I have always wondered what the appeal of this cartoon character is.

And what is 'Peanuts'? which character is that?

Whenever I see Charlie Brown on the tube I wonder why people watch it. The artwork is lousy, the storyline stinks, the schoolteacher's voice sounds like she is underwater, Charlie Brown seems always depressed, the other kids are mean to him...no valentines, pulling the football away, and let's not forget that kid with the mudcloud following him wherever he goes. whoever he is. Why would anyone watch this. Is this supposed to be funny? am i supposed to feel sorry for him?

Will someone please please tell me what the appeal is. Maybe I'm missing the whole point. He just seems so sad all the time. Why watch something like that? Is there a moral at the end of each story? Well, I wouldn't know, I've never finished watching any of those shows.

"It's a Wonderful Life" i get. The whole Xmas happiness thing. I totally miss "Peanuts" though.

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Jennifer
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Can't say I get it either, but then there is some weirder stuff than Charlie Brown around. Have you ever seen 'Captain Pugwash'? Probably not, might be a British thing, anyway it was surreal, but then children are aliens. There is something sinister about many cartoon characters...

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It's life from a childs point of view. A child with the agnst(sp) and fears that some of (most?) of us had growing up. A cool dog who flys the red barron, the tom bot, the geeky kids, the slobs.... seems to be a micro cosom of life? I ahve always like Charlie Brown. It is sad because sometimes life is sad. It's a classic. Always will be for me. You can dress up the transformers all you want but it still trash. Peanuts tells a story, has a moral ... it's just plain good.

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The author is dead. You're seeing re-runs.

Charlie Brown is said to be a caricature of Charles M. Schultz himself.

It's kinda funny if you think about it....the kid who always shows up, tries hard, but gets the short end of the stick, just like most of us regular guys. He never gets the girl, Lucy always pulls the football away from him, his friends laugh at his little Christmas tree; even at halloween, after receiving their treats, the kids compare what they got. Others get apples, candy, chocolate, etc. Charlie Brown sadly exclaims, " I got a rock"!.

Isn't it hilarious?

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It amazes me how so many people think that because a cartoon features child like characters that it is automatically geared towards children. 60 Minutes (I think) did an interview with Charles Shultz shortly after he retired in which he stated that "Peanuts" was written for adults, not children.
Although nothing like "Peanuts", "Southpark" is another example of this incorrect assumption.
Charlie Brown is a kind-hearted soul that wrestles with the same problems, fears and anxieties that many adults do on a daily basis.
If you have ever uttered the phrase "Well, that's just my luck" in the face of a bad situation, then you probably have some Charlie Brown in you.

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But can anyone explain the Family Circus. That has the be the worst comic in history.

I'm afraid "Beetle Bailey" took that coveted spot years ago.

How to explain Charlie Brown. Hmmm....
I guess you either get it, or ya don't.
Seems to be a culture thing I guess. I all but grew up with Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. Still have my first books I got back in the mid-60's. I was obsessed. Charlie represented the every day kid trying to fit in. I guess I related to him. (Lousy at sports especially) Snoopy was/is hysterical. Linus was my philosophical idol.
Gads. How do you describe the color red? Dunno. Either you get it, or you don't.

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I think you are right on. Either one gets it or one doesn't. Probably a cultural thing in big way. I grew up reading Tintin and Asterix which seems to be unknown in the US.

When I came to this country, I watched a lot of Sesame Street and was able to relate to that. So now, I still enjoy watching the early shows. The ones without Elmo. Probably the same reason some adults watch Charlie Brown.

But my original question circled around the appeal of charlie brown, which i think you guys have answered. In other words, charlie brown, as he is, mirrors in a way the individualities of each viewer. I'll buy that. Thanks.

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Jennifer
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Yup.

I'm a Dilbert man.

I think you had to see it the first time before you were about eight years old to really have an affection for it. I have warm memories of it but don't watch it now. I saw the last couple minutes of it the other night, it was good for smile and that was enough.

What was the name of the only African American kid on the peanuts cartoons?

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Most people dont remember his name, and some cant even remember that there was a black friend on the peanuts cartoons.

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As a cartoonist, I must say a few things that I know about the strip and TV special, for I have books about it. The artwork appeared lousy in the TV special because they were pressed for time when making it, they had to produce a half hour animated special in six months, thats really pushing it, in fact, it was finished a week before the original December 1965 broadcast date. That's the way Schulz did his characters, just take a look at the original June 1950 comic strip that started it all, according to an interview, he did not like all the preparations required in formal art classes, all he wanted to do is sit down with a good, clean piece of paper, and get to work and have a finished strip in half an hour (hey, that sounds like me!!!). Schulz did not want any adult voices in the film, he wanted all the attention on the kids, so, a trombone player was read the lines of the adult by an actor using many inflections in his voice, and the trombone player would play and shape the the music to mimic those inflections. Schulz's strips expressed the dark and light sides of life without letting go of childlike innocence. How does the storyline "stink" exactly?
-Joe

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