# Snoopy's great! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270 "2019-12-02T13:25:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/81 "2019-12-10T14:36:05Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Schulz is the sole credited writer for the animated special in question. Go ahead and dislike the story, Schulz himself did; there’s no need to add the claim that he wasn’t directly involved. As I said earlier, “[Schulz’s] level of involvement varied, depending on the show in question.” This is borne out by examining the credits on the TV specials. Many merely carry the credit “Created by Charles Schulz” and make no mention of writing credits. Others, including the special we’re discussing, carry the credit “Written by Charles Schulz.” So Schulz apparently did have input into the story line of this one — though from all we know it would appear that there was a certain amount of pressure involved in getting him to accede to showing the Little Red-Headed Girl. As noted, he came to regret that decision. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/82 "2019-12-10T15:23:42Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > As I said earlier, “[Schulz’s] level of involvement varied, depending on the show in question.” > > This is borne out by examining the credits on the TV specials. Many merely carry the credit “Created by Charles Schulz” and make no mention of writing credits. And, as I said earlier, “He’s the only credited writer for several of those, primarily stories which originally appeared in the strips.” NB: _Charlie Brown’s All-Stars_, which started this tangent, originally appeared in strip form. Now that you’ve evidently took a look at the writing credits, perhaps you’d like to acknowledge that “[a]nything [beyond the strips] does not have any direct involvement with Charles Schulz” wasn’t correct? ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/83 "2019-12-10T16:49:23Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > And, as I said earlier, “He’s the only credited writer for several of those, primarily stories which originally appeared in the strips.” NB: _Charlie Brown’s All-Stars_, which started this tangent, originally appeared in strip form. > > Now that you’ve evidently took a look at the writing credits, perhaps you’d like to acknowledge that “[a]nything [beyond the strips] does not have any direct involvement with Charles Schulz” wasn’t correct? Yes, my statement as quoted above was incorrect — although my overall point that anything that did not appear in the strip is not “canon” remains. Hope you feel better now. Your “primarily” saves you in your first paragraph, since the story in which Charlie Brown meets (and is ultimately kissed by) the Little Red-Headed Girl — which has been the primary focus of our discussion — did not originally appear in the strip. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/84 "2019-12-10T17:08:42Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Yes, my statement as quoted above was incorrect — although my overall point that anything that did not appear in the strip is not “canon” remains. Hope you feel better now. Just fighting ignorance. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/85 "2019-12-10T18:11:46Z")
Wait, what is this? Star Wars? There’s someone holding the standard on what is and isn’t canon on the Peanuts? OK. I’ll just be over here enjoying The Peanuts Movie and It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/86 "2019-12-11T07:00:07Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Wait, what is this? Star Wars? There’s someone holding the standard on what is and isn’t canon on the Peanuts? OK. I’ll hold as ‘canon’ anything on display at the [Peanuts Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Schulz_Museum_and_Research_Center) in Santa Rosa, California. > [@](#): > > The museum is home to many of the original Peanuts strips, as well as other artwork by Schulz. Two works by Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani dominate the Great Hall: a 3.5 ton wood sculpture depicting the evolution of Snoopy and a 22 ft (6.7 m) high ceramic mural made of 3,588 Peanuts strips which combine to form the image of Lucy van Pelt holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick it. Among the museum’s permanent exhibits are a work by Christo which depicts Snoopy’s doghouse wrapped, Schulz’s personal studio and tributes to Schulz from other artists. Thus, Christo and Otani are canon, too. Charles Schultz was a rather nice fellow who gave much money to the community both openly and anonymously. I gather he cared more about ice shows than canonicity. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/87 "2019-12-11T08:51:12Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > [This strip](https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/2014/01/19) never fails to make me laugh (although I remember it being Lucy who was “menaced” by Snoopy. Oh well; still funny. “Unclean! Unclean!” 😃 That strip is one of my favorites, too. One thing I especially like is how Schulz juxtaposes Snoopy’s thought bubbles with the spoken lines so that it _seems_ like dialogue, even though the human characters ostensibly can’t hear Snoopy’s thoughts. Snoopy: “Touched the dog”?!! Sally: Stay away from me!! My hands are clean! Snoopy: Look out! I’m covered with disease! I’m filthy dirty! Sally: Stay away, I said! Sally’s lines aren’t actually responses to what Snoopy is thinking, but they sound like they _could_ be. Schulz did this sort of thing a lot; it gives the reader a sense of Snoopy interacting with the human characters while still maintaining a boundary between them. Compare this with Garfield, which treats the human/animal interaction inconsistently (Jon can’t hear Garfield’s thoughts, except when the punchline of a strip demands it). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/88 "2019-12-11T12:49:43Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Compare this with Garfield, which treats the human/animal interaction inconsistently (Jon can’t hear Garfield’s thoughts, except when the punchline of a strip demands it). That’s because every line of dialog from Garfield is in Jon’s head only. I’m not even sure he really owns a cat. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270/89 "2019-12-11T15:31:40Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > If you google ‘did Snoopy ruin Peanuts’, there seem to be dozens of articles discussing that. When the strip started out, it was a bit darker and depression, existential ennui, neurotic behavior etc. were shown, filtered through the ‘little folks’ - out of the mouths of babes! Without Snoopy, whose exploits greatly expanded the strip, Peanuts wouldn’t have at all lasted as long as it did. IIRC the very first strip closed with a kid saying, “Good old Charlie Brown. How I hate him.” Dark start. But even without Snoopy I think Schulz would have taken the strip in the direction it went anyway. Otherwise it would just end up on the last page of City Paper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snoopys-great/844270.md?page=4)