Time to replace Snoopy?

They are actually making new shows. :) "Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown" was just released last year, with Charles' son, Craig, doing a lot of the writing.

It's not "dead".

He's a Bully, Charlie Brown...2006

I want a dog for Christmas...2003

Lucy Must be Traded, Charlie Brown (on the Team Snoopy DVD released in 2012...which plays in the Cedar Point Family Care Center ALL THE TIME)

Just to name a few. :)

99er said:
Well its been a year or so since I read the Sandusky Register while I was at work but they featured it. It was in whatever paper I was reading at work the other day (I think it was the Orlando Sentinel). I actually can't remember the last time I looked and couldn't find the comic strip in whatever newspaper I was reading.

Who reads newspapers anymore? ;)

I was actually thinking the same thing as I was typing that. I don't subscribe to any on-line papers, I just read whatever is sitting in the office every day (which is usually a bunch of different trade/newspapers. Even if you want it online though, the peanuts website has a daily comic strip and you can also get a Peanuts comic strip app too so you always have Peanuts with you.

I stand corrected, Kevinj. I only wish I had found out about new Peanuts stuff due to their own marketing rather than in this thread. :)

Maybe Kevinj secretly works for Peanuts and is marketing for them on this thread ;)

^One wonders lol

That said, it seems to me that everyone making claims that all children LOVE Snoopy also start off their posts by mentioning just how BIG of a Peanuts fan they are. So my question is; has anyone indifferent towards the Peanuts noticed this LOVE that children are apparently displaying towards the Peanuts gang? Supposedly my nephews are the only kids on this planet who don't care for Snoopy, so they don't count.

Also, Kevinj, did you know about those new specials or did you look them up? Just curious as to whether or not the Peanuts fans even knew about those.

I would be someone who is indifferent as far as the Peanuts go. That said, I have witnessed long lines to meet the Peanuts gang. This included very excited children, teens and even adults at times. This wasn't on one occasion either, I have witnessed it many, many times as I worked in Live Entertainment and hung out with the gang on a daily basis. As for if those same kids get excited every holiday season for the specials on tv I do not know. A lot of people I know though do get excited and make it a point to be in front of the tv when those specials come on.

Bottom line is that if the park didn't think the Peanuts gang was relevant, they wouldn't be paying the money to license the brand. It is really that simple. For every kid you know that doesn't care who Snoopy is, there is probably one that doesn't care who Spongebob is.

I always thought it was more about "what can we get for price $$$". Hence, KI dumps Nickelodeon because the price was too high when it came time to renew.

But if that were the case, I am sure there is something even cheaper out there.

Pretty sure the reason Cedar Fair has Peanuts is because of the Knott's family having been in business with Peanuts since the early 80's. When they acquired the Paramount parks, they probably felt that they had already established the Peanuts brand at the parks and wanted to keep them because of that. Why pay more for a brand that could fade away?

I think The Peanuts Gang is one of the most recognizable cartoon for its age. If you ask a kid under 15 what Rocko's Modern Life was, they probably wont know. Ask the same thing about the Peanuts, and they will probably know. When ABC airs the specials during prime time, they get more viewers than ABC's normal programming.

The Peanuts franchise fits well with Cedar because the franchise is very flexible with different genders and age groups. Sega, Nintendo, and even some Nickelodeon characters would not fit well with very young children, toddlers, or girls (for the most part). Thinking about other franchises that are demographic friendly and popular with multiple age groups, here are the few I could think of: Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, and Arthur. However, when I go on multiple polls for the most recognized, popular, and classic cartoons, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, or The Peanuts always pop up in the top five.

In retail, Walmart, Target, Kohls, JcPenny, and Sears/Kmart all carry a lot (some carry over 300 items) of Snoopy apparel, decorations, and buttons.

All in all, I think Cedar Fair has a unique franchise compared to Six Flags, Universal, and other independent parks.

And it should be noted that Universal also feels that the franchise is unique because they too use the Peanuts Gang at one of their parks. So think about that one!

99er said:
But if that were the case, I am sure there is something even cheaper out there.

Right, but I think it is a balancing act between what they are willing to pay and the best brand available in their price range. I guess Peanuts beats out Garfield and Family Circus, eh? :)

Paramount was much more tied to television/film (obviously), so they were willing to pay more for a relevant TV franchise. It certainly seemed successful at Kings Island. They had several major upgrades every few years for a while there.

Given the opportunity, I think it would be crazy not to have Mario be your corporate mascot. "Itsa me, Mario! Come to Cedar Point!" I would also wager that among kids, the Nintendo DS is more well known than Snoopy.

I bought a red and blue striped tank top with Snoopy and Charlie Brown on it from Forever 21 specifically for Cedar Point

Then all we would hear is the Mario brothers theme song throughout the park...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiAxiGZKpGQ

The Mario franchise has fantastic music; not to mention the amazing Donkey Kong series soundtrack. Some real gems in those games.

Viacom owned both Paramount Parks AND Nickelodeon. PP used Nick characters because 1) they were free, and 2) they promoted those characters, thus helping another part of the company.

They set up a license when the parks were sold to CF, but when the characters were first introduced to the parks there was no cost-benefit analysis of which characters they should license. They used Nick characters because they OWNED them.

Ensign Smith said:
Nick hasn't been around long enough to be 'old school'. You wanna what old school is? Speed Racer--not the crappy movie remake, but the original 1970's show. Land of the Lost--not the crappy movie remake, but the original 1970's show. Sigmund and the Sea Monsters--not the crappy...oh, wait, they haven't gotten around to that one yet. H.R. Pufnstuf--easily the best young stoner indoctrination show ever. Banana Splits. Anything Hanna-Barbara.

Man, do I suddenly feel old...

I feel your pain on this one.... When Six Flags opened in St. Louis it was all HR Puffenstuff and the like. My last year working at Six Flags was 1982 and some of the "you have to be this tall to ride" signs were still Cling and Clank with there hand out for the height.

I think they should use Calvin and Hobbes or Bloom County...!

99er said:
And it should be noted that Universal also feels that the franchise is unique because they too use the Peanuts Gang at one of their parks. So think about that one!

Actually, I believe Universal Studios Japan is owned and operated by an independent company, not by NBC-Universal.

Do you think that Universal Entertainment isn't going to have a say in what is brought into their branded park? Because I think they are going to have a huge say in what happens there, regardless of who the actual owner of the park is.

99er said:
I would be someone who is indifferent as far as the Peanuts go. That said, I have witnessed long lines to meet the Peanuts gang. This included very excited children, teens and even adults at times.

Kids are always excited to meet costumed characters. When I was younger, I had to hug everyone at Disney, even though I only recognized about a third of them. What I was really asking is whether or not you saw kids outside of the park wearing merchandise, begging for Peanuts DVDs, carrying stuffed animals, watching the specials everytime you visit, etc.

99er said:
And it should be noted that Universal also feels that the franchise is unique because they too use the Peanuts Gang at one of their parks. So think about that one!

For some reason Snoopy is incredibly popular in Japan, most likely the kawaii factor. There are many franchises and characters more popular in other countries then over here. I'm not sure how many people here realize just how BIG Top Cat is in Mexico. He’s soo big down there, that they actually made a movie last year do to demand. Now up here, how many kids do you think would even recognize him? They wouldn't even include him on The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

Chuck Wagon said:
Given the opportunity, I think it would be crazy not to have Mario be your corporate mascot.

Mario wouldn’t be Cedar Point’s corporate mascot, Nintendo would never allow that. It’d simply be a franchise within the park, like Harry Potter at Universal.

Chuck Wagon said:
"Its a me, Mario! Come to Cedar Point!" I would also wager that among kids, the Nintendo DS is more well known than Snoopy.

They’d probably advertise it like “TOGETHER you can experience the magic of Nintendo like never before, ONLY at Cedar Point!” or something like that; keeping with the theme of togetherness started with this years Thrills Connect marketing campaign.

Also, I believe it was Disney that had free in-park wi-fi for your Nintendo DS that gave you an app with a park map and games kids could play while waiting in-line. Even if they don’t have Nintendo and stick with Peanuts, that’s something to consider doing.

coolkid said:
I think The Peanuts Gang is one of the most recognizable cartoon for its age. If you ask a kid under 15 what Rocko's Modern Life was, they probably wont know. Ask the same thing about the Peanuts, and they will probably know.

Kids might know who Snoopy or Charlie Brown is but I doubt they know what Peanuts is.

coolkid said:
When ABC airs the specials during prime time, they get more viewers than ABC's normal programming.

but we need to look at the demographic makeup of those viewers. Something makes me think that most of those viewers are a little older, since an increasing amount of people under 30 watch TV shows in other ways then network television.

coolkid said:
The Peanuts franchise fits well with Cedar because the franchise is very flexible with different genders and age groups. [...], Nintendo,[...] would not fit well with very young children, toddlers, or girls (for the most part). [/...][/...]

Do you even know what franchises they own? Kirby was designed for toddlers. Pokémon was designed for small children. Franchises like Metroid and Zelda are popular with teens. Mario appeals to old and new gamers alike. I'm not even going to address the sexist notion that girls aren't interested in games, but I would like to point out that - statistically - the Nintendo DS is VERY popular among young girls.

coolkid said:
All in all, I think Cedar Fair has a unique franchise compared to Six Flags, Universal, and other independent parks.

I’m not sure what this implies...

Captain Hawkeye said:
Viacom owned both Paramount Parks AND Nickelodeon. PP used Nick characters because 1) they were free, and 2) they promoted those characters, thus helping another part of the company.

I was just about to say this. They were essentially getting free advertising in their parks. It’s different with Six Flags. They have an old licensing agreement grandfathered in from Warner that allows them access to Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes, DC Comics, etc. Today, Six Flags would never be able to afford any of those franchises (hell, they couldn’t even hold on to Thomas the Tank Engine, Tony Hawk or The Wiggles)

Screamin Eagle2 said:
I think they should use Calvin and Hobbes or Bloom County...!

While I love those comics, and I own a TON of Calvin and Hobbes, I once again have to question how recognizable they are.

JW Addington said:
Then all we would hear is the Mario brothers theme song throughout the park...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiAxiGZKpGQ

More like in self-contained areas. I don’t remember hearing the Peanuts piano theme on repeat throughout the entire park the last time I was there. That said, I’m sure there would be a lot of people humming the catchy Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda etc. themes as they came on.