As iconic as Charlie Brown and his Charles Schulz, the visionary artist behind Peanuts, and lovingly itted that his character designs limited them in some ways.
In a 2021 interview with Heritage Auctions, Davis explained how the exaggerated features of certain comic strip characters, such as his own Garfield, and Charles Schulz's Charlie Brown, have been adapted from print to animation.
While Garfield is a character whose appearance has drastically changed over what has become almost five decades, Charlie Brown's appearance remains timeless, as there have been only slight adjustments made since the 1950s – most notably the shape of his head and curl of his single strand of hair.
Garfield Creator Jim Davis Explains Why Charlie Brown's Movements Are Limited In One Key Way
Davis Discussed Charlie Brown During A 2021 Interview
In the 30-minute interview, Davis explained that when it came to implementing these animation tricks for Charlie Brown, Schulz had to do so on many occasions. He recalled an instance when Schulz was helping animate the 1969 film, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, in which Charlie Brown had to reach up and scratch his head before throwing a pitch. Davis points out that while watching the film, viewers can see Charlie Brown reach up to scratch the back side of his head, as it was impossible to animate his arm going up on the near side simply because it was "way too short."
When discussing how his own character, Garfield, had to undergo changes in the transition from comic strip to television screen in order to stand up on his own two feet, creator Jim Davis said it was Charlie Brown's creator, Charles Schulz, who taught him how to make the changes seem subtle:
When Snoopy is on all fours, he has little puppy feet, but when he stands up, his back feet get bigger, giving him balance. Nobody ever notices that, but he looks good standing up as well. So [Schulz] drew these big cat feet with Garfield standing up, and all of a sudden, Garfield was balanced. It worked well [...] and from that day on, he walked, and it was thanks to Charles Schulz. And so, outside of that, I've always done everything to make Garfield a better actor and to make him better animated for what he had to do to serve the gag.
More than just a fascinating insight into the collaborative relationship between two of comics' all-time greats, this offers readers the opportunity to reflect on what makes Peanuts designs so memorable – including their shortcomings.
The Length Of Charlie Brown's Arms Isn't His Biggest Design Controversy Of All Time
The Peanuts Protagonist's Surprisingly Divisive Hair
While the length of his arms does present a problem in the realm of animation, Charlie Brown's hair has been at the forefront of the character's design critiques over the past few decades, as many fans of the Peanuts character have raised questions about the single curl that is drawn at the center of his forehead. Even though Charles Schulz has gone on record before to say that Charlie Brown has "light-colored" hair, it hasn't stopped the character from being labeled as bald.
"That Was Never Intentional": Jim Davis Never Meant to Change Garfield's Original Design (But the Reason He Did Is Fascinating)
Garfield creator Jim Davis once explained how, rather than for aesthetic reasons, Garfield's look changed out of necessity over the years.
It doesn't help, either, that in 2015's The Peanuts Movie, Charlie Brown was animated for the first time in 3D, and the singular curl stands out alone on the character's head – staying true to the precise look of the character, but perhaps not the intention. In any case, whatever the character's precise appearance may be, Charlie Brown, from the iconic Peanuts newspaper comic strip, undoubtedly remains one of the most recognizable characters in the history of popular culture, due to his relentless consistency in print and on film.
Source: Jim Davis, Heritage Auctions Interview
- 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
- 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
- Character(s)
- Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Marcie (Peanuts), Peppermint Patty, Woodstock
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
