FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATEMENT FROM UNITED MEDIA AND CHARLES M. SCHULZ CREATIVE ASSOCIATES
January 9, 2006
United Media, the company that syndicates and licenses Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, the creative and business management arm of the Schulz family estate, are disappointed with the results of ongoing litigation between the Mall of America and Cedar Fair in regards to the future of Camp Snoopy at the Mall. A cornerstone attraction in the Mall since 1992, Camp Snoopy’s future is tenuous due to a dispute between the Mall of America and Cedar Fair.
Charles M. Schulz, a native of St. Paul, began his career as a cartoonist with a strip entitled Li’l Folks which first ran in the St. Paul Pioneer Pressin 1947. While living in St. Paul, Schulz sold his strip to United Feature Syndicate (a.k.a. United Media), where it was later renamed Peanuts. Although he relocated to Santa Rosa, California in the late 50’s, the connection between the Twin Cities and Peanuts has remained strong through the decades. Doghouse Days of Summer, St. Paul’s five year long tribute to Schulz, which attracted nearly two million people from around the globe, is just one of many examples of this bond.
It had been the hope of United Media and Creative Associates that the Mall of America and Cedar Fair would come to an amicable agreement allowing Camp Snoopy to remain in the Mall. Today, Peanuts continues to rank as one of the most successful comic strips of all time, read in 2400 papers across the globe. The 40th Anniversary of the classic television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” recently garnered first place ratings for ABC with 15.4 million total viewers across all demographics. Peanuts fans have flocked to Charles Schulz’s birthplace for decades. Not having Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America will be a great loss to the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.
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