Lessons from peanuts

Hello. Today I would like to write about lessons Schulz and characters of peanuts give us. Though Schulz described ordinary everyday happnings, I think it has very important thoughtful meaning.

1 Keep on Trying,Charlie Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnnyGSRedYg

This is a song by the Peanuts character titled "Keep on Trying". If you're a reader of the Peanuts series, you notice that Charlie Brown is often described to be a loser. But the great thing about him is that he never stops trying. This is exactly what we should keep in mind when faced with a hardship.

2 Snoopy the Musical: "if Just One Person Believes in You..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Rfjl6tGW4
This is a song from Snoopy: The Musical about the magic of having friends and the importance of their bond. Having one person believe in you can be enough to encourage you to believe in yourself too.

3 Happiness (from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iK9PLdVXK4

The most well-known of Peanuts song, happiness is a beautiful song from the musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and talks about finding happiness in any small or ordinary thing that makes you smile. As the Peanuts characters realize, Happiness is anything or anyone that's loved by you.

Peanuts comic strips

Hello.Today I want to write about some peanuts comic strips.We know about some characters but many don't know about the content of peanuts comic well.

This is the first daily Peanuts strip and the first time Charlie Brown is called "Good Ol' Charlie Brown."A little boy with a girl greets Charlie Brown but he doesn't notice at all.Then last frame the boy said "How I hate him!"in spite of himself due to embarrassment and annoyance.This is just ordinary happning in our lives and makes us laugh.


This is a strip that has only pictures and finally Snoopy murmurs the last frame.But It discribes the situation enough.

These are characteristic strips in peanuts comic.Do you know Schulz has strong Christian beliefs? This fact affected his cartoons.He sometimes used theology for his subject matter.

Then,This is the last strip today I introduce to you. If you know Charlie Brown is a lovable loser and a child with hope,you think this comic very interesting!

Peanuts in Japan

Hello. Today I talk about two activities or events of Peanuts in Japan.The Peanuts characters have been licenced to Universal Studios Japan. Peanuts products in Japan has been licensed by Sanrio, best known for Hello Kitty.

Snoopy Studios in Universal Studios Japan      

 Snoopy Studios have Snoopy's Great Race,Peppermint Patty's Stunt Slide,The Flying Snoopy. Americans, especially  who came from Southern California would most likely be surprised, since Snoopy is associated with another theme park near Disneyland, but not Universal Studio Hollywood. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy can be seen walking the streets as kids and adults rush to them to have their pictures taken.

Tokyo Fashion Weekand Snoopy's 60th Birthday year

Snoopy will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, 2010, and as a event to celebrate the anniversary, original costume designs for Snoopy by Japan Fashion Week participating designer, G.V.G.V. and global brands such as Chanel, Hermes, and Chloé were exhibited at Time & Style, Galleria 3F in Tokyo Midtown from October 22nd to 29th. The event was cosponsored by the Design Association NPO, United Media K.K.

                                                                                      

Through those kinds of events or themepark,we got more and more interested in Snoopy or Peanuts and they became very popular also in Japan. 

Growth of snoopy

Hello. Today I want to write about growth of snoopy. The peanuts comic started in1950s,and the touch and  the way of drawing have been changing.

They are all Snoopy!  Can you believe it?

1950s


In 1950s, the comic strip started.Snoopy was like a real dog.He walked  on four legs!
On June 28, 1957, Snoopy walked on his two hind legs like a human for the first time.

1960s

In 1960s, snoopy came to have expressive face.(smile, surprising,and sadness)

 

 

1970s

In 1970s, he acted like a human.(go skating or picnic)

1980s~

This is a familiar snoopy to us, isn't it? The face and style of his is about like that of now.

Some people(esprcially young generation) would feel strange the figure of Snoopy of early stage because of the difference from that of now.But Snoopy is now over 50 years old and many of us  know about  the only current figure.

Awards Peanuts and Charles.M.Schulz got

Hello.Today I want to write about awards Charles.M.schulz got and his works peanuts got. You might be surprised how much they got prizes.


1955 —Schulz won his first Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society.

1958 — Yale University named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year."  1962 — Happiness is a Warm Puppy reaching No. 2. Peanuts was named "Best Humor Strip of the Year" by the National Cartoonists Society.

1964 — Schulz became the first cartoonist to be awarded two Reubens by the National Cartoonists Society.

 December 9, 1965 — The first animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, debuted on television and later won a Peabody Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming.

March 7, 1967 — The stage musical, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, won two Tony awards.

1973 — Schulz received an Emmy Award for writing his 10th television special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

1975 — Peanuts celebrated its 25th anniversary.  The 14th television special, You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, aired in October and later won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special.

1978 — The International Pavilion of Humor in Montreal named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year.

1980— Schulz got the Society's Elzie Segar Award.
May 30, 1983 — The 26th animated television special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, debuted on television. It later received a Peabody Award for excellence in television programming.

1984 — Peanuts qualified for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records after being sold to the 2,000th newspaper.


February 7, 2000 — California lawmakers declared Sunday, February 13th, as "Charles M. Schulz Day" to coincide with the final Peanuts Sunday strip.


May 2000 — The National Cartoonists Society posthumously awarded the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award to Schulz.


Charles.M.schulz and his work won the praise of many critics and were loved all over the world.

Charles.M.Schulz

Hello.Today I will tell you about Charles.M.schulz.He is an American cartoonist who wrote the peanuts comic.

Early Life

Charles Monroe Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 26, 1922.  Charles loved to read the comics section of the newspaper with his father. He began to draw pictures of his favorite cartoon characters at age six. At school in St. Paul, he was bright and was the smallest in his class. Seeing his interest in drawing, his mother encouraged him to take a course from Art Instructionin.
 


Create Peanuts

    In 1950, Schulz's new comic was published,which was named Peanuts by the company. In 1950 the cartoon began appearing with the characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy. By 1956, the strip　appeared  over a hundred papers. Adults were never seen, and its content was about everyday happenings. But the odd elements and humanity were reflected by Schulz's gentle humor, which made the cartoon appealing to the public.


Later years    

Schulz was diagnosed with cancer in November 1999. He announced in December 1999 that he would retire in the year 2000, the day after the final Peanuts strip. Schulz died on February 12, 2000。It was one day before his farewell strip was to be in newspapers. Schulz was twice married, to Joyce Halverson in 1949 (divorced 1972) and to Jean Clyde in 1973. He had five children by his first marriage.
   

         

Tom Everhart

Hello. Today I want to tell you about Tom Everhart.Do you know him? He is an only painter in the world allowed to draw the peanuts character. His works are dynamic and beautiful.

I’m interested in light as a property of color, not as an illusion. Instead of trying to paint the illusion of light, I’m actually working with these transparent layers of light in themselves. The light is inherently part of the color. -Tom everhart


 

 Tom Everhart makes the impressive Peanuts & Snoopy paintings, which include lithographs  and lithography posters, prints and original artwork.  As the only artist given permission by Charles Schulz, Everhart draws characters to express a new way of seeing. He explains“I want people to see the attraction in it, and be lured in.”

 
Tom Everhart and Charle.M.Schulz are close friends and colleagues. Schulz was so impressed with Everhart's painterly brush stroke and his strong depictions of the characters that he gave Everhart permission to do work his Peanuts characters.

※Lithoglaphy:printing from a smooth surface,for example a metal plate. 
  Lithograph:a picture printed by lithograph.

Snoopy's family

Do you know Snoopy has family? Snoopy is not a lone dog.

Missy (wearing the brown hat)

◇Missy:Snoopy's mother. She appeared only once in the comic.She looks like a female version of Snoopy (similar to Belle and Molly)

◇Snoopy's father(unnamed):He was said to have lived in Florida, and he wears glasses and has a mustache.

Andy

◇Andy: Snoopy's brother - fuzzy, lives with Olaf .Andy looks similar to Snoopy but has longer, shaggier hair. His appearance is modeled on that of a fox terrier named Andy that was owned by Charles M. Schulz.

Marbles

 ◇Marbles:Snoopy's brother - has brown ears, spotted fur. In the comic, he is also depicted as wearing shoes.

Spike

◇Spike:Snoopy's brother - lives alone in the California desert.He has whiskers which look like a mustache and always wears a hat. He is shown to be very skinny.

Olaf

 ◇Olaf:Snoopy's brother - fat,wears a cap. He was first appeared in the comic as a candidate for an "ugly dog contest", which he goes on to win.
  Olaf was often joked with his ugliness. For example, Olaf once belonged to a family whose car license plate read "Our other dog is a golden retriever".




Belle

Belle and her son

Belle:Snoopy's sister-wears a pink dress, looks like Snoopy, but with long eyelashes.She lives in Kansas City and has a tall thin unnamed son. Her son is supposed to be a pure-bred beagle, although Snoopy thinks he looks more like the Pink Panther.

◇Molly and Rover: Snoopy's brother and sister. They appear in the TV special, Snoopy's Reunion. Unlike the rest of Snoopy's siblings, they never appeared and were never named in the comic.

Main characters of Peanuts

In the cartoon Peanuts, there are many characters full of personality. Today, I want to write about the characters that appear frequemtly in the comic.

◆profile and charles M schulz word

◆Snoopy is the world-famous beagle. He has created such multiple personalities : Joe Cool, World War I Flying Ace, etc. He writes the great American novel, travels to the moon, and plots revenge on the cat next door.

Snoopy’s whole personality is a little bittersweet. But he’s a very strong character. He can win or lose, be a disaster, a hero, or anything, and yet it all works out. I like the fact that when he’s in real trouble, he can retreat into a fantasy and thereby escape

 

◆Woodstock is the smallest of the Peanuts characters but has a big presence. Woodstock talks birdspeak only and Chirps in a language only Snoopy understands, Woodstock and his feathered friends are never far from Snoopy’s doghouse.

Woodstock knows that he is very small and inconsequential indeed. It’s a problem we all have. The universe boggles us…Woodstock is a lighthearted expression of that idea.

Charlie Brown

◆Charlie Brown is a lovable loser, a child with  hope, but who is dominated by his anxiety and a "permanent case of bad luck". He is often taken advantage of by his peers.

Charlie Brown must be the one who suffers, because he’s a caricature of the average person. Most of us are much more acquainted with losing than winning. Winning is great, but it isn’t funny.

Sally Brown

◆Sally is Charlie Brown's sister.  Sally is always on the hunt for answers—and in the later years of the strip, she started developing "philosophies" on life.
Sally is the complete pragmatist. There is a certain charm when she fractures the language: ‘By golly, if any centimeters come in this room, I’ll step on them!

 

Lucy

◆ Lucy Van Pelt works hard at being selfish. She is loud and yells a lot. Lucy often gives advice from her 5-cent psychiatrist’s booth. Lucy’s only weakness? Her love for the piano-playing Schroeder.

Lucy comes from that part of me that’s capable of saying mean and sarcastic things, which is not a good trait to have, so Lucy gives me a good outlet. But each character has a weakness and Lucy’s weakness is Schroeder.

Schroeder

◆Linus is the tender, blanket-clutching philosopher.  He is a paradox:  He knows the true meaning of Christmas while continuing to believe in the Great Pumpkin.
(※The Great Pumpkin is a holiday figure that exists only in the imagination of Linus. Every year, Linus sits in a pumpkin  on Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear.)

Linus, my serious side, is the house intellectual, bright, well-informed which, I suppose may contribute to his feelings of insecurity.
 .

History of Peanuts

Hello.Today I want to write about history of Peanuts.

 １９５０ｓ
October 2, 1950 — Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers. The company paid him $90 for his first month of strips.

First Peanuts strip ~ October 2, 1950

 
1952 — The first Sunday Peanuts page was published; the strip was featured in over 40 U.S. newspapers.

1958 — Peanuts appeared in 355 U.S. and 40 foreign newspapers. Yale University named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year."


１９７０ｓ

1975 — Peanuts celebrated its 25th anniversary.

                                                                                         

    December 5, 1975 — Snoopy!!! The Musical, premiered  at the Little Fox Theatre in San Francisco.

1978 — The International Pavilion of Humor in Montreal named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year."

1979 — Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown was published by Schulz : the 30th year in comics, the 15th year on television, and the 10th year in the movies.

１９８０ｓ 1983 — Camp Snoopy opened at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. 1984 — Peanuts qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records after being sold to the 2,000th newspaper. 1985 — For Peanuts 35th anniversary, the book You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brown was published.

１９９０ｓ 1995 — The 45th anniversary of Peanuts was marked by the exhibition Around the Moon and Home Again. March 22, 1997 — World premiere of Peanuts Gallery by composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich held at Carnegie Hall. March 16, 1997 1999 — Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide, and over 20,000 products had been developed to date. December 14, 1999 — Schulz announced his retirement due to health problems.

２０００ｓ January 3, 2000 — Charles Schulz wrote a comic for farewell to all his readers in the final daily     newspaper strip.                       January 3, 2000 February 12, 2000 — Charles Schulz died Saturday evening in his home in Santa Rosa of complications from colon cancer; he was 77 years old. February 13, 2000 — The final Sunday Peanuts strip appeared in newspapers around the world. May 2000 — The National Cartoonists Society posthumously awarded the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award to Schulz.