ^ "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for April 3, 1971". GoComics. April 3, 1971.
- ^ "About Kevin". Kevin Brando. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Nationwide Anglia Estate Agents - Woodstock (1988, UK)". YouTube. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
Charlie's voice here sounds like Moomintroll in the 90s series; it's a British person doing an American little boy voice.
- ^ "Resume". Miles Purinton. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Anthony Terraciano - Professional Actor at CBS Television Studios". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Commercials & IVR". Kelly Jean Badgley. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters". July 30, 2002. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
- ^ "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees" Archived September 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ a b "Shrine of the Eternals". Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
Sources
- Bang, Derrick (2012). Vince Guaraldi at the Piano. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5902-5.
- Michaelis, David (2008). Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography. Harper Perennial. p. 221. ISBN 978-0060937997.
- Solomon, Charles (2013). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1-4521-1091-2.
External links
- Media related to Charlie Brown at Wikimedia Commons
- The first appearance of Charlie Brown in the "Peanuts" comic strip from October 02, 1950.