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Reconciling
Aug. 11th, 2015 01:03 pmI am trying so hard to want to love and appreciate the upcoming "Peanuts" movie. I get that it is being drawn, written, and animated by folks who legitimately love the series and I have no doubt everyone involved will do their utmost to stay true to Mr. Schulz's vision and style. Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy --I know in my soul that everyone involved is painstakingly working to make sure that these beloved characters remain their essential selves.
But it's NOT Schulz. Every punchline, every sight gag, every plot point that appears on the movie screen this Christmas, no matter how adorable or hilarious or poignant, is not being drawn or written by him. Mr. Schulz poured so much of himself into his work --often to the point of leaving nothing left over for himself or anyone close to him. Hell, his literally dying words to all of us included a desire not to have the strip be continued by anyone else.
I'm an illustrator myself now --a path that I pursued, at least in part, because of Mr. Schulz and his body of work. I generate an awful lot of material that is deeply personal --and as I'm starting to learn when I go to comic-cons and when folks (fans, really) talk excitedly about a favourite scene or a favourite character, I instantly know the piece of history, or the personal struggle, or the inspiration that led to that. And while I'm under no illusions that some other artist or writer could easily adapt my characters and settings into a story of their own (and probably wouldn't even object to such a thing), ultimately those characters and those settings are no longer me.
(Truth be told I feel the same way about the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII" movie, and for the same reasons. Yes, we'll see Luke and Han and Leia and Chewie and the droids enmeshed in new situations and delivering new dialogue and taking us to new settings, and it will all be thoroughly respectful of the source material and made with nothing but love --but those characters won't be George Lucas.)
I promise this is not a whiny-fanboi "they're-wrecking-my-childhood" post. This is something that may only be understandable to other artists or writers. Nobody loves "Peanuts" more than I, and believe me when I say that I so desperately want to be thrilled and excited about this Christmas's movie --but no matter how well-done it ultimately is, I don't think I can completely tune out the fact that Mr. Schulz will not be at its core.
But it's NOT Schulz. Every punchline, every sight gag, every plot point that appears on the movie screen this Christmas, no matter how adorable or hilarious or poignant, is not being drawn or written by him. Mr. Schulz poured so much of himself into his work --often to the point of leaving nothing left over for himself or anyone close to him. Hell, his literally dying words to all of us included a desire not to have the strip be continued by anyone else.
I'm an illustrator myself now --a path that I pursued, at least in part, because of Mr. Schulz and his body of work. I generate an awful lot of material that is deeply personal --and as I'm starting to learn when I go to comic-cons and when folks (fans, really) talk excitedly about a favourite scene or a favourite character, I instantly know the piece of history, or the personal struggle, or the inspiration that led to that. And while I'm under no illusions that some other artist or writer could easily adapt my characters and settings into a story of their own (and probably wouldn't even object to such a thing), ultimately those characters and those settings are no longer me.
(Truth be told I feel the same way about the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII" movie, and for the same reasons. Yes, we'll see Luke and Han and Leia and Chewie and the droids enmeshed in new situations and delivering new dialogue and taking us to new settings, and it will all be thoroughly respectful of the source material and made with nothing but love --but those characters won't be George Lucas.)
I promise this is not a whiny-fanboi "they're-wrecking-my-childhood" post. This is something that may only be understandable to other artists or writers. Nobody loves "Peanuts" more than I, and believe me when I say that I so desperately want to be thrilled and excited about this Christmas's movie --but no matter how well-done it ultimately is, I don't think I can completely tune out the fact that Mr. Schulz will not be at its core.
