Frieda (Peanuts)
Frieda Rich | |
---|---|
Peanuts character | |
![]() | |
First appearance | March 6, 1961 |
Last appearance | November 22, 1985 (comic strip) |
Voiced by | Ann Altieri (1963–1969) Lynda Mendelson (1969–1973) Lynn Mortensen (1974) Linda Jenner (1974) Linda Ercoli (1972–1975) Michelle Muller (1976) Roseline Rubens (1980) Stacy Heather Tolkin (1983) Mary Tunnell (1977) Stacy Ferguson (1985) Brittany M. Thornton (1992) Seren Piper (1994) Kaitlyn Maggio (2003) Jolean Wejbe (2006) Alison Cohen (2008-2009) Francesca Capaldi (2015) Cassidy May Benullo (2016) Maya Misaljevic (2021-present) |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Family | Unnamed parents Faron (cat) |
Frieda
According to Schulz, Frieda's character was inspired by his longtime friend Frieda Rich, a local artist whom he met while taking classes at the Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] She was a regular in Peanuts throughout the 1960s, but as newer characters were phased in towards the end of the decade, she began appearing less often, and she ceased to be a featured character after 1985, making only cameo appearances since then in various television specials. Her full name was revealed in the 2015 film The Peanuts Movie as Frieda Rich, where she places 12th in the test results.
Character outline
Appearance
Frieda has red "naturally" curly hair, of which she is quite proud. She was the only girl on Charlie Brown's baseball team to not wear a cap because it would cover up her "naturally" curly hair. She often wears dresses, usually lavender in the TV specials and movies, but colored dark pink in The Peanuts Movie and green in "Peanuts," the TV series. She also wears saddle shoes.
Personality and characteristics
Frieda made her debut on March 6, 1961, when
Frieda Rich, the character's namesake, was once asked whether she bore any character resemblances to her cartoon counterpart. She replied "I recognize myself," adding as an example that while talking to Schulz once about
Relationships with other characters
Charlie Brown
Frieda was usually nicer to
Linus van Pelt
Lucy van Pelt
Frieda's relationship with
Schroeder
Frieda has made Lucy jealous by leaning on Schroeder's piano. Schroeder seemed to dislike her as much as he disliked Lucy when she didn't know who Beethoven was (and after Frieda claimed that she was hanging around Schroeder because she was a music lover). In one strip and episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Frieda commented to Lucy that Schroeder wasn't very friendly. When Frieda attempted to kiss Schroeder while he was playing his piano, she was surprised when she found she had kissed Snoopy instead, and she ran away disgusted. On another occasion, a jealous Lucy (with encouragement from Snoopy) actually got into a physical altercation with Frieda when the former discovered her leaning on Schroeder's piano, Lucy's usual domain. Lucy ends up winning the fight, as can be seen in the last panel where a battered, injured Lucy triumphantly shakes hands with Snoopy. Schroeder does have feelings for Frieda. Once he did give Frieda a valentine, which he was bashful about. The valentine had a picture drawn by Schroeder of her leaning on his piano. In another strip, Schroeder and Charlie Brown were talking about Frieda. However, Frieda does not return his affection. Another time, Frieda and Lucy decided to work together in an attempt to get Schroeder to like Lucy.
Snoopy
Out of all the characters, Frieda has the most trouble getting along with Snoopy, whom she frequently accuses of being "lazy" and "useless." She has strong pre-conceived notions of what a
Faron
Faron is a male cat that Frieda's mother bought for her. Frieda believed Snoopy was too smug for his own good, and decided that having a cat in the neighborhood would take him down a few notches.[17] Her choice of cat ended up being more comical than intimidating; Faron is seemingly boneless, and she carries him everywhere, draped over her arms. He seemed to be as unpopular with the other neighborhood kids as he was with Snoopy; Frieda tried to find someone to hold Faron for her whenever she needed to go somewhere like the library that wouldn't allow cats inside, but she usually had a lot of trouble finding a willing volunteer.[18] A running gag included Charlie Brown, Linus, and even Snoopy getting trapped into holding Faron while Frieda ran her errands.
Faron was named for country music singer Faron Young, whom Schulz "admired very much,"[19] but he only made a few appearances in the strip. Schulz was not satisfied with his own drawing of a cat; also, he wanted to continue exploring Snoopy's fantasy life, and felt like having a cat in the strip brought Snoopy back to being too much of a real dog.[19] Schulz didn't even draw Faron for his last appearance, in which the cat got stuck in a tree.
Faron once spoke English to Snoopy in a thought balloon, making him one of the few non-human or non-dog animals to do so.
Last appearance
Although Frieda was a regular character from 1961 to the late 1960s, her appearances gradually began dwindling. According to Charles Schulz, "I realized that Frieda added relatively little to the strip and had few character traits beyond bragging about her hair and her obsession with getting Snoopy to chase rabbits." Frieda's last speaking role for many years was in the March 20, 1975 strip,[20] although she would sometimes appear as a background character into the 1980s. Frieda also continued to make appearances in the animated Peanuts specials and the Saturday morning series The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, even being mentioned in the lyrics of the latter's theme song. She is also featured as an unseen character in the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, being mentioned several times, and yelled to at one point after Lucy heard one of Charlie Brown's secrets. Also in this show, her characteristic fondness for hunting rabbits is assumed by Sally. Frieda appeared in 150 strips and appeared for the last time on November 22, 1985. Frieda appears in The Peanuts Movie (2015) directed by Steve Martino. She is voiced by Francesca Capaldi who also voices The Little Red-Haired Girl in the movie.[2] Frieda also makes multiple appearances in the Peanuts (TV series).
Voiced by
- Ann Altieri (1963, 1965–1966)
- Lynda Mendelson (1969, 1971–1972)
- Linda Ercoli (1975)
- Michelle Muller (1976)
- Roseline Rubens (1977, 1980)
- Stacy Heather Tolkin (1983)
- Mary Tunnell (1983)
- Stacy Ferguson(1985)
- Brittany M. Thornton (1992)
- Seren Piper (1994)
- Kaitlyn Maggio (2003)
- Jolean Wejbe (2006)
- Alison Cohen (2008-2009)
- Francesca Angelucci Capaldi (2015)
- Cassidy May Benullo (2016)
- Maya Misaljevic (2021–present)
Notes
- ISBN 978-1681882925.
- ^ a b The Peanuts FAQ, accessed 10/14/07
- ^ Schulz, Charles (1961-03-06). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for March 06, 1961 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ "Hullo There, Frieda." Tucson Citizen, Feb. 28, 1961, p. 15
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 29. Comic originally published 1961-03-07.
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 114. Comic originally published 1961-09-22.
- ^ Schulz (2007) The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964, p. 148. Comic originally published 1963-12-11.
- ^ Schulz (2007) The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964, p. 20. Comic originally published 1963-02-15.
- ^ Caldwell, Christopher. "Against Snoopy" New York Press, Dec. 28, 1999
- ^ Associated Press. "Frieda Doesn't Have Problems Like Charlie." Winona Daily News, Oct. 5, 1969, p. 7
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 39. Comic originally published 1961-03-30.
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 58. Comic originally published 1961-05-14.
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 29. Comic originally published 1961-03-08.
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 30. Comic originally published 1961-03-09.
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 220. Comic originally published 1962-05-27.
- ^ Schulz (2007) The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964, p. 303. Comic originally published 1964-12-06.
- ^ Schulz (2006) Frieda speaks so vehemently of this that Charlie Brown asked in slight exasperation, "Are you buying a cat or a gunfighter?!" (to which Snoopy adds, "Touche!"). The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, p. 59. Comic originally published 1961-05-17.
- ^ Schulz (2006) The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962, pp. 68-69, 83, 133.
- ^ ISBN 0-03-015081-7.
- ^ Schulz, Charles (1975-03-20). "Peanuts by Charles Schulz for March 20, 1975 | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
References
- ISBN 0-03-015081-7.
- ISBN 1-56097-672-1.
- ISBN 978-1-56097-723-0.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)