The sound of Charles M. Schulz’s original Peanuts comic strips. But it wasn’t until I read what Schulz said about how he went about conveying emotion with his cartoon characters that I understood the deeper meaning behind that iconic catchphrase. And I have to say, it’s a bit darker than I expected.

An article published by Hogan’s Alley gave Peanuts fans the chance to read the remarks that Charles M. Schulz delivered at the 1994 National Cartoonists Society convention (reprinted from Hogan’s Alley #1). Schulz spoke about his career as a cartoonist, how he got his start working at Art Instruction Inc. while mailing Peanuts strips to newspapers, and what his creative process entailed with each and every comic he wrote/drew. But Schulz didn’t spend the whole time only talking about himself, he also touched on other comic strips - including ones he wasn’t too fond of.

Schulz refrained from mentioning his most disliked comic strips by name, but he did go into detail about why he didn’t like them. One of his biggest pet peeves was how certain cartoonists would have their characters overreact to punchlines, especially when those reactions were totally uncalled-for.

Charles M. Schulz: One of the things that annoy me is cartoonists who draw characters who overreact to a punchline. I’m a great believer in the “mild” in cartooning.

Schulz was not a fan of absurd caricatures of human emotions, and believed that a cartoonist should give their characters mild reactions whenever possible. After reading Schulz’s comments, I immediately thought back to Charlie Brown’s catchphrase “Good Grief!” - and then it clicked. Schulz’s “mild” reactions weren’t just his preference for cartooning in general, but also in maintaining the characterizations of certain characters, specifically Charlie Brown. “Good Grief!” reads as being a “big” reaction, but the fact that it’s “mild” speaks to who Charlie Brown is as a character on a deeper level.

Charlie Brown’s “Good Grief!” Catchphrase Speaks to His Quiet Despair

Charlie Brown is Famously Peanuts’ Most Hapless Character, & His Catchphrase Captures That

Since the very first Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown has been the franchise’s most hapless character. Bad luck seems to follow Charlie Brown wherever he goes, whether that be in the form of getting his baseball games rained out or receiving nothing but rocks for Halloween. And, more often than not, when something bad happens to him, you can bet that Charlie Brown is going to say “Good Grief!”. However, rather than reacting in an overly cartoony way (which we now know Schulz despised), Charlie Brown’s “Good Grief” was muted, quiet, and mild.

Charlie Brown’s quiet despair is perhaps the most iconic aspect of his character, and the fact that his catchphrase is a mild reaction to his unfortunate life highlights that perfectly. Charlie Brown’s catchphrase isn’t something fun and optimistic, nor is it even a “big” reaction to bad things happening to him. Charlie Brown lives with a nearly ever-present dark cloud hanging over his head, and all he can do is mildly react with a quiet “Good Grief”.

I have to say, I knew Charlie Brown was a depressed little guy even back when I was just a kid, but looking at his catchphrase from this perspective (after reading Schulz’s comments) is incredibly dark. And what makes it even worse is that it totally makes sense, fitting with both Charlie Brown’s established character and Schulz’s preferences when it comes to depicting his characters’ emotions.

Schulz’s “Mild” Reaction Preference Made Peanuts’ “Big” Reactions More Significant

Schulz wasn’t Against “Big” Reactions, They Just Had to Be Earned

Of course, when I went back and read some original Peanuts comic strips to look at things from this new (and really depressing) perspective, I wasn’t shocked to find that Peanuts included a number of s where characters had “big” reactions to certain situations. I mean, I Linus doing literal backflips whenever Lucy yelled at him, so I knew “big” reactions were included at least somewhat. But what I realized is that Schulz isn’t against “big” reactions, he’s against unearned “big” reactions.

If a character delivers a mediocre punchline to another, and the other character has an over-the-top reaction for no reason, that’s something Schulz would have a problem with. But that was never the case in Peanuts. Every reaction, “big” or “mild”, was tonally appropriate for the situation.

It’s just sad that the situations Charlie Brown more often than not finds himself in are unfortunate. It's his near-constant rotten luck that prompted him to develop a catchphrase that’s literally just a reaction to bad things happening. And to make it even more depressing, that reaction is a “mild” one of quiet despair, as that's what makes the most sense for Charlie Brown’s character. Indeed, Charlie Brown’s Peanuts catchphrase takes on a whole new meaning after Charles M. Schulz revealed its ‘origin story’, and I didn’t expect it to be this dark.

Source: Hogan’s Alley