The appeal of Peanuts...why did we like it?

[enyawd72]

The older I get, the more perplexed I am about exactly why I liked (and still like) watching Peanuts specials.

Really, nothing much ever happens...most of the time it's just one or two kids musing about life, engaging in somewhat adult conversations while soft Jazz music plays in the background. The pace is almost snail-like it's so slow. It can be depressing sometimes and even somewhat preachy...yet, we all loved it. Most of us still do. I look forward every year to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with Charlie Brown and the gang.

Even back in the day, Peanuts had to compete with fare like Jonny Quest, Flintstones, Scooby Doo and other cartoons with seemingly a lot more going on.

So what's the appeal?

[PNGwynne]

I think the strip/cartoons succeeded from exactly the elements you mentioned, and could be watched, enjoyed, and discussed between parents and their children--the whole family. They were not as frenetic or slapstick as other cartoons and perhaps assumed that children were more sophisticated and incorporated themes of loss, faith, and belief that weren't typical of "Saturday Morning." I don't think they were enjoyed per se because it was a simpler time.

I don't know that I'm expressing myself vey well, but I feel a great sense of poignancy--not just nostalgia--when I see Peanuts. For me, the Christmas special is the only cartoon that really captures what is "true" about that holiday. And as a fan of Linus, how could I not admire The great Pumpkin?

[Mikey]

Because they don't talk down to their kid audience unlike a lot of other shows and cartoons.

Also, because the show mostly rely's on good coherent dialog and not visuals

Finally, because they use real child actors for voicing.

The fact many of them are clearly reading a script monotone makes it that much more quaint

[J.B.]

So what's the appeal?

Knowing that at any moment Peppermint Patty could lay one on Sally............and what PNGwynne said.

[johnnystorm]

Whaan whanwhan wha wha wa wa. Wha wha whan wanwan wha.

[Nostalgiabuff]

honestly I was never much of a fan. I never got the appeal. Don't get me wrong, I watched the specials as a kid, I even read the comic strip in the paper every day, along with all the others. but I have no nostalgia for it, no desire to watch the specials today and no desire to see the recent movie

[JediJaida]

I used to love the Peanuts specials.

I also got frustrated with how stupid the characters could be sometimes. Peppermint Patty NEVER caught on to the fact that Charlie Brown was in love with someone else.

Marcie was forever calling her 'sir'.

Lucy was abusive to Linus and was never punished for it.

Sally was obsessed with Linus, and was always calling him her 'sweet babboo'.

Schroeder was obsessed with his piano.

Snoopy had NO respect for Charlie Brown at all.

And as for Charlie Brown, jeez this kid was depressing! He was depressed, abused by his classmates, disrespected by everyone, his baseball team NEVER won a single game, except for the Arbor Day special, up until the game got rained out.

To this day, I can't watch the Halloween special. Poor Linus simply wanted to have his beliefs validated, and was disappointed. He ended up nearly freezing to death in a pumpkin patch.

About the only one that I still watch is the Christmas Special. It's the only one where Charlie Brown comes out on top. His little, bitty Christmas tree is actually liked by the other kids, although after receiving a makeover from Snoopy's doghouse.

[PNGwynne]

How can you say you once enjoyed the specials when you go on to criticize every character's basic elements? That's like saying, "I like Seinfeld, except for George's greed, Kramer's flakiness, Elaine's temper, and Jerry's arrogance" or "I like Batman, except for the silly bat-suit."

These are comic-strip characters with core personality traits. I don't think I need to act as an apologist for Charles Shultz, but the strip wasn't meant to be Tolstoy or James. I suppose now we should see these characters updated, Venture-like, and have Lucy a divorced ball-breaker, Linus with OCD and bipolar issues, Charlie a suicidal failure, and Sally and Schroeder locked in a passive-aggressive dysfunctional romance. No thanks.

[cjefferys]

I grew up constantly reading the paperback compilations of the comic strips and watching the TV specials, Peanuts has a very special place in my heart. The strips from the 1950's and 60's are gold, I still enjoy reading them. I enjoyed the new film too (as did my kids).

[LonnieFisher]

Here's one interpretation on the Peanuts gang when they get older...

[Makernaut]

Because.....what normal kid didn't understand that being sincere, enthusiastic, and full of optimism was usually, not enough to come out on top?

Charlie Brown was our Champion!! We got it....he was a "loser" but not in our sympathetic eyes.

[Goblin19]

Snoopy is very appealing to everyone. He's cute and gets into trouble. For me, I have always loved laid back style storytelling so Peanuts is just perfect for me.

[Duncan]

As a kid, I generally found them boring. I watched them because they were there - cartoons during prime time was a big deal! I like 'em much better as an adult.

[Iron Mego]

Once we started showing the specials to our kid, the wife and I realized that they really weren't that great. We stopped watching the Thanksgiving one altogether, and the Snoopy bit in the Great Pumpkin is overlong and boring. The Xmas special is the only one I look forward to watching.

Don't get me started on the later ones. Abysmal.

[sprytel]

Reminds me of this Glen Weldon tweet:

October: Linus is the Aleister Crowley of a pagan gourd-cult.
December: Linus is all "THAT'S the true meaning of Christmas!" Jesus-y.