Thursday, October 04, 2007

Charlie Brown Goes to WB...Again

I remember when Bill Melendez -- director-producer of the Peanuts specials and features -- trekked over to Disney's to talk about the House of Mouse distributing the artistic output of Melendez Productions.

If memory serves, it was one of the first times that Mr. Melendez had been at the Disney studio since he walked out during the '41 strike.

But it turns out Disney won't be distributing the Charlie Brown catalogue after all. That honor goes to another Burbank, California studio:

Warner Home Video has signed a multiyear deal to distribute Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the "Peanuts" gang on DVD and digitally...

Warner has access to 50 TV specials and series episodes based on the comic strip...Deal also opens the door for new made-for-video "Peanuts" titles

Warners and Charles Schulz's legacy actually have a long history. Fifteen years ago there was this:

Warner Bros. has inked a deal with filmmaker John Hughes to write and produce a live-action comedy based on Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" characters, the studio announced Friday.

Warner Bros. acquired the movie rights to the adventures of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and the other "Peanuts" characters from strip creator Schulz.

After meetings earlier this month between Hughes and Schulz at the cartoonist's Santa Rosa home, WB contracted with the filmmaker to write and produce the screenplay.

Well, if you can't do the live-action version, do the next best thing: distribute the animated library.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sure WB will find a way to somehow destroy the beloved 'Peanuts' gang the same way they've destroyed all of their other cartoon franchises.
It might not be easy, but no one is more skilled at sucking the quality out of something than good old WB.
Maybe they'll start making new cartoons with Snoopy voiced by Snoop Dogg!
Go for it, WB! You're the best at sucking!

Anonymous said...

"Well, if you can't do the live-action version, do the next best thing: distribute the animated library."

Hmmmmm... I wonder how long until someone at WB gets the bright idea to do a CG version of Peanuts ?

Site Meter