'Welcome Home, Franklin' tries to right a 'Peanuts' wrong from 1973. It's worth a watch

The saga of Franklin in the Charlie Brown universe is interesting.

He appeared on the scene in 1968, the first Black character in the “Peanuts” comic strip. Not long after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a teacher wrote to Charles M. Schulz, who created the strip, requesting that he add a Black character. Franklin showed up in July.

Franklin has definitely been a supporting character ever since — he is best known for a controversy in 1973 — but now he finally gets his due in the Apple TV+ show, “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.” It addresses the controversy, in its own subtle way.

It is also weird, in a good way. I love “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” both as a reminder of my childhood and as outstanding TV. The former is, at least according to one know-it-all, the best holiday show or movie of all time. Yet despite how strongly I feel about them, and how much I love the characters, you can’t escape the fact that they can be pretty strange sometimes.

What is 'Welcome Home, Franklin' about?

So it is in “Welcome Home, Franklin,” and the show leans into it. It’s kind of fascinating — like a small nod to the early days of “Peanuts,” when the characters were both brutal and hilarious. There are plenty of lessons learned, as befits the more contemporary children’s shows, and overdue recognition of Black history and music — you can’t go wrong with a show that fits Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder and John Coltrane into 40 minutes.

But there is also the recognition that Charlie Brown and his friends are not your everyday kids.

Franklin’s father is in the military, so he has spent his childhood on the move — so much so that he lives out of a small suitcase. He’s developed a method for making friends quickly (start with a joke). When he arrives in the unnamed town where Charlie Brown lives, he sees all the children playing. Later he passes an ice-cream parlor, where inside all of the white children, because they’re all white, are eating vanilla ice-cream cones.

“There sure was a lack of variety” Franklin says.

The first kid he meets is Linus. He’s the soul of the group, but when Franklin arrives he is polishing pumpkins in his pumpkin patch; evidently preparing for the (non-) arrival of the Great Pumpkin is year-round work. Franklin’s joke falls flat and he picks one of the pumpkins, sending Linus into a fit.

Next is Lucy, Linus’ sister. She’s perched behind her makeshift psychiatry stand (“the doctor is IN”), and Franklin mistakes her glass of lemonade as one she’s selling. If you know Lucy, you can imagine how well this goes. Eventually she sends Franklin off as her patient arrives — Pigpen, in his cloud of dust.

It’s too much for Franklin. “I don’t understand,” he says. “I’ve never had this much trouble making friends. A delusional pseudo-doctor? A devotee of someone called the Great Pumpkin? And a kid whose parents named him Pigpen?”

EXACTLY.

Thank you, Franklin, for pointing out what we’ve all thought at one time or another. Of course, on the other hand, all of those little oddities are what make us love “Peanuts.” Or, as Charlie Brown tells Franklin after they finally meet, “Linus? He has his quirks. But once you get to know him, there’s no one better.”

The show attempts to right a wrong from 1973

Charlie Brown and Franklin bond over a go-cart race, paired after getting left out after everyone chooses up. As they work together Franklin tells Charlie Brown about the Negro Leagues, Coltrane and more. His favorite, though, is James Brown. “Any relation?” he asks Charlie Brown, laughing. This sets up a callback joke later in the show.

As for the Franklin controversy, it arose in the 1973 special, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” (If you see it referred to as a “classic,” don’t be fooled. It’s far from it.) Franklin got invited to dinner, but sat alone in a lawn chair on one side of the table, while the white kids sat across from him. It’s a pretty remarkable oversight, and one that “Welcome Home, Franklin” sets out to, not correct, exactly, but try to improve.

And it does.

By this point the show has veered into sweetness, which is probably necessary given what it’s trying to accomplish.

“Welcome Home, Franklin” isn’t going to make anyone forget the Christmas or Halloween specials. But it tries to right a wrong and does the right thing. It’s a nice addition to the canon, and it shines a light on what “Peanuts” used to be.

How to watch 'Welcome Home, Franklin'

Streaming on Apple TV+ starting Friday, Feb. 16.

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Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Welcome Home, Franklin' spotlights Charlie Brown's only Black friend