What you need to know about Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie

Charles M Schulz's cute and lovable characters will be heading to the big screen on Dec 10.

What do you know about Peanuts, a comic strip that has been around for more than half a century?

Here are some Peanuts trivia.

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The Peanuts origins

Charles Monroe Schulz, nicknamed Sparky, was an American cartoonist of Norwegian and German heritage.

Born on Nov 26, 1922, in Minneapolis, Schulz began his writing career after fighting in World War II. In 1947, he began a weekly feature called Li’l Folks in his hometown newspaper, but it was dropped in 1950. 

Schulz then took Li'l Folks to United Feature Syndicate, who agreed to publish the series under a new title: Peanuts.

From its creation on Oct 2, 1950, to the last strip on Feb 13, 2000, Peanuts had an estimated readership of over 350 million, and appeared in 2,600 newspapers, representing 21 countries around the world.  With a combined grand total of 17,897 strips, each one drawn, inked and lettered by Schulz (15,391 daily; 2,506 Sunday), comic reprints continue in syndication, reaching new readers every day.

Snoopy receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, November 2, 2015 in Hollwyood, California PHOTO: AFP

Schulz died on Feb 12, 2000, from colon cancer.

The new movie is written by Schulz's son and grandson

Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie​ is the franchise’s first theatrical release in 35 years, and it is a vision of Schulz's son Craig, and grandson, Bryan. 

"If we're going to do this project, it has to be under Schulz control – this is a Schulz film," said Craig Schulz to Washington Post.

"No one is going to grab and run with it. We need to have absolute quality control and keep it under Dad's legacy...You can’t bring people in from the outside and expect them to understand Peanuts.' "

Peanuts celebrates the underdogs

In the new movie, Charlie Brown begins his own epic quest of getting to know his new neighbour, the little red-haired girl. Snoopy, his best friend, also has his own mission as the flying ace, who embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron.

Through all of life’s trials and tribulations -- including a kite-eating tree, a losing baseball streak or the blunt advice of Lucy Van Pelt -- Charlie Brown persevered.

“Charlie Brown gets referred to as a loser all the time,” said Schulz. “But in reality, Charlie Brown is a winner because he never gives up.  We all lose a lot more than we win, and who better than Charlie Brown to teach us that?”

Snoopy has many alter-egos

The world's most lovable beagle is famous for dreaming up many imaginary roles for himself, some of which are more prominent than others, for instance The World War I Flying Ace, Joe Cool and ​World Famous Attorney.

He's also a World Famous Author who always starts every story the same way with "It was a dark and stormy night."

Lucy is quite a bully

Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt do not get along very well. Lucy often bullies Charlie Brown for no reason at all. 

Known around the neighborhood for being crabby and bossy, Lucy can often be found dispensing advice from her 5-cent psychiatrist’s booth, yanking away little brother Linus’ security blanket, or humiliating Charlie Brown.​

At its core, Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie is about everyday anxieties kids encounter while growing up, going to school, and dealing with the perceptions people have about one another. 

“We took that theme and changed the overall tone of the movie, which resulted in a stronger message, one that both adults and children can relate to,” said Schulz.