Peanuts comic strip jumps to the big screen to mark 65th anniversary of Snoopy & creator Charles Schulz

Peanuts, the long-running comic strip that introduced Snoopy and Charlie Brown to the world, is to get a big-screen outing with support from the family of its late creator, Charles Schulz. The film will be released in November 2015, in time for the 50th anniversary of 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Schulz's son Craig and grandson Bryan will write the screenplay alongside Cornelius Uliano and the movie will be directed by Steve Martino, who's credits include Ice Age 4: Continental Drift and Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

Hopefully Fox won't stray too far from the traditional hand-drawn look favoured by Schulz. The comic strip spawned numerous TV shows, including the Emmy-nominated A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Charles M Schulz created more than 18,250 comic strips between 1950 and 2000. At one point, he was earning an estimated $30m (£18.7m) per year from syndication deals and merchandising.

But the cartoonist continued to hand-draw each panel, even after developing a hand tremor in later life. On the 3rd January 2000 his final Sunday cartoon was published just hours after his death.

It showed Snoopy in thought at his typewriter, remembering some of the strip's most memorable scenes.

Schulz wrote underneath: "Dear Friends, I have been fortunate to draw Charlie Brown and his friends for almost fifty years. It has been the fulfillment of my childhood ambition.

Unfortunately, I am no longer able to maintain the schedule demanded by a daily comic strip. My family does not wish Peanuts to be continued by anyone else, therefore I am announcing my retirement."