American Masters - Good Ol' Charles Schulz

A 2007 Documentary broadcasted by PBS as part of American Masters series. Click on CC for English subtitles.

In 'Good Ol' Charles Schulz,' AMERICAN MASTERS presents an unexpected portrait of the man behind the most popular comic strip in history. Armed only with security blankets and vivid imaginations, the Peanuts gang endured unrequited love, loneliness, resentment and despair for almost 50 years. Creator Charles M. Schulz poured out his heart on the comics page and helped readers laugh at life's toughest struggles.

"Good Ol' Charles Schulz" includes excerpts from classic Peanuts television specials, archival footage, personal photos and home movies. Archival interviews with Schulz himself offer insight into a humble man who reached the pinnacle of his profession but still described himself as ordinary. Original interviews include Schulz' widow and three oldest children, the real-life inspirations for Linus and the "little red-haired girl," prominent cartoonists who knew "Sparky" Schulz and David Michaelis, author of Schulz and Peanuts, who served as consultant to the film.

The program explores the many connections between Schulz' life and art, from wintry images of a Minnesota boyhood and the echoes of a first marriage in the relationship between Lucy and Schroeder to the dismal family Thanksgiving that found its way into a holiday special. This is a quintessentially Midwestern story of an unassuming, self-doubting man who, through expressing his unique view of the world, redefined the comic art form with "Peanuts." His genius lay in depicting the daily collisions of insiders and outsiders, of mundane cruelties and transcendent hopes – seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

The "Peanuts" cast of characters is as familiar as our own siblings; their trials and tribulations speak of our families and evoke our childhood desperations. They are portrayed with whimsy and poignancy – and always with love and tolerance, each representing different facets of Schulz’ personality and his perspectives on 20th-century America.