The Kite-Eating Tree is a ravenous Peanuts character who only has an appetite for kites. Well, actually, it also has an appetite for Schroeder’s piano, but that’s another story. Debuting in April 1956, the Kite-Eating Tree became a part of Charlie Brown’s story, chomping down on all his kites. While Charlie Brown absolutely hates the tree for always taking his kites, he forms a strange symbiotic relationship with the plant. Charlie Brown likes feeling needed since he is the only one who feeds the tree, and the Kite-Eating Tree enjoys eating Charlie’s kites, creating a bizarre quid pro quo.
A character like a Kite-Eating Tree may seem like a weird concept for Peanuts, yet it became a well-known image of Charles M. Schulz’ comic strip. For example, the character has made its way into multiple Peanuts movies, specifically It’s the Big Game, Charlie Brown and The Peanuts Movie, among others. Therefore, the Kite-Eating Tree has not just been a funny component of Peanuts, but also an important one.
10 “Knock Knock Knock”
Published in 1990
Arguably Charlie Brown’s enemy, the Kite-Eating Tree seems to be inescapable for the ol’ blockhead, literally, as this strip illustrates. Charlie is on pins and needles, anxious about the Kite-Eating Tree as he prepares to fly his kite. However, a very unwelcome visitor shows up at his front door before he can even get the kite out of the house: the Kite-Eating Tree. Charlie Brown loathes the Kite-Eating Tree, but it’s made even worse when the tree is so impatient that he goes right up to Charlie’s house instead of waiting for him to fly the kite himself.
9 “The Way Things Are Today”
Published In 1995
Rerun, much like his brother Linus, has his insightful moments. The Kite-Eating Tree prompts a thought for him, when he sees how Charlie Brown’s kite gets destroyed by the tree. Seeing the terrible sight, Rerun starts to question if it’s a smart move to bring a kite into a kite-eating world. Comparing having a kite to how some people question if it is right to bring a child into a chaotic world, Rerun was really affected by the Kite-Eating Tree. If Rerun is this negatively affected by the tree after only seeing it once, he should imagine how Charlie Brown feels.
8 “You Can’t Argue With A Kite-Eating Tree”
Published In 1965
Having a kite being taken time and time again would be annoying for anyone, including the usually patient Charlie Brown. Likewise, Charlie has had enough of constantly having to buy new kites, with his latest being a whopping 79 cents. Due to his heightened emotional state, Charlie Brown tries his best to argue with the tree to get his kite back. However, he argues to no avail and is left with the lesson that kite-eating trees simply refuse to listen to reason.
7 “I’m Going To Stand Here For The Rest Of My Life”
Published In 1956
While this first appearance of the Kite-Eating Tree may be an early strip in Peanuts‘ run, Charlie Brown’s patience has already been tested. When the Kite-Eating Tree has taken Charlie’s kite from him, his temper flares, and he refuses to leave the tree’s side. He is determined to wait until his kite comes down, even if it is the rest of his life. Considering he is only eight years old, it will be a long wait. Perhaps Charlie Brown should pay a visit to Lucy’s psychiatry booth to learn some emotional regulation strategies, instead of wasting his time in anger.
6 “How Was The Kite-Flying?”
Published In 1988
In Peanuts, it tends to feel like everyone and everything is against Charlie Brown. He always seems to get the short end of the stick somehow. However, to his surprise, the Kite-Eating tree does not single out Charlie specifically. When Charlie’s kite predictably gets gobbled up by the tree, he runs into a kite-flying Woodstock, whose own toy has met the same fate, albeit by a much smaller Kite-Eating Tree. Understandably, this makes Charlie Brown feel a bit better about things and like it’s not always the world vs. Charlie Brown.
5 “You’d Starve To Death”
Published In 1968
With a sign warning against the threat of the Kite-Eating Tree, it appears to be too late for Charlie Brown. He is already on the hook for feeding the tree kites because no one else flies kites around the chomping plant (they probably learned their lesson after it happened once, unlike Chuck). Without him and his kites, the tree would perish. Charlie makes this crystal clear to the tree, yelling at it in detail, all in broad daylight. While it may look like Charlie Brown is pretty mad, he is actually elated because he feels needed for once despite screaming at the tree just moments prior. Toxic relationship much?
4 “He Wants To See A Menu”
Published In 1987
The old saying goes, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” However, this adage does not apply to Kite-Eating Trees. When Charlie Brown tries to fly his red kite, it is apparently not what the tree is in the mood for. Instead of just not eating Charlie’s kite for once, it demands to see a menu. The upside is that Charlie Brown at least gets to keep his red kite… for the time being. Until the Kite-Eating Tree gets a hankering for red, Charlie’s kite is safe.
3 “A Fussy Tree”
Published In 1982
One wouldn’t think of kites as having flavors. However, according to one Kite-Eating Tree, there are different tasting kites, with the tree in question being particularly picky about their preferred tastes. Rather than avoid the tree altogether, Charlie Brown ponders over which flavor the tree would like him to bring to it. Deciding on lemon, Charlie questions how a tree of all things could be so fussy. As if the tree wasn’t already super annoying to Charlie Brown, it’s made even worse by the tree’s finicky taste buds, if trees had taste buds.
2 “You Asked For It”
Published In 1977
Charlie Brown is usually pretty level-headed, even when he’s being unrelentingly razzed by the neighborhood kids. However, the Kite-Eating Tree brings out the worst in Charlie Brown, causing him to act out in ways completely unexpected of the morose elementary schooler. In this strip, he is so outraged with the tree that he actually takes a bite out of it. The tree probably did not see that coming. Regardless, the act backfires on Charlie because he then receives a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency a short time later.
1 “You Can’t Get It”
Published In 1965
Instead of learning his lesson and just refraining from flying his kite around the literal Kite-Eating Tree, Charlie sets his kite down on the ground to get ready to fly. While he prepares his kite for flight, he threatens the Kite-Eating Tree and promises it that it will not be eating his kite this time. Since this is Charlie Brown after all, the reader knows he is not going to be able to fly his kite somehow. That assumption proves correct when the tree, rather than admit defeat, falls to the ground and gobbles up the kite. Every dog may have his day, but in Peanuts, Charlie Brown is an exception to the rule.
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
