The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, nestled in
Santa Rosa’s downtown district, is a haven for the kid-at-heart.
It’s a place where the never ending story of Charlie Brown and
the
”
Peanuts
”
gang continues to delight fans worldwide.
The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, nestled in Santa Rosa’s downtown district, is a haven for the kid-at-heart. It’s a place where the never ending story of Charlie Brown and the “Peanuts” gang continues to delight fans worldwide.
Life would be dull without Snoopy, the energetic dancing dog, Lucy Van Pelt, the lovable control freak, and Pigpen, the unflappable kid perpetually shrouded in a dust cloud wherever he goes.
A new, animated special titled “Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown” is available on Warner Brothers Home Video thanks to Schulz’s son, Craig, who maintains his father’s cartoon legacy as executive producer and writer. He and Stephan Pastis – creator of “Pearls Before Swine” comic strip – co-wrote the script for the original “Peanuts” special. Mark Mothersbaugh, of Devo, composed the score.
The story is about Linus, who tries to ditch his blanket before his grandmother’s visit. His older sister, Lucy, doesn’t help matters with her overbearing methods of persuasion. The whole “Peanuts” gang tries to help, which you know always spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. To find out the rest of the story, get the DVD or graphic novel.
In late March, the museum featured a fundraiser for its educational programs in cartooning and art for children and teens. Prior to showing the animated special in the museum’s theater, donors mingled with the Schulz family and Bravo’s Andy Cohen.
“As Snoopy’s No. 1 fan, it was a great privilege for me to help launch a new ‘Peanuts’ special,” Cohen said. “Seeing all my ‘Peanuts’ friends gathered on screen again made me feel like I was kid watching ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ for the first time.”
Executive producer Paige Braddock and animation director Andy Beall were among the folks at the gala. Beall worked for Disney-Pixar Studios on “Up” and “Ratatouille.” While he was working on “Up”, another person on the project discovered his “Peanuts” collection in his office.
“She said, ‘You know my friend Paige, she’s the creative director for Charles Schulz’s studio. When we finish up, why don’t you and I take a day, it’s like a celebration-our little wrap up party, and we’ll go up and meet Paige and you can see Charles Schulz’s studio where he drew his comic strip.’ I said yeah, let’s do it!” Beall said.
Beall met with Braddock and eventually began working for the studio.
“I started in May 2009 and the script had been written by Stephan Pastis and Craig Schulz,” he said. “I was still working at Pixar at the time and for a while I was working part time on the side. I would work full day at Pixar and then come home at night and work until 2 a.m. on ‘Peanuts’ stuff. We tried to define what the visual look of the show was going to be.
“Essentially we were trying to take it back to what it looked like in the 1960s,” Beall continued. “We wanted to make (the film) feel handmade. Made by people. We didn’t want to have a computer feel to it.”
He eventually left Disney-Pixar and joined the ‘Peanuts’ legacy.
“We are glad to have Andy full time and we hope he sticks around for a while,” Craig Schulz said before the screening of the film. He added that his father created the character Pigpen after him because no matter what he did when he was a kid, he couldn’t keep his fingernails clean, especially around dinnertime.
Then directing attention to the young voice actress nearby, Schulz said, “In this room today we have Gracie Rolek, front-row center, the voice of Lucy. She was terrific; you’re about to find out.
“Gracie you did remind me of my sister,” Schulz said. “I’m not supposed to say who was Lucy in my family because if my sister finds out then I’m in trouble. We’re not going to mention anything about who is the real Lucy.”
