In the 50th Anniversary Year of Apollo
11, Peanuts Also Commemorates the "Dress Rehearsal"—Apollo 10—That
Sent Peanuts Into Space As Command and Lunar Module Call Signs
"Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy"
Jeff Goldblum and
Ron Howard Have a Blast in Peanuts In Space: Secrets of Apollo
10, an Original, Lighthearted Short Film Available for Free in
the Apple TV App
Astronaut Snoopy Suits Up at San Diego Comic-Con,
France's Cité de l'espace
Moon Party, and on Limited Edition
Skateboards that Benefit Kids at Risk
NEW YORK, July 2, 2019 /CNW/ - Before there was a moon
walk, there was a lunar Snoop.
In May 1969, NASA's Apollo 10
mission used a lunar module to "snoop around" the moon's
surface within 50,000 feet, scouting a site for the upcoming Apollo
11 moon-landing. Naturally, the Apollo 10 crew named the lunar
module "Snoopy"—and the command module "Charlie Brown."
As Gene Cernan, Apollo 10's Lunar
Module Pilot once said, "No one remembers Apollo 10—until you tell
them our spacecrafts were named Snoopy and Charlie Brown, and they say 'Oh! I remember!'
"
Fifty years later, the beagle of many faces will don a new,
official Astronaut Snoopy uniform as he and the Peanuts gang
celebrate the dual 50th Anniversaries of Apollo 10 and 11 with fans
around the globe.
PEANUTS IN SPACE: SECRETS OF APOLLO 10
Oscar-winning director Morgan
Neville's Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10 is
an affectionate, light-hearted look at the unique relationship
between NASA and Schulz's beloved Peanuts characters. Launched in
the US this past May for free in the Apple TV app, the film will
debut in the Apple TV app in Japan, Germany, the United
Kingdom, Italy,
Spain, Brazil, Mexico and France on July
19.
Starring Jeff Goldblum as a
self-published NASA historian and Ron
Howard as himself, the 9-minute film follows a documentary
crew as they try to solve the greatest mystery of all: Was
Snoopy a world famous, top-secret astronaut?
Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10 is written by
Aaron Bergeron and executive
produced by Brian Grazer, Ron
Howard, Justin Wilkes and
Marc Gilbar. It was produced by
Imagine Documentaries, DHX Media and Tremolo Productions
specifically for the Apple TV app available on iPhone, iPad, Apple
TV and select Samsung smart TVs.
FROM SPACECRAFT TO SKATEBOARD
Through a collaboration between Peanuts and The Skateroom, which
creates and sells art edition skate decks to fund social skate
projects for at-risk youth, six Snoopy- and Apollo-themed
skateboards will be released this summer. A limited-edition "VIP"
silver finish deck will be sold exclusively at Peanuts' pop-up
store at San Diego Comic-Con; the other five will be available at a
variety of art boutiques around the world.
"As a member of the skate community myself, I'm thrilled that
Astronaut Snoopy will be featured on these extraordinary skate
decks," says Charles Schulz's
daughter Jill Schulz, owner and
director of All Wheel Sports, which creates and presents extreme
sports productions. "This partnership combines the best of all
worlds—Snoopy + sport + art + benefitting young people around the
world—and my dad would have enthusiastically approved."
COMIC-CON FANS PARTY LIKE IT'S 1969
From July 18–21, Peanuts will offer San Diego Comic-Con visitors
a stellar array of exhibits, limited-edition Apollo-inspired
merchandise, and meet-and-greets with Astronaut Snoopy himself.
Among the highlights: "To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA," an
exhibition from the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, presenting a vision of
the Apollo journey seen through Charles
Schulz's eyes. Guests will also be treated to select clips
of Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10.
Known for attracting enthusiastic crowds to its convention booth
and its pop-up shop, Peanuts will have plenty of fresh surprises
this year. In addition to the limited-edition skateboard,
aficionados can touch (and purchase!) a piece of history via
replicas of an original 1960s-era Snoopy + Apollo safety poster and
a motivational Snoopy ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO! pennant, along with
vintage-inspired t-shirts, an Astronaut Snoopy plush in Apollo-era
white space suit, collectible pins, and more.
HIGH-FLYING CANINE CHARTS A COURSE AROUND THE WORLD
Beyond San Diego, Astronaut
Snoopy will appear at Apollo anniversary celebrations at a variety
of significant international space hubs. Stateside, Snoopy will
join veteran and current astronauts for a star-studded parade in
Cocoa Beach, Florida (July 13) and will touch down at events on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C.
(July 18-20). Snoopy will then wing
his way to France for a countdown
to Neil Armstrong's first steps on
the moon at Cité de l'espace ("City of Space") in Toulouse
(July 20).
"Of all his many imaginative personae, Astronaut Snoopy may be
the most reality-based guise our beloved beagle has ever adopted,"
adds Roz Nowicki, Executive Vice
President, Peanuts Worldwide. "After all, he really did go to the
moon—not only in Sparky's comic strip, but in real life.
Joe Cool fans should be on the
lookout, as Snoopy will be front and center at all these epic
events, among others, this summer."
NASA + PEANUTS: AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD PARTNERSHIP
Starting as early as 1959, NASA advocate Charles Schulz began incorporating
space-exploration themes into his comic strip. During the Apollo
missions, Schulz gave NASA permission to use Snoopy on its safety
materials. The partnership reached new heights in 1969, when
NASA sent Peanuts into space. In July
2018, NASA and Peanuts Worldwide looked to the
future with the signing of a multi-year, formal Space Act
Agreement, supporting fresh entertainment content plus STEM-based
educational materials for the next generation.
About Peanuts:
Charles M. Schulz first
introduced the world to the Peanuts characters in
1950, when the Peanutscomic strip debuted in seven
newspapers. Since then, Charlie
Brown, Snoopy and the rest of
the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on
popular culture. Peanuts animated specials and
series air on major networks and streaming services, including ABC,
Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the U.S., Family Channel in
Canada, and the WildBrain network
on YouTube worldwide. Fans also
enjoy Peanuts through thousands of consumer
products around the world, amusement parks attractions, cultural
events, social media, and a daily comic strip available in all
formats from traditional to digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered
with NASA on a multi-year Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a
passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of
students. The Peanuts characters and related
intellectual property are 41% owned by DHX Media (TSX: DHX, NASDAQ:
DHXM), 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by family of
Charles M. Schulz.
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SOURCE DHX Media Ltd.