Snoopy is one of the most popular and well-known characters out there. If you were asked to name a famous animated dog, who would come to mind? For many, the answer is Snoopy. First appearing on October 4, 1950, Charles M. Schultz’s beagle has charmed audiences for over 60 years with his humor, imagination, and iconic personality. But what inspired Snoop’s creation, and how has he evolved into the cultural icon he is today?
Over the years, Snoopy’s fame has grown. He’s about 74 years old at this time. Charles Schultz was heavily inspired by his dog, Spike, who was adopted in 1927. Spike’s characteristics lead to Snoopy’s many personalities. Shawn Proctor says, “...but Snoopy’s inspiration came from the cartoonist’s dog Spike, first adopted in 1927. The dog’s many antics sparked Schulz’s imagination, leading to Snoopy’s many adventures as a beleaguered novelist, World War I flying ace, and grocer, among many others.” Snoopy has evolved a lot throughout the decades, like most comics do.
At the beginning of the strip, he is more “dog-like.” Walking on all fours and having more dog-like anatomy. Throughout the decades, he became more alive and the Snoopy we all know today. He started being shown walking on just his hind legs, showing up more often in the comic; his emotions became more extreme, and he even eventually became 3D in the 2015 Peanuts film. Looking at the Charles M. Schultz Museum website, “When asked which characters changed the most, Schulz responded that Snoopy, whom he first drew as a puppy, saw the most significant revisions, both in personality and outward appearance. In the earliest years of Peanuts, Snoopy looked like a normal dog that walked on four legs, barked, and enjoyed playing catch. Over time, his increasingly humanistic thinking emerged.”
Part of the reason Snoopy is so known and iconic is because of how much he touched millions of hearts. For decades, his happy, energetic, and humorous tone has pleased people’s emotions. He can relate to adults and children. One recurring thing that Snoopy is most known for is lying in his dog’s house, usually saying something sarcastic. He can also be seen as lazy, hungry 24/7, and egotistic funnily. On the other end, however, he’s sweet, caring, joyful, etc. This type of balance is essential for all people to relate to Snoopy.
He has become such an influence on the world that he’s even become the mascot for the NASA Manned Flight Awareness Program. The Air and Space website states, “The astronaut? Snoopy. The beloved beagle from the Peanuts comic strip has a career in space that began more than 55 years ago and shows no sign of slowing down.
Snoopy joined NASA in 1968 as a mascot for the Manned Flight Awareness program (now called the Space Flight Awareness program), which was established in 1963.”
To this day, even 25 years after the Peanuts strip ended, Snoopy is appearing everywhere. T-shirts, mugs, hats, and even a theme park based on him and the Peanuts gang. The world will forever see Snoopy’s significant impact on people’s lives.
