[ad_1]
Everyone’s favorite Peanuts are back! The latest Snoopy Presents special on Apple TV+ premiered over the weekend. The special’s approach has generated much excitement: after being introduced in the late 1960s, Franklin, Misery’ first black character, is finally attracting attention in Welcome home, Franklin.
The Daily Beast’s Obsessed spoke with Craig Schulz, executive producer of Welcome home, Franklin and supervisor of all Misery media and director Raymond S. Persi over Zoom, about Franklin’s presentation and initial reaction, following the legacy of Misery creator Charles M. Schulz (who is Craig’s father), and taking the opportunity to respond to a controversial take from the 1973 Thanksgiving special.
Franklin’s creation has a notable origin. “The year was 1968,” says Schulz. “Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated. A young schoolteacher named Harriet Glickman had seen this and it affected her deeply. “She thought a way to get a better message out to the community was to reach out to some cartoonists and see if we could get a black character into the cartoon world, something that hadn’t happened until then.”
One of the cartoonists Glickman contacted was Charles Schulz, the creator of the Misery universe. That same year, on July 31, Franklin joined the Peanuts, first introduced in a comic strip meeting Charlie Brown on the beach. That same sequence was recreated in Welcome home, Franklin to honor the legacy of the character.
That decision to incorporate Franklin into the comic strip generated an alarming, though not surprising, amount of controversy. It wasn’t until almost 20 years later that Craig realized the backlash his father faced for introducing Franklin. Charles took his son into his bedroom and showed her “this two-page rant letter from someone who just criticized him for including a black character in the comic strip,” Schulz recalled. It was a shocking moment for the young Schulz, who explained that the anonymous civilians were not the only ones upset with Franklin’s presentation.
“The newspapers refused to publish those comics with Franklin in those days. And my dad said, ‘If you’re not going to execute him, that’s fine with me.’ I’m just not going to write it,’” Schulz said. By cleverly wielding the power of his and the popularity of comics, Franklin remained a key part of the Misery crew. But it was an eye-opening moment for the cartoonist: “I think all of this really enlightened him about the anger that was in the world,” Schulz says.
the legacy of Misery is immense: there is hardly a person in the Western world who has not heard at least about Charlie Brown. When creating new stories, Schulz is very conscious of his father’s work. “I always go back and ask myself, ‘What would my dad do?’ What would be his judgment? My son (Bryan Schulz), myself and (Cornelius Uliano) try to go to the edge of the box within this universe, without going outside the box and keeping it true to the original source,” Schulz says, adding: “We used the strip comic like our Bible and we base ourselves on that. This story was one we all really wanted to tell. Everyone loves Franklin. We just felt like he deserved a lot of respect.”
Raymond S. Persi, director of Welcome home, FranklinI was excited about the opportunity to finally spotlight Franklin and make him the star of the show. “Franklin is a confident kid,” says Persi, “but he’s never had the chance to show anyone who he really is. He meets Charlie Brown and finally feels comfortable enough to be himself, flaws and all, and their bond becomes stronger because of it.”
And he continues: “A special like this has the same purpose as Franklin’s first presentation. Hopefully, it’s a reminder to people that we have a lot more in common than we have different, and if we see each other on a personal level, we will connect and be friends.”
The key to establishing Franklin and Charlie Brown’s friendship was something that felt essentially Misery: a tribune derby. “The original idea was to build a tree fort,” says Schulz. “That’s fun, but there’s no action. So when the idea of derby cars came up, it can be a lot of fun, because it gives you a chance for (Charlie Brown and Franklin) to build something together and then capture the essence of two kids’ conversation.”
There is something very different about the way children communicate; While adults worry about achievements and jobs, children really want to explore the essence of who you are as a person, not what you do. That gave Schulz and company an exciting opportunity to explore Franklin.
The derby itself highlights the beautiful animation shown in Welcome back, Franklin. “Our team thought a lot about it: how to make the cars animate correctly and track the action,” says Persi. Persi understood that sound would play an important role in clarifying all the chaotic and exciting action. “Charlie Brown and Franklin’s car has a specific sound, so even if you’re not paying attention, it will mentally tell you who’s there and who we’re following.” The sound and animation combine beautifully, and the grandstand race is an exciting highlight of the special.
But the moment that gets everyone talking was revealed in the trailer: a shot of Franklin sitting at a table with Charlie Brown and his friends. It may not seem like much, but it’s a direct reference to the 1973 television special. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. While Misery and controversy are an exceptionally rare combination, the conversation has grown over the years on that lasting image. In the ’73 Thanksgiving special, Franklin sits on one side of the table, while everyone else sits in front of him. That image has drawn the ire of several commentators, concerned that Franklin remains segregated from his white friends, even when they are at the same table. This time, Franklin takes his rightful place at the table, with all of his new friends.
Schulz himself was unaware of the controversy, as he does not spend much time on the Internet. It was his son who gave him the clue. “It was very important to my son Bryan,” Schulz observed. “He said, ‘This is our chance to rectify the whole thing.'” The challenge, then, was to make the moment an organic part of the story, so that it didn’t seem like they were just trying to fix something. for her sake.
The scene is subtle and emotional. Franklin starts on the opposite side of the table, before joining his friends on the other side, who surround him with smiles. “To make it have the biggest impact, (I suggested that) we match the shot exactly to what it was in the Thanksgiving special,” Persi says. “So, we looked at the original framework. You’ll see (in the special) that it’s even the same strange, twisted perspective of the table. “We put it there just so people would immediately connect with that moment.”
While the message of Welcome home, Franklin It is one of boundless positivity and joy, the creators are aware that today’s world doesn’t feel like that. “The era of 1968 is similar to the current era,” says Schulz. “There is a lot of division and a lot of anger in the world.” For Schulz, Franklin’s special is “a powerful way to show that two people can come together if you take it to a basic level,” and that’s something he hopes will resonate with the kids and their families who watch it.
“It’s part of being a kid,” Persi agreed. “You’re just not worried about all that external stuff.”