As Peanuts and Apple fans know, there’s a new special that gives the backstory of Franklin: Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.[1]I’m not sure why Apple has to put the “Snoopy Presents” subtitle on the show, but that’s a whole another story…
It should be noted here that there are two different kinds of storylines that surround Peanuts specials. Some of the storylines come straight from Charles Schulz’s original comics, or are extensions of a particular strip or series of strips (“It’s an Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” is an example in this category), while others depart completely from the strip, such as “It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown.” It should be noted that the Franklin special is mostly a departure from the strip, although the scene of the beach ball floating in the water was in the strip. Like many other franchises, the Peanuts franchise isn’t immune to continuity problems between the strip and the televised specials.
I have to mention this background, because it’s important to understanding the big controversy surrounding this new show and the critiques of “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” Some have argued that “Welcome Home, Franklin” is an attempt to respond to the racial controversy surrounding Franklin’s appearance in Peanuts.
The critiques surrounding “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” center on the picture below, where Franklin is by himself on one end of the table, while the rest of the characters are on the other three sides of the table (for my blind friends, I outline who sits where later on this page).
Jean Schulz, Charles’ Schulz’s wife, in an article on NPR for the 50th anniversary of the Thanksgiving special, claimed that Charles Schulz didn’t participate much in the animated specials. But many have said that her response was unsatisfying.
As a Peanuts fan who has all 26 volumes of the Fantagraphics reproduction of all of Schulz’s work, I think I know a little about the Peanuts strip — not as much as Derrick Bang or others, but more than most people.
There’s a far simpler explanation that makes sense to any Peanuts fan, and I haven’t seen this posted anywhere.
Let’s discuss the picture. Linus, of course, is at the head of the table, because he’s talking about the history of Thanksgiving. Sally, Charlie Brown’s sister, sits next to Linus, because he is her “Sweet Babboo.” Sally logically would also sit next to her brother, Charlie Brown.
Now here’s the part that’s important. Peppermint Patty went to Charlie Brown’s house with Marcie and Franklin. Peppermint Patty likes Charlie Brown, so of course, she’s going to maneuver to sit next to Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown wouldn’t say anything — he can never say anything to Peppermint Patty because of their personalities. And the Charlie Brown/Peppermint Patty storylines are well documented in the strip, and thus, would make sense to even the most casual Peanuts fan. Snoopy is cut off from sitting next to Charlie Brown, so the next best place for him is next to Peppermint Patty. Thus, all of the Brown family is on the same side of the table along with Peppermint Patty.
Marcie would naturally want to sit across from whomever is speaking — after all, she’s the brightest of the gang (although one could make an argument for Linus as well). So she sits across from Linus.
That leaves Franklin. I could give two potential arguments here as to why Franklin is left alone:
- From a cartooning viewpoint, it’s easiest to have Franklin across from the Brown family (and Peppermint Patty) – it’s simply easier to draw. It would look awkward to have nobody on that side of the table. And that sets up the gag that I’ll describe momentarily.
- There’s also a reason in “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” why there’s one random chair that doesn’t look like all the rest. All the other chairs are more traditional chairs (such as wooden chairs) except the one Franklin sits on – he’s sitting on a fabric folding chair. That was also the chair that Snoopy had an imaginary battle with during the setup of the table and chairs in the backyard. Snoopy and the chair fought viciously against each other, boxing and wrestling style. There’s no way Snoopy would have done anything to move the chair — once it was in position, he wouldn’t have moved it. Now Franklin didn’t know that there was a big battle between Snoopy and the chair, and the chair has stopped being anthropomorphic at this point in the story. But arguably Franklin might have had the best chair, given the others were likely less comfortable. What kid likes sitting in a wooden chair? Unfortunately for Franklin, the chair does break, and it’s easier for the chair breaking to be shown with Franklin by himself. [2]Perhaps the chair breaking happened as a result of Snoopy’s attempts to fight the chair.
We also know that Charles Schulz himself wanted to ensure that Franklin wouldn’t be seen as a token, and in fact, when Southern newspapers wanted to pull the specific strips that Franklin was in, Schulz essentially said, “Print it my way or don’t print it at all.” And Franklin’s last name came from arguably the most successful Black cartoonist in the last 40 years. Franklin also was arguably the most “normal” Peanuts character without the major quirks that other characters had.
So while I’m sensitive to and do find many racial critiques to be viable, this is one that I don’t agree with.