With her 4-year-old son perched on her lap one recent weekend, Jena Mottola read the newspaper comic strips aloud, but only one of the cartoons was enjoyed by both: “Peanuts.”
“Out of all the funny papers, that’s the one that he understood and I understood. It’s ageless and it’s timeless, I think. It’s really iconic,” said Mottola, executive director of the Edmond Historical Society & Museum. “I said, ‘You know, honey, they make the funny papers to look like they’re for kids, but really, they’re for grownups.”
Mottola has found truth in that with the museum’s hosting of the current traveling exhibit, “Inside Peanuts: The Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz,” now showing through Aug. 31. Knowing that the museum would be receiving an influx of kids and families due to its recently renovated Children’s Learning Center, she wanted an exhibit that would appeal to the young visitors.
And while it has, older generations are getting the biggest kick out of it, she said, “which is ironic, because I brought it in for the kids, but really, it’s the grownups who like it.”
MOST POPULAR
Debuting in 1950, “Peanuts” is considered to be the most popular comic strip in history, enjoying a peak readership of 355 million in 75 countries. Schulz retired in 2000 “? and died one day before his final strip ran “? but Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang continue to grace daily newspaper pages through reprints.
Organized by the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, Calif., “Inside Peanuts” features 34 framed strips, including the one announcing Schulz’s retirement; 12 character breakdowns; photos of the artist’s office, with a well-worn drawing board; explanations of his creative process; examples of international versions of the comic; and toys and other merchandise, decade by decade.
“It’s an exhibit that highlights the life of the artist,” Mottola said. “Basically, it breaks down the brain behind it, and also has a large collection of artifacts, trinkets and figurines, but also the comic strips themselves.”
Visitors can peruse the items while listening to Vince Guaraldi’s jazz soundtracks to the “Peanuts” television specials.
“It just puts you in a good mood,” Mottola said. “It’s just a classic! Everyone can relate. It’s so funny. That’s what I love about it.”
Inside Peanuts: The Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 1-4 p.m. Saturday through Aug. 31 at Edmond Historical Society & Museum, 431 S. Boulevard in Edmond.
“?Rod Lott
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2009.