Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip made its debut in seven US newspapers in 1950, building off of a weekly series of one-joke panels called Li’l Folks that was first published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press in the late 1940s. While Li’l Folks didn’t have a recurring cast, it introduced many of the key elements that would go on to make Schulz’s most famous creation so special, including the wise-beyond-their-years kid cast and their character designs.

The Peanuts characters have evolved over the years, from the simple comic strip style of the 1950s to the animated character designs of today (Peanuts Worldwide LLC)

The Peanuts gang evolved over time. Schulz’s initial names for the dog character included “Sniffy,” but he ultimately chose “Snoopy” at his mother’s suggestion—possibly inspired by “Snuppe,” a Norwegian term of endearment. (His mother had Norwegian roots.) Snoopy started out looking and acting just like a regular dog before he was given more anthropomorphic qualities, such as human-like reactions and walking on two legs instead of four.

And the strip was initially “much more grounded in reality,” with kids playing in the neighborhood and Charlie Brown being more of a prankster, says Paige Braddock, creative director emeritus at Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. But “the moment Snoopy climbed on top of the doghouse, he became so much more than a regular dog. He took flights of fantasy, and we were all invited to join him, even though his doghouse never actually leaves the ground.”

“It wasn’t until the mid ’50s that Schulz allowed Peanuts to be more than just humor-driven.” she adds. “Around that time, we begin seeing the character traits and trials that would give the comic so much depth—unrequited love, self-doubt, questions of faith. By including not just the highs, but also the lows of the human experience, Schulz tapped into something universal.”

Various cultural moments and real-world shifts also influenced how Schulz developed and expanded the strip’s characters. “There’s a documented link between the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and the addition of Franklin,” Braddock says. “And there are slower, more subtle things, like the girls’ wardrobes shifting to include more pants in the 1970s.”

In January 1960, the comic strip made what was at the time a very unconventional leap into animation, not with a TV series or feature film, but with a campaign of car commercials for the Ford Falcon. The classic special A Charlie Brown Christmas followed in 1965.

“It’s interesting to note that Schulz wasn’t drawing the characters in the strip in a way that allowed for full turnarounds in animation,” says Braddock. “The characters had stylized designs, enormous heads and very short limbs. I’m sure this created unique challenges for the animator, Bill Melendez, who did all of the early animation related to Peanuts.”

The franchise has continued to grow since those early days, expanding into CG animation in 2015 with The Peanuts Movie from 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky—its first full-length feature in 35 years. It has also connected with Gen Alpha, thanks in part to a steady stream of specials and series from WildBrain, including Snoopy in Space and The Snoopy Show. In December, WildBrain agreed to sell its remaining piece of the brand to make Sony the majority owner of Peanuts Holdings with an 80% stake (the Schulz family controls 20%). WildBrain is still working on an untitled feature for Apple TV+ (the IP’s exclusive streaming home until 2030) that will follow Snoopy and company on big-city adventures.

Featured image provided by Peanuts Worldwide LLC.