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Next year will be the 60th anniversary of the comic strip Peanuts. To celebrate, Peanuts is hosting a character look-a-like contest.
Now, it's no surprise Peanuts holds a special place in my heart. Charlie Brown, after all, is the original oversharer. For better or worse, his experiences and foibles illustrated the thoughts and times of a generation—and many thereafter. I had the opportunity to interview Jill Schulz, the daughter of late Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.
How did you guys come up with the idea to host a look-a-like contest?
Practically every fan we’ve ever met has told us that they have a particular Peanuts character they relate to—or that a family member, friend or child reminds them of a certain Peanuts character. With the 60th Anniversary coming up, this seemed like the perfect time to give people the chance to share their stories—and their pictures! Also, our team met Simon Pegg at Comicon a year ago, and he said that people are always telling him he looks like Charlie Brown. Naturally, that inspired us to follow up with a gallery of celebrity look-alikes.
Some media outlets were confused by the anniversary celebrations kicking off a year early and reported that the 60th anniversary had been this October 2nd—why did you choose to do this now?
Because my Dad created over 18,000 comic strips touching on so many themes and covering every season of the year—from Charlie Brown's lovelorn Valentine's Day to Snoopy as the Easter Beagle, from baseball season to Peppermint Patty's dread at the beginning of the school year, from Linus and the Great Pumpkin right through Christmas and Charlie Brown's pathetic little tree—we knew we couldn't limit our celebration to just one day. So we decided to start a year in advance and create a variety of events linked to the many different aspects of Peanuts. We'll culminate with a big celebration next October. Stay tuned for details on that!
The contest clearly invites parents to enter their kids, but the celebrity look-a-likes are adults--can adults enter this contest, too?
Absolutely—the contest is open to all ages. You can be a "child" from 0 to 200 to win! And while we expected the contest to appeal mostly to parents with young kids, we’re delighted to see the diversity in entries. That's a real testament to the wide-ranging appeal of Peanuts! The celebrity look-a-like gallery is really there to inspire and entertain our contest entrants—and anyone else who visits the website! I would especially encourage contestants to read the captions for the celebrities. You'll see that a winning look-a-like is not necessarily determined by looks alone—attitude and personality count, too!
Per the contest rules, the grand prize winner will receive a trip for four to Cedar Point. Are winners going to be part of any celebration or ceremony on Planet Snoopy grounds?
Not that I am aware of at this time, but I have been to Cedar Point myself with my children on several occasions while producing the Snoopy Ice Shows and Extreme Wheels Sports shows and they always have such a great time and Planet Snoopy with all of the super fun games and rides! I am certain the entire family will get a chance to meet Snoopy himself and take lots of pictures together. My 7-year-old son wants to let the kids know that Woodstock Express is his favorite ride over at Planet Snoopy too!
I read Seth Green's response to being cast as Joe Cool on In Touch. Have any other celebrities chosen as look-a-likes commented on their selection?
They were all flattered to be selected! Here’s what Shawn Johnson had to say: “I got a huge smile on my face when I found out I'd been picked as the Peppermint Patty look-alike! I love her because she is who she is and she says what she thinks—and of course, she's good at sports. I'm proud to be on the Peanuts team.”
Your panel of celebrity judges is incredibly diverse! What did they have to say when they were approached to join the celebration? They're all fans--do you know their favorite Peanuts character?
A very good question! Here are a couple of responses:
“Snoopy—As he is no ordinary dog, living in a dream-world he is constantly philosophizing even the simplest matters around him.” – Nigel Barker
“My favorite Peanuts character is Charlie Brown. I think inside each of us, there's a little kid who relates to him.” – Victoria Recaño
I read once that your father did not like the name Peanuts for
