I read a really good biography on Shultz and he was actually a pretty miserable person who suffered from major depression and panic disorder. He did not like kids believe it or not. I think this cynical take on Peanuts is kind of consistent with his strip without the subtly.
Meh. I feel like I've seen better "dark side of Peanuts" jokes. In fact, I'll post one.
There I did it. Anyhoo, Peanuts is such an obvious and easy target I think this video is a bit lazy. The "dark side" elements are kind of arbitrary. "Peppermint Pattie and Marci are lesbians! Oh, wait, that's fine... so they have hepatitus! Yeah, that's an organic plot element! And Lucy has diabetes for some reason! And Schroeder is a gay gogo slut!"
JPX's comment reminds me of an old Batman storyline from the 70s or 80s. The Joker kidnaps Charles Schulz (not named as him of course, and Peanuts is called something else). He forces him to draw dark versions of his strip in which the characters are killed off one by one, and he tells the newspapers they must publish them or the creator dies. A few days into this scheme, the Joker says something threatening like "you better keep drawing these" and "Schulz" says "You couldn't stop me now if you shot me! I hate these little fuckers and this is the most fun I've ever had!" (I'm paraphrasing.)
You know what my main reaction to this video was? Nostalgia for eating a NYC pizza slice off of a paper plate without bothering to sit down (usually I'd just keep walking instead of standing in the doorway). I know it was meant to be sad and lonely, but damn if that isn't actually totally awesome. I miss it. LA just ain't a walking town.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas Reunion"
7 Comments -
I don't know how to feel about that one. It's funny but it's also sad.
December 18, 2012 9:47 AM
That is exactly what I was thinking, Cat. I was about to write, "I liked it...is that wrong?"
December 18, 2012 9:49 AM
Lucy finally got what she deserved. Yes!
December 18, 2012 10:03 AM
I read a really good biography on Shultz and he was actually a pretty miserable person who suffered from major depression and panic disorder. He did not like kids believe it or not. I think this cynical take on Peanuts is kind of consistent with his strip without the subtly.
December 18, 2012 10:05 AM
Meh. I feel like I've seen better "dark side of Peanuts" jokes. In fact, I'll post one.
There I did it. Anyhoo, Peanuts is such an obvious and easy target I think this video is a bit lazy. The "dark side" elements are kind of arbitrary. "Peppermint Pattie and Marci are lesbians! Oh, wait, that's fine... so they have hepatitus! Yeah, that's an organic plot element! And Lucy has diabetes for some reason! And Schroeder is a gay gogo slut!"
JPX's comment reminds me of an old Batman storyline from the 70s or 80s. The Joker kidnaps Charles Schulz (not named as him of course, and Peanuts is called something else). He forces him to draw dark versions of his strip in which the characters are killed off one by one, and he tells the newspapers they must publish them or the creator dies. A few days into this scheme, the Joker says something threatening like "you better keep drawing these" and "Schulz" says "You couldn't stop me now if you shot me! I hate these little fuckers and this is the most fun I've ever had!" (I'm paraphrasing.)
You know what my main reaction to this video was? Nostalgia for eating a NYC pizza slice off of a paper plate without bothering to sit down (usually I'd just keep walking instead of standing in the doorway). I know it was meant to be sad and lonely, but damn if that isn't actually totally awesome. I miss it. LA just ain't a walking town.
December 19, 2012 10:24 AM
i think the pizza moment is an homage to the opening of louis ck's show, louie.
December 19, 2012 5:10 PM
Oh holy crap, you're right! The music, too. I've only seen that show a couple of times.
December 19, 2012 6:21 PM