"Pig-Pen" (his real name was never given) is a major character from the newspaper comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. Originally introduced in 1954, he is best known for being constantly dirty and having a cloud of dust around him, to the point that he is even able to become dirty in a rainstorm. With the exception of Peppermint Patty, most of the other kids do not get along well with Pig-Pen due to his messiness. Perhaps due to his one-joke nature, Schulz came to regret the character's popularity and rarely used him in the strip's later years.
Appearances in Christmas specials
In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown comes upon Pig-Pen building a snowman that, naturally, looks as dirty as he is. A page of the special's script, shown in the book The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation, reveals this was going to be followed up by Pig-Pen showing Charlie Brown his "get list", referring to the presents he's expecting for Christmas; when Charlie Brown asks him about his "give list", Pig-Pen gives a confused response, which only further adds to Charlie Brown's depression about Christmas commercialization (this deleted scene was based on the Peanuts strip that ran on December 14, 1961, except that had Violet in place of Pig-Pen).[1] Later in the actual special, Pig-Pen is cast as the innkeeper in the school's Christmas play, saying he shall try to keep the inn neat and clean despite his own messy appearance. Frieda, cast as the innkeeper's wife, is not happy about having to work alongside him, complaining that his signature dust cloud is messing up her hair.
Echoing his sparse appearances in the strip as it went on, Pig-Pen did not appear in another Christmas special until 2003's I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown, about three years after the strip ended. He has far less screentime here than in A Charlie Brown Christmas, only appearing with the other kids in the school Christmas pageant near the end.
Pig-Pen's most recent Christmas appearance was in The Snoopy Show episode "Happiness is Holiday Traditions", in which he goes caroling with Lucy, Linus, and Schroeder.
Citations
- ↑ The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation, by Charles Solomon. 2012, Chronicle Books.