Comments on: NPR talks about Charlie Brown character

By: Charles Brubaker

Charles Brubaker — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:57:33 +0000

“My favorite title twist of any of the Peanuts animations was â€œYouâ€™re Elected, Charlie Brown.â€ The show eliminates the possibility of Charlie Brownâ€™s election in the first five minutes with Lucy acting as campaign strategist doing a poll which determines that Charlie Brown â€œcouldnâ€™t get elected in a million yearâ€ – or something like that.”

Actually, at the last minute, the title was changed to “You’re NOT Elected, Charlie Brown,” due to the fact that Charlie Brown didn’t run at all (although he considered it).

Because this change happened at the last second, many press releases for the special used the former title.

By: Georg Waldhof

Georg Waldhof — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:39:07 +0000

My favorite title twist of any of the Peanuts animations was “You’re Elected, Charlie Brown.” The show eliminates the possibility of Charlie Brown’s election in the first five minutes with Lucy acting as campaign strategist doing a poll which determines that Charlie Brown “couldn’t get elected in a million year” – or something like that.

Then Linus runs and wins, ironicly because his opponent proves he is the better candidate by putting others first.

Fascinating

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:25:47 +0000

I love Charlie Brown because he always gets a bag full of rocks on Halloween.

By: danny alvarez

danny alvarez — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:59:19 +0000

Someone should produce a Peanuts 20 year high school reunion to see if Charlie Brown grew up to become the same loser he was as a kid.

I see him as an overweight, depressed 40 year old working as an appliance salesman at a retail outlet. I bet his wife cheats on him too.

By: Garey Mckee

Garey Mckee — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:35:04 +0000

“For most people, they lead quiet lives of desperation as did charlie brown so they identify with him very easily.”

I believe I’m more loudly desperate. But Rick’s synopsis is a great one. There’s nothing wrong with discussing or digging into a character we already are very familiar with, especially Charlie Brown. Chip Kidd said it best in his commentary for his Art Of Charles M. Schulz book, “…when you look closer than you’re supposed to at something you think you’re familiar with, you’re introduced to it all over again.”

By: josh shalek

josh shalek — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:47:44 +0000

I always figured it was that zigzag shirt.

By: Pete Sheffield

Pete Sheffield — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:28:55 +0000

Rick said it best. I always loved Charlie Brown cause he’s me. He’s the loveable loser in all of us.

By: Wiley Miller

Wiley Miller — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:22:32 +0000

Charlie Brown’s appeal actually needed explaining?

By: lefitte

lefitte — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:39:55 +0000

Well said, Rick.

And I maybe even a little deeper … Charlie Brown did not succeed in the world of baseball, field goal kicking or love, but he still had a lot of friends and a dog he loved.

I think it speaks to the Capra-esque sentiment of friends and family mattering more than material success and transient accomplishments.

But I’ve also gotten teary-eyed at credit card commericals … so I’m susceptible to sentimentality.

By: Jorey Epperson

Jorey Epperson — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:21:44 +0000

Yeah, that seems like a no-brainer. Charlie Brown is the everyman.