Creative Team Talks Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin co-writers and director discuss why now is the time to add Franklin’s story to the Peanuts legacy.

Craig Schulz (Executive Producer, Co-Writer), Robb Armstrong (Co-Writer, Franklin’s Namesake, Peanuts Worldwide’s The Armstrong Project), Raymond S. Persi (Director) discuss Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin and why now is the time to give fans Franklin’s backstory.

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin comes to Apple TV+ on February 16th.

Creatives Talk Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin

Mama’s Geeky: Robb, what does it mean to you that Franklin is getting his own time to shine?

Robb Armstrong: I think that this moment is being memorialized for a reason. I think the world needs us to be in this place, doing this thing, to be called upon specifically by name, is incredible. Human beings lived their whole life and never have this occur. I feel called upon in this moment, to help people remember their humanity.

You know, if nothing else, when you watch this, you realize, wow, of all the different things we’ve seen, and people, we’re losing our humanity, of all of us is in jeopardy. When you watch this, you’re reminded that love still exists, that children are valuable, and that friendships can be made. If only we stop thinking about ourselves for a moment, think about them. Think about someone else.

Sacrifice is an incredible piece of expression. Beyond being an animated cartoon, in my opinion, I think it’s going in a time capsule of the human condition. This this thing we’ve been a part of. So yeah, it feels bigger than life. Certainly feels bigger than my life. It feels bigger than my contribution to it.

I’m not trying to overstate my involvement in this. I’m playing a very small role in the gargantuan legacy, the iconic legacy of Charles M. Schultz. We all are. But I mean, these guys have experience that dwarfs mine, my contribution is tiny. And yet, it is enormous. Because it is Franklin Armstrong we’re talking about.

Mama’s Geeky: Craig, why was this the time to bring Franklin’s backstory into the legacy of the world of Charlie Brown and Snoopy?

Craig Schulz: Well, I think there’s moments in time that really shouldn’t be forgotten. I think of John Lewis crossing the Pettus Bridge, I think, the upper and sixth year, and I think, again, when Frank was introduced in 1960, at the terminal that time la on fire, Martin Luther King and Kennedy, and now here we are in the same sort of turmoil.

We’re going to introduce Franklin during Black History Month. That timing is appropriate. I think it’s needed. And I think what my dream would be, is to get Franklin in the Macy’s Day Parade. There’s only been one black character in the history of Macy’s Day Parade, and I threw out last, like couple months ago, that we need to get Franklin as our lead character in the Macy’s Day Parade.

I said, it’s overdue. It will be as be as important as any other event, I think, for the world to see Franklin leading the Macy’s Day Parade. I hope we can oull it off one these days. And that’s kind of one of my future goal after doing these animated specials, wow.

Mama’s Geeky: Raymond, what about this project made you want to be part of it?

Raymond S. Persi: I liked the idea. When I read the script, I got really excited because we got to see this friendship kind of grow in real time, in a very realistic way. And I just thought that was a fun challenge as a director, to show the subtleties of what’s going on underneath. You have on the surface, kids making the cart and talking to each other, but underneath, they’re getting closer and closer.

So finding ways in our staging, and our acting to show that they’re getting closer. And then to show the downs when they get mad at each other. And how do you convey that visually to really push the emotion of that? So there was so much in the script that allowed for really interesting visuals. That made me really excited to work on this.

Robb Armstrong: And it’s funny. It’s funny, funny, funny. Yeah, some serious stuff that we’re talking about, that you forget how funny this is.

Raymond S. Persi: There’s some parts that surprise me every time they make me laugh.

Mama’s Geeky: What do you hope the viewers take away from the special?

Craig Schulz: Well, I think it’s important that when, from an adult perspective, I hope the lessons are deeper than they are for a child’s perspective. So I think the children really understand it. But as I was saying earlier, that when adults meet each other, the first question they ask is, what do you do? As if that defines that person. Whatever their job is. How much income they take in. And what trophies they’ve received. For the children’s world when they meet each other, they never ask that question. It’s more like, what are your interests? What kind of music do you like, who’s your favorite baseball player? And immediately the connection is formed, not on a surface level of what you’ve achieved, but the essence of who you. That’s what happens here. Franklin ends up being the Charlie Brown Chairman with strength, and they find out the essence of each of those curves. And they find out that they can come together and they can bond strictly on who they are, not what they’ve done.

Raymond S. Persi: And for me, what I like is that it’s a kid who learns how to be his authentic self. Franklin is traveling around all the time. So he just tries really hard to make friends. He doesn’t really know what friends are, he just thinks of it as a surface level people you play with. And when he meets Charlie Brown, a kid who is completely authentic, where everything is on the outside, he meets this kid and he learns that you can have faults, you can be imperfect, and you are deserving of friends. And you will find the right people to connect with when you let that side of you show.

Robb Armstrong: This is a very surprising component of this masterpiece, so please forgive me if I speak in lofty terms about something I worked on. I worked with very talented people on this. I’m a participant in something great. And it truly is a masterpiece. And one of the things I love about is that characters we think we know like everybody thinks they know, Charlie Brown. Kind of think of them as a lovable loser or something. Or sad. So I don’t know what you think about this guy. Charlie Brown is known around the world, you can think he’s a sad sack if you want. He’s more famous than any human being walking on planet Earth. Snoopy has no idea who this kid is, a round headed kid. He feeds me that’s all Snoopy knows. And we think we know. When you watch this, you’ll get to know Charlie Brown, not just Franklin. Now clearly, you’re gonna get to know Franklin, what I love about this is it’s a revelation. It’s a revealing project you see for the first time who these people are, who these characters are, who you think you know. I think the only accurate depiction in this are the other characters in there. They’re shown in a way that, Lucy is real mean. Snoopy is off in his own imagination. Schroeder can play the piano. Linus is little weird with the pumpkins. Sally’s the pain in the neck to Charlie Brown. And we deliver on those things. But the rest of it is revelation. You’re gonna see these characters in ways you have never imagined them before. And this is such a powerfully moving action packed, funny and meaningful piece. I just think it is going down in history. I really do.

About Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin

The origin story for one of Peanuts’ most beloved characters, Franklin, follows how he approaches making new friends. Franklin’s family is always on the move with his dad’s military job, and everywhere he goes Franklin finds support in a notebook filled with his grandfather’s advice on friendship. But when Franklin tries his usual strategies with the Peanuts gang, he has trouble fitting in.

That’s until he learns about the neighborhood Soap Box Derby race – according to his grandfather, everyone loves a winner! He’s sure that winning the race will also mean winning over some new friends.

All he needs is a partner, which he finds in Charlie Brown. Franklin and Charlie Brown work together to build a car and in the process become good buddies. But as the race nears, the pressure mounts – can their car and their newfound friendship make it to the finish line?

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin comes to Apple TV+ on February 16th.