Peanuts Begins by Charles Schulz for March 28, 2024

Offscreen adult dialogue!

He’s keeping up appearances.

I always loved the old-fashioned baths. Relax my cares away.

Calling Charlie Brown by his first name alone has always sounded strange to me.  He will always be his first and last name, said together, for his name to sound right, in my opinion. “Who’s that coming down the road? Is that Charlie?” “No. That’s Charlie Brown.”

But why would a presumably family member, most likely his mom, call him by his first and last names when telling him it’s his bath time?

Glad you came clean on that point Charlie Brown!

Hey as a Canadian, every American want to know it I know Bob or Sally. Only one first name allowed in this country. I usually say they live in the igloo next door.

I wonder if this is the first time that ‘I can’t stand it!’ appears in PEANUTS. Schulz still hasn’t discovered “good grief”; Charlie Brown says “Great Scott!” in an earlier cartoon. I love to see the evolution of this strip.

I also note that Charlie Brown has a philtrum (the little gutter between your nose and upper lip) and his mouth appears as the black ‘bean’ in panel 3 and in linear form in panel 4.

Anything but a bath, ok, get in the shower then.

Translation of the the adult dialogue:

Wrow-wrooow-wrow-wroooow….

This is one of the few times a (presumably) adult speaks in “Peanuts,” and one of the very few times our hero is called just “Charlie,” not “Charlie Brown.”

Similar to the Rizzo philosophy on MASH. “Never let them see you smile.”

Could he be more adorable?

Lucy calls him Charlie once in the Christmas speical. I always found that a little jarring.

This must be when adults in the strip could say more than wah wah wah.

Mom can talk in non-trombone words

Reverse psychology?

One of the few times an adult is heard from.