Charlie Brown is meet-and-greet character at Kings Island. He is the primary protagonist of the Peanuts comic strips by Charles Schulz. Along with his dog Snoopy, he has been the primary mascot of Kings Island since 2010. Charlie Brown is often seen in the park as a meet-and-greet character, and several of the rides in the Planet Snoopy area are themed specifically to him.
Background[]
Charlie Brown is the main protagonist of the Peanuts comic strip by the late Charles Schulz. He is eight years old and plays baseball with his friends. He is also the owner of Snoopy, who he regularly feeds and takes care of. Although he appears cheerful in the park, Charlie Brown is sometimes very nervous about little things, and not too confident in his own abilities, most likely due to frequent rejection from his peers. In addition, he is often the subject of various pranks, such as being unable to kick a football held by Lucy van Pelt. Despite these shortcomings, Charlie Brown is still able to keep an optimistic attitude, and is a good friend to many, including Linus van Pelt and Schroeder.
Charlie Brown first appeared in comics on October 2, 1950, and in animated TV specials with A Charlie Brown Christmas on December 9, 1965. He debuted in film with A Boy Named Charlie Brown on December 4, 1969, and made his computer-generated animation debut in The Peanuts Movie, released by 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company) on November 1, 2015.
Park Appearances[]
Charlie Brown is usually seen as a meet-and-greet character at the entrance to Planet Snoopy near Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, along with other Peanuts characters. He is also one of the many Peanuts characters that participates in the Peanuts Party at the Plaza show in International Street.
In addition to the many show appearances he has made, Charlie Brown is either the star of, or makes appearances in multiple rides in the Planet Snoopy section of the park, including:
- Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown - He is featured with the rest of the Peanuts cast at the end of the final drop, near the finish line. A life-size statue of him in canoeing gear can also be found at the entrance of the attraction.
- Charlie Brown's Wind-Up - The ride is themed to his baseball games, and he is featured on the entrance sign.
- The Kite-Eating Tree - All of the kites that make up the ride seats belong to him, and he is featured on the entrance sign.
As with the rest of the Peanuts cast, Charlie Brown also appears on several souvenir items that can be found throughout the many gift shops throughout the park.
Trivia[]
- Peanuts creator Charles Schulz based several aspects of Charlie Brown on himself, including his first name, and his father working as a barber.
- As with the other characters from the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown also appears at other Cedar Fair parks, most notably Cedar Point and Knott's Berry Farm.
- Like other Peanuts characters, Charlie Brown has different costumes depending on the occassion. He is normally found in his signature yellow shirt and red baseball cap, but he can also be found in the following costumes during certain events, though not all of them are meet-and-greet options:
- Frankenstein's Monster - Tricks and Treats Fall Fest
- Blue Baseball Cap - Snoopy Rocks on Ice! (2010 live show at the Kings Island Theater)
- Farmer - Charlie Brown's Hoedown (2010 live show at the Peanuts Playhouse)
- Pirate - Charlie Brown's Pirate Adventure (2011 live show at the Peanuts Playhouse)
- Baseball Uniform - Charlie Brown's All-Stars (2012 live show at the Peanuts Playhouse)
- Jungle Explorer - Charlie Brown's Jungle Journey (2013 live show at the Peanuts Playhouse)
- Flowered Shirt - Twitter pictures promoting the opening of Soak City in 2012
- Many of the gift shops at the park sell variations of Charlie Brown's signature yellow shirt with its black jagged stripe.