Starting Again - For Better or For Worse

[Fozzie Bear]

^ I learned a LOT about Mr. Schulz when I read the book Schulz and Peanuts. I knew he was a shy man who was baffled by his success, but I had no idea about all those other problems.

I hope there is something more to take from that book than that. He'd always been truthful about his insecurities, but I hope his successes and an appreciation for his work come first and foremost of his career rather than reading a book that focuses more toward the negative side of his story.

I was given the book, but had to put it down--it's one-sided in telling the biography (and as I read some of it I felt the narration was going in circles and the same thing kept being repeated).

I'd suggest you get Peanuts Jubilee and Johnson's biography "Good Grief: The Life and Times of Charles Schulz."

 

[wwfpooh]

Johnson's biography "Good Grief: The Life and Times of Charles Schulz."

Is it a more accurate representation of the man behind Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and friends?

 

[Redsonga]

It probably came from the same person who thinks Nermal is a girl. As much as the feline sounds and even looks like a girl, Nermal is--by all defintions via the comic counterpart--a guy cat.

I still think of him as a girl and probably always will..I just can't see it any other way . But I am still in the camp of keeping Jon single..he is just more..lovable when he is single. When everything is going well for him it gets boring IMHO ^.^

ctually, he hated it. He hated the name, he hated the characters ("Oh that Charlie Brown; How I hate him"), and he hated that its originally broodish tone was replaced with a happy-go-lucky attitude (for as he himself put it, "Anybody who thinks this is cute is crazy"). In fact, the only reason he continued doing it was because it was the only way he himself could find respect and recognition.

Hate is a strong word. I really don't think he hated it deep down (and I really really don't think he hated the characters), or he would have stopped, he was a very smart well read man who could have had other jobs as maybe an author or more...
If nothing else he loved drawing and storytelling, and no matter what he might have said about his comic like a faithful friend he stayed with it . That says a lot about who much true 'hate' he had for it I think...

 

[wwfpooh]

he was a very smart well read man who could have had other jobs as maybe an author or more...

If the rest of his life was any indication, he felt that it was only as the man behind Charlie Brown, Snoopy, & friends that he could get recognition.

If nothing else he loved drawing and storytelling, and no matter what he might have said about his comic like a faithful friend he stayed with it . That says a lot about who much true 'hate' he had for it I think...

Right. It was this love--along with the recognition--that kept him going moreso than fondness for the characters or whatever.

 

[Redsonga]

If the rest of his life was any indication, he felt that it was only as the man behind Charlie Brown, Snoopy, & friends that he could get recognition.

When you have something that becomes as big as Peanuts or the muppets or Garfield, there comes a time where your work touches so many generations that it takes on its own life nearly, and a lot of the people behind it are just seen for that work..It's the nature of good movies (like Star Wars) series (like Star Trek) and books to (like Lord of The Rings or the OZ books)...I think it is up to the maker of the series/comic/movie to decide how they deal with that fame..some people are better at it than others. I think Mr. Henson was great at this skill IMHO

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Actually, he hated it. He hated the name, he hated the characters ("Oh that Charlie Brown; How I hate him"), and he hated that its originally broodish tone was replaced with a happy-go-lucky attitude (for as he himself put it, "Anybody who thinks this is cute is crazy"). In fact, the only reason he continued doing it was because it was the only way he himself could find respect and recognition.

That is all incorrect (yep, I'm also a Schulz-ologist). He hated that the name was changed by the syndicate to "Peanuts," he wanted to title it "Good Ol' Charlie Brown." He did have insecurities, but he didn't hide behind his characters, he was REALLY protective of them and his work--to this day, they do not allow any alteration of his artwork for even product packaging.

Please do get the book by Johnson:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Good-Grief-Char...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

No bids yet and starts at .99!

 

[Ilikemuppets]

But sometimes, branching beyond the original medium could give the entire franchise on the whole success. Heck, the 1939 Oz film is halfway nothing like the book that inspired it (missing the mice and china people; changing the footwear from silver shoes to ruby slippers; merging The Witch of the North & Glinda, Witch of the South; retooling the Wicked Witch from a one-eyed hunchback to Elphaba's present state; etc.) and yet, the film is among the top-rated films of all time and it has brought interest in the entire Oz franchise.

Actually when the movie originally came out it was a big flop and only over time did it become a classic.

 

[wwfpooh]

Most movies seemingly start off rocky.