Monday, October 20, 2008

Early Peanuts Animation: Charlie Brown and Snoopy on the Ford Show

Here's a nice treat from CartoonBrew.com ...in remembrance of Peanuts animator Bill Melendez, Jerry Beck has posted some animated rarities from the earliest days of the Peanuts cartoons. You can watch it below, but it's bigger and better on CartoonBrew.



At the 2:30 mark of this video, (after a trailer for the first full-length Peanuts animated cartoon, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown,") we get to see the very first occurance of an animated Charlie Brown, Snoopy and company...animated by Bill Melendez for an opening on the Tennesee Ernie Ford Show. The voice of Charlie Brown? None other than Paul Frees!

Peanuts TV commercial Linus and PigPen sell a Ford car
The video above features commentary by Jerry Beck, but he has also included a link to the commentary-free version of the video. Check out the whole post at http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/peanutsephemera

PS...if you like this sort of retro-cartoon commercial post, check out these other winners:

Mr. Owl, How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie-Roll center of a Tootsie-Pop?
How Many Licks, indeed? The full-length UNCUT version of the classic Tootsie-Pop commercial!

Fizzies Vintage Cartoon TV Commercial - Brilliantly Simple Story and Design Work!

Vintage Cartoon Commercial - Dandy Drawings and a Jaunty Jingle!