10 Funniest Peanuts Comics Starring Snoopy's Beagle Scouts (2024)

Snoopy has lived a full life, as seen by his wide-range of adventures in creator Charles' Schulz' legendary Peanuts comics strip, so it only makes sense that he would want to pass on his knowledge to some youngsters through his own version of the Scouts, the hilariously named Beagle Scouts.

Composed of the little yellow birds, Beagle Scout members include Woodstock, Oliver, Conrad, Bill, Fred, Harriet, Raymond, Roy, and Wilson. The Beagle Scouts first appeared in June 1974, and subsequently went on to be one of Peanuts most memorable recurring elements.

During his time as their troop leader, Snoopy had quite a transformative journey in his Scouts' experience. While Snoopy did his very best to be an exceptional scout leader, his members could be a bit of a headache, and never failed to keep him on his toes.

Camp Snoopy

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Release Date

June 14, 2024

11 "May A Thousand Angels Rest On Your Shoulders"

First Published: October 7, 1979

The Beagle Scouts troop, with the occasional exception of Snoopy, are not the bravest bunch. They get easily scared, ready to jump to Snoopy for comfort at the drop of a hat. Even when Snoopy tries to be a comfort to the scouts by saying good nights to them, with a saying that his grandmother used to say every night, the birds end up with goosebumps from terror.

Peanuts began as a daily strip on October 2, 1950, and this was his very first one:

Dealing with their fear like most little kids would, they jump into Snoopy's sleeping bag, thinking that the beagle will protect them. Needless to say, Snoopy probably won't be having the peaceful sleep under the stars he thought he would. Regardless, the scouts seem to be more at peace now. It would not be the first or the last time that Snoopy scared the birds, both intentionally and unintentionally, in a classic Peanuts cartoon.

10 "The Chance To Take Some Beautiful And Maybe Unusual Pictures"

First Published: June 20, 1983

A hike can be a picturesque outing with beautiful bucolic surroundings, with some people even going on hikes specifically to take photos. When Snoopy sets up a photo hike for his scouts, he gives them some picture ideas only to find the birds taking pictures of each other instead of their wilderness setting.

It's not exactly what Snoopy meant when he said to take pictures, but at least the scouts are trying to get into the activity of the photo hike. The scouts are not always the brightest, frequently confusing what Snoopy is saying or asking of them. Case in point is their misunderstanding of Snoopy's brief for the photo hike. Although, maybe the little birds are just not fans of landscape photography and prefer portraits.

9 "What Is The Best Way To Protect Ourselves From Snakes?"

First Published: February 10, 1978

Any good scout leader will teach their scouts about wilderness safety and what to do in case they see an animal on one of their wildlife treks. Snoopy, being the responsible pup he is(which seems to be limited to his role in the Beagle Scouts), quizzes his young wards about what they should do to protect themselves in the best way possible if they see a snake.

While there were likely many correct answers to Snoopy's question, the birds have a unique solution: jump on top of their leader's hat and stay there. The scouts are not completely wrong about their strategy to protect themselves from a snake; a snake wouldn't be on Snoopy's hat anyway. Based on Snoopy's reaction, it is clear that the birds' actions are definitely not the solution he had in mind.

8 "Look Sir, I Think I've Found A Strange Creature"

First Published: July 23, 1978

Going through nature walks can be a fun activity to do with friends, something Peppermint Patty and her BFF Marcie recognize when they go backpacking in the woods. Looking for wildlife, Marcie thinks she has come across a unique one-of-a-kind worm, when in reality it's no strange worm, it's just one of the Beagle Scouts stuck in their sleeping bag.

Snoopy is not too pleased to see one of his scouts in that situation, kicking the little bird to keep moving. As much as Snoopy may be laid back when he's on his own, he's quite short-tempered when he is with his Beagle Scouts. Snoopy's scouts are a little quirky, doing things that could be considered a bit odd. Getting stuck in their sleeping bag is just one example of the scouts' more oddballish qualities.

7 "No, Conrad, I Don't Know What The Meaning Of Life Is"

First Published: August 15, 1978

Usually, Snoopy does not have many, if any, responsibilities, with Charlie Brown taking care of a lot of Snoopy's needs. However, Snoopy gets a rare leadership position when he forms his Beagle Scouts and appoints himself Scout Master of the ragtag troupe. Snoopy relishes his role as the leader to his young bird scouts, advising them on their objectives for the scout outings.

Unfortunately for Snoopy, when he asks the group if anyone has any questions about their climb up the hill, one scout, Conrad, goes way off-topic and asks what the meaning of life is. Snoopy does not have much patience for Conrad's philosophical question, barking at him that he does not know the meaning of life. Conrad is not too interested in the objectives of the nature outing, but rather he is more consumed by more existential ideas and questions.

6 "How Did You Get Over There Without A Raft?"

First Published: June 25, 1989

It is important for a scout leader to teach their scouts how to overcome obstacles. Snoopy is no different, seeing a stream that is in their way and delegates to the bunch about what to do in order to cross the stream. Woodstock gets the job of getting wood to make the raft, but he sets his sights on more wood than he can handle.

As a result, when he tries to chop down a massive tree trunk, the impact is so harsh that it makes him stagger back, into the water, and all the way onto the other side. Snoopy, having missed the spectacle, is amazed and bewildered at how Woodstock was able to get over the stream with no raft. The scouts typically do things that bewilder Snoopy, with Woodstock's unorthodox way of crossing the water being one to add to the list.

5 "Anything To Help The Beagle Scouts"

First Published: August 19, 1990

Usually, buying a raffle ticket gives someone the chance to win something from an organization or charity as thanks for giving a donation. Things run a little differently when Snoopy is involved. Going door to door asking for donations for the Beagle Scouts through raffle tickets, Lucy is surprisingly enthusiastic about helping out. However, her enthusiasm dips when she asks Snoopy what she can get if she has the winning raffle ticket, and Snoopy lets her know that she'll get zilch even with a winning ticket.

Instead, Snoopy has instituted that the winner can start their very own raffle ticket collection. Exciting! A raffle ticket collection would surely be the envy of all the neighborhood kids, at least that's what Snoopy tries to trick his raffle ticket buyers into believing. Snoopy may be a gifted sales agent, but he's not a great raffle holder.

4 "There's More To Life Than Disco And Root Beer"

First Published: October 24, 1980

Much like kids, little yellow birds can be a handful. They don't want to do what their Scout Master has planned for them, like camping under the stars in nature. Instead, like a bunch of party animals, the birds of the Beagle Scouts want to go to the disco and drink root beer. As much as Snoopy loves root beer, he even sees the virtue of nature in the bigger picture of life over the classic soft drink.

While Snoopy may be pretty hip, with an alter ego with cool in its name to boot, he is a little stricter as a scout master, putting his foot down when the birds push to go out and leave the wilderness behind for the night. If Snoopy wants to keep his scouts happy, the next camping strip should include a boombox of disco hits and a gallon of root beer.

3 "We All Should Have Walking Sticks"

First Published: March 21, 1982

It should go without saying, but Snoopy is obviously a lot bigger than the tiny birds that comprise his Beagle Scouts. As a result, things that are appropriately sized for the birds are not at all applicable to Snoopy. The beloved beagle finds this out the hard way when Oliver, a scout, goes to get walking sticks for everyone for their hike through the woods.

Everyone gets walking sticks that are perfect for them – except for Snoopy who is stuck with a walking stick the size of a toothpick. One need not be a seasoned wilderness explorer to infer that a walking stick should be big enough for someone to walk with rather than just hold it daintily in their hand, or paw, in Snoopy's case. Walking sticks seemed like a good idea at the time but the reality of it falls below expectations.

2 "When Lost Follow Your Compass"

First Published: May 20, 1974

Getting lost in the woods can be a scary experience. In this panel, Snoopy loses his cool when he finds himself in just such a predicament. Remembering that his Scout handbook holds useful information, he uses it to get out of his predicament and sees that he must use his compass and follow it.

Snoopy, thinks it means that the compass will walk him out of being lost, so he impatiently waits for the compass to start moving and yells at it as a result. The fact that Snoopy thinks that the compass lead him out of the woods, rather than him having to decipher the proper direction by looking at it, makes the Beagle Scouts' misadventures make a lot more sense.

1 Key Background

• Peanuts first strip was released in seven newspapers: The Washington Post, Chicago Post, The Denver Post, The Seattle Times, Evening Chronicle, Globe-Times and Minneapolis Star.
• The Minneapolis Star was the only newspaper that included a short article presenting the author in his debut.
• Schulz took on every part of the strip, from scripting to artwork and lettering.

Peanuts

Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.

Created by

Charles M. Schulz

First Film

The Peanuts Movie

Cast

Christopher Shea , Kathy Steinberg , Bill Melendez , Sally Dryer , Peter Robbins , Noah Schnapp , Hadley Belle Miller , Mariel Sheets , Lisa DeFaria , Venus Omega Schultheis

TV Show(s)

The Snoopy Show , Peanuts by Schulz

Character(s)

Charlie Brown , Snoopy , Lucy van Pelt , Linus van Pelt , Sally Brown , Pig-Pen , Marcie (Peanuts) , Peppermint Patty , Woodstock