On October 2, 1950, the first Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz was published across many of the major U.S. newspapers. Over a decade later, the popular series made the jump to animated form through various televised specials. There have been 45 Peanuts animated television specials produced since 1965, starting with A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The 29th animated special You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is an adaptation of the 1967 musical of the same name. It originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1985, and rebroadcast on June 14, 1988.
On August 15, over 35 years later, the long-running series presented a new musical through the 40-minute animated special Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical via the Apple TV+ streaming service. Although, as we learned in our video interview, it’s technically the first true musical animated special created from the ground up.
Music has always been an important part of animated Peanuts specials, and A Summer Musical continues that rich legacy. It features original music by Emmy Award-nominated composer Jeff Morrow and Emmy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, composer, and New York Times bestselling author Ben Folds.
In the first installment of our new video interview series SWT Interviews, I chatted with executive producer and writer (and Chuck’s son) Craig Schulz and director Erik Wiese about the series.
Below is a brief synopsis for the special, trailer and images:
“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” is a musical special about the joy and magic of summer camp and the importance of preserving what you love. Charlie Brown loves camp and is determined to make his final year special, but Sally, a first-time camper, is nervous and skeptical of the new and unfamiliar place. While everyone settles into camp, Snoopy and Woodstock discover a treasure map that takes them on a wild adventure nearby.
One morning, the Peanuts gang learns that their beloved camp is shutting down because there are fewer campers joining each summer. The news especially saddens Charlie Brown, who feels hopeless about losing a place that has meant so much to him and his friends. Meanwhile, on their adventure, Snoopy and Woodstock find the sought-after treasure chest, but are quickly disappointed when they discover it’s not riches, but instruments and photos from past summer concerts held at the camp. Newly inspired, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang use the treasure to host their own concert to save the camp.
The new special is the latest Peanuts-related project Craig Schulz, an award-winning producer and screenwriter, has overseen as CEO of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. Since 2021, he’s served as executive producer and screenwriter for the Peanuts animated series Snoopy Presents which airs episodes on Apple TV+.
For the new special, he once again contributed as producer and writer, as well as his son Bryan. Cornelius Uliano, Paige Braddock, Josh Scherba, Stephanie Betts, and Logan McPherson also served as producers, while Uliano and Alex Galatis also contributed as writers.
Wiese, an Emmy and Annie-nominated writer, director, and storyboard artist who works in both feature and television animation, also brought his wealth of experience to the special. He also served as executive producer, writer, and director on the animated series Sonic Prime, which was one of Netflix’s top 10 shows for 2023. He also was a director at Illumination Entertainment, directing several Minions shorts and commercials as well as a storyboard artist and writer for the SpongeBob series. He has a connection to the music world, as he was a supervising animator on the music video for Bjork’s “I Miss You.”
Below are a few clips to get you hyped up for the special:
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
