The Four Color Media Monitor

The Edwardsville Intelligencer wrote about the history of the first official Peanuts cartoon special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, 60 years after it was produced, and how it's reportedly still admired as a product of the times, one that boldly quoted from the Gospel's Luke 8:14:

On Dec. 9, 1965, a half-hour animated Christmas special, based on the beloved Peanuts cartoon characters created by Charles Schulz, aired for the first time on CBS. Executives anxiously awaited the viewing results since this presentation was a grand departure from previous holiday specials. Unknown to them at the time, it would become a popular staple of holiday television fare for the next 57 years and often rank in the top three of viewers' favorite Christmas presentations.

Although this was Schulz's first animated special, many more would follow, undoubtedly due to the success of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Many were holiday specific — “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” “It’s the Easter Beagle,” etc. Many more — some holiday themed, some not — would follow. Fifty-one Peanuts specials would air over the years, including some created after Schulz’s death in 2000. But the most popular by far was his first TV offering — “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” [...]

Until the Charlie Brown Christmas special, adult voice actors (and sometimes well-known actors and singers) did most of the dialogue in holiday cartoons, with bit parts done by children. Since no adults were ever seen or featured in the actual Peanuts cartoon strips, Schulz, Mendelson and Melendez decided to use only children’s voices in the production. Most of the children came from Mendelson’s neighborhood in California and read for the parts just as adult actors would for an assignment. [...]

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the beloved holiday special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” It will be celebrated with commemorative items sold through Hallmark stores and online. Apple purchased the rights to Peanuts-related shows in 2020 and allowed them to air for two more years on free TV before moving them exclusively to its own platform and Amazon. This ended 57 years of free TV broadcasting. The DVD is still available for purchase on Amazon and eBay; you can stream or record it on Apple TV or rent or buy it on Amazon Prime Video. Ironically, in the Christmas movie “Fred Claus,” there is a scene near the beginning where Vince Vaughn’s character is sitting in his apartment watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Here's more on History:

The special broke several cartoon conventions of the era. It hired actual kids as voice actors, featured a spare jazz soundtrack and did not include a laugh track. Most controversial of all, it was a children's Christmas special featuring a lengthy quote from the Bible.

A week before its airdate, CBS held a test screening of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for executives.

“The general reaction was one of disappointment,” said former CBS executive Fred Silverman in the documentary The Making of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (2015). “There were specific negative comments about the music, the piano music, some of the voicing, which sounded kind of amateurish.”

Even the special’s lead producer and co-creator, Lee Mendelson, feared that it would not only bomb, but possibly take down "Peanuts" with it. Instead, more than 15 million American households tuned in for its premiere—half of all TV viewers at the time. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” went on to win awards and become a beloved holiday classic. [...]

True to his comic strip, Schulz also wrote complicated dialogue for the characters. At one point, Lucy calls Christmas “a big commercial racket...run by a big Eastern syndicate.” Although "Peanuts" characters in the comic strip had always wrestled with adult ideas, executives worried viewers would be lost.

The biggest concern for both CBS executives and Mendelson himself was Schulz’s insistence on having the character of Linus recite a passage from the New Testament about the birth of Jesus. At the time, fewer than 10 percent of Christmas-themed TV shows contained a direct reference to religion, explains scholar Stephen J. Lind.

“We looked at each other and said, ‘Well, there goes our careers right down the drain,’” Mendelson recalled. When CBS executives saw the scene, they said, “The Bible thing scares us.”

But Schulz, a religious man who taught Sunday school, believed it was important to address the real meaning of Christmas. “If we don’t do it, who will?” Schulz asked.

As it turned out, everything that made "A Charlie Brown Christmas" so unconventional—its slow pacing, its plain animation, its unsophisticated voice acting and its sentimental message—was what resonated most with both viewers and critics.

That was then, and Schultz's efforts to realize his visions in animation were courageous for their time. And Mendelson would also later produce a few more cartoons based on comic strips, such as the early Garfield cartoons, and what impressed me about his productions is that unlike many Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Mendelson's didn't talk down to the audience, and had more sophistication than what most producers for Saturday morning matinees were willing to offer.

But depending how you view this, the downside is that, based on the very real war on Christmas in Europe and even in the USA, one can reasonably wonder if even A Charlie Brown Christmas still retains the respect and admiration it received decades ago. Would today's network executives be willing to approve such a project today, without acting as though it'd solely represent an "offense" to whomever they'd likely refuse to name, as though third parties literally have the right to "wag the dog"? Who knows? It all depends on whether the USA's situation improves from this point. I hope it does continue to retain popularity and admiration, but realists must be aware that fate can play a very bad role in what becomes of any great pop culture classic, and that includes comic strips like Peanuts.

In another related article, The News-Enterprise wrote about the comic strip's lasting impact:

While American pop culture has undergone dramatic shifts throughout its history, one staple remains relatively unchanged: Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip. The property celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and the joy it has created for millions across many media.

Robert Pope, a cartoonist with an impressive pedigree who currently works on the “Peanuts” franchise, discussed the enduring and universal appeal of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang.

Putting pencil to paper daily for its licensed characters, Pope closely understands “Peanuts” in his role with Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates out of Santa Rosa, California. He strives to preserve the “magical” quality of Schulz’s creations, who was also known by the nickname “Sparky.”

“Typically, what I do is children’s books, graphic novels, illustrations for development deals, things that go in theme parks like Cedar Fair, which just recently merged with Six Flags,” Pope said. “Instead of trying to build something from the ground up, we’re extrapolating a lot of things that either were created and written while Sparky was alive, or things that were in process later in his life.”

Pope said at the heart of the “Peanuts” franchise are the singular sensibilities of Schulz. Schulz Creative Associates, Sparky’s family and many of his living collaborators ensure the original vision is unaltered.

Conversely, Pope said other longstanding properties he’s worked on, such as Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and Batman, have had “many fathers over many years of development.”

“You’ve had lots of hands on those characters. Those teams allow people to feel very comfortable trying to put their own stamp on those,” Pope said. “It would just be a very foolhardy thing to try to take it upon yourself to elaborate on ‘Peanuts.’”

Pope said the responsibility of maintaining Schulz’s legacy can be “petrifying,” especially considering how renowned Schulz is among other artists.

“Most of the cartooning community has a great deal of reverence and respect for the body of work that this man did for half a century, actually more,” Pope said. “It’s the sort of thing that is approached extremely carefully and thoughtfully.”

Considering there's bound to be cartoonists out there who're much more woke than others, it's definitely amazing there's a segment that does respect Schultz's visions, and makes sure to give Peanuts, however it's published today, the care it needs, although let's not forget that time when the animation studios now overseeing newer cartoon specials went out of their way to correct an alleged mistake made in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving all too obviously, in the Welcome Home Franklin special, and if there was any problem with that, it's that those complaining were likely not Peanuts fans, nor did they have any intention of watching the recent spotlight for Franklin either, no matter how it was put together.

It's good Schultz's family and other experts in his comic strip care about its legacy, but that's why they should be careful about acting as though what turns up on social media is something to panic about, and they shouldn't pander to people who're only interested in lodging empty complaints, and contrary to what they might claim, aren't fans of Charlie Brown. It's food for thought.

Labels: animation, comic strips, good artists, history, politics