Nearly eighty years ago, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz introduced American culture to one of its most enduring, iconic figures: Charlie Brown. An eternal optimist in the face of endless defeat, an embodiment of childhood innocence and hope, a tragicomic figure representing everyone at their most vulnerable, Charlie Brown has been all of these things and more to readers over the years.
The Charles Schulz Museum, located in Santa Rosa, California, is a tribute to the creator and his work, from Peanuts‘ often hard-pressed protagonist to the many other memorable characters that populated its panels. While an in-person visit is a dream vacation for any Peanuts aficionado, even a visit to the museum’s website offers an incredibly detailed, expertly curated testament to Schulz’ legacy.
One quote in particular from the writer, from the museum’s recent Peanuts 70th anniversary retrospective, stands out as an endearing encapsulation of why fans have loved Charlie Brown for so long.
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Peanuts Creator Charles Schulz Explained Why Fans Will Always Root For Charlie Brown
“He’s a caricature,” the Charles Schulz Museum quotes Peanuts’ creator as saying of Charlie Brown. In other words, the character is intended to be life-like, with certain aspects emphasized for effect. “We all know what it’s like to lose, but Charlie Brown keeps losing outrageously,” Schulz explained. What made Charlie Brown the heart of Peanuts over the course of the strip’s indomitable run went beyond just the fact that he was a loser. It lay in the idea that to “keep losing outrageously,” he had to keep trying, time after time.
Whether Charlie Brown possessed an iron resolve, or he was simply too naive to consider giving up an option, the character never faltered in his willingness to attempt kicking the football, or to take the mound, or try to get a kite out of a tree. He may have felt defeated – much of Peanuts’ humor comes from these moments – but he never accepted defeat. That is all to say, as Charles Schulz much more plainly put it: “It’s not that he’s a loser; he’s really a decent little sort.”
Charlie Brown Remains As Beloved As He Is Beleaguered
After seventy-four years, Charlie Brown remains, if nothing else, a symbol of optimism. For exactly fifty years, Peanuts offered much more than humor: it offered insight, wonder, satire, philosophical musings, and much more. Nearly twenty-five years after its conclusion, one of the strip’s most enduring legacies is the Sisyphus-esque character of Charlie Brown, endlessly prepared to play an unwinnable game, to engage in even the most futile of tasks with calm and patience. Without a doubt one of the most perennially beleaguered characters in contemporary literature, Peanuts’ Charlie Brown cemented his position as one of the most beloved.
Peanuts
- Created by:
- Charles M. Schulz
- First Film:
- The Peanuts Movie
- Cast:
- Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Bill Melendez, Sally Dryer, Peter Robbins, Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Lisa DeFaria, Venus Omega Schultheis
- TV Show(s):
- The Snoopy Show, Peanuts by Schulz
- Character(s):
- Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Marcie (Peanuts), Peppermint Patty, Woodstock
- Movie(s):
- The Peanuts Movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown’s All Stars!, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
