Peanuts: Le film

I have always been a fan of the Peanuts specials like a Charlie Brown Christmas for it's great humor and creative stories. When I heard of this film, I really had high hopes for this film and the trailers were hilarious. OK, now lets go to detail on the film.

The story is about Charlie Brown trying to become a winner to redeem himself and impress a new red haired girl. It may not sound engaging, but once you watch it, it's really a good story even if it's at times predictable. As for Snoopy's subplot with fighting the red baron, I've got to admit, it may be filler, but it's really funny and even creative but it doesn't have to do with Charlie Brown. In this subplot, Snoopy has a love interest as well. As for the humor, I didn't think that the jokes in the trailer were as funny as the ones you see in the movie. They are just hilarious. There are also great references to other specials. So overall, this is a good enough screen play for a Charlie Brown film.

The animation in this movie may've bagged the 2-D and made 3-D instead, it is just amazing. The backgrounds are just breathtaking in the red baron scenes because it showed it unlike the Charlie Brown Halloween where the flying scenes only showed the sky. Charlie Brown and his friends may look a bit simplistic, but it's OK. The animation showed that they could bring peanuts to Computer Animation. It looks almost flawless and maybe even a bit hand drawn. So you've got to look into this great texture of hair and backgrounds, it's that amazing.

The characters in this movie are unforgettable just like the classics. The side characters like Lucy and Snoopy are just hilarious and fun to watch even if they are just 2-D. The main character, Charlie Brown is 3 dimensional and he try's to accomplish his goals. He's also lovable because he shows helpfulness and honesty. Then there's the little red haired girl whose face was revealed for the first time since the 1977 Charlie Brown short, "Its your first kiss, Charlie Brown". Even though they revealed her unlike the comic strips, she's still really cute, and uses her very few lines in the movie to tell Charlie Brown about how she liked him for who he was, which was sweet.

If you're a fan of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, go watch this film, Even people who never watched the Peanuts cartoons or read the comics should watch it. The only people I don't recommend it to are those who hate Peanuts because even though its modern, its still Peanuts. One additional detail I would like to make is the fact that we never see one cell phone nor computer in the movie. This shows that the environment stayed around the 1960s era. So go watch it, it's a treat.

Story: 7/10 Animation 9.5/10 Characters: 8.5/10 8.5/10

Blue Sky hasn't had a great track record. The Ice Age movies and the Rio films are okay at best but somehow they managed to really shine with The Peanuts and bring the strip justice. That probably has something to do with the fact that this film was actually written by Charles Schulz's son Craig. All the characters are here with their personalities intact and voiced by some really good kid actors. I didn't once think to myself that these kids don't sound like The Peanuts. The parts involving Snoopy's adventures against The Red Baron are also quite engaging almost like something out of Duck Tales or Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. I think this is a good film any fan of Charlie Brown will love and those of you unfamiliar with the material, this is probably a great place to jump onto.

Source of my comment: hitfix.com Review By Drew McWeeny.

When we live in an age when everything, no matter how pure the intent of the creator, is simply IP to be farmed, it is right to be suspicious of a "Peanuts" movie. After all, Charlie Brown and the rest of the characters created by Charles Schulz have been huge business for decades, and it makes sense that they would put something together if for no other reason than to keep the characters active in pop culture.

Thankfully, it appears that the people behind "The Peanuts Movie" take the legacy of these characters very seriously, and the result is a gentle, charming movie that seems far less frantic than much of what is created for young audiences these days. Blue Sky, one of the two major producers of CG animated films for Fox, has produced ten feature films now, and while the majority of their efforts have been originals, it was clear from "Horton Hears A Who" that when they adapt someone else's property, they try to do so from a position of authenticity and respect.

One of the things that makes "Peanuts" such a broad target is all the different versions there have been. Even in our editorial meetings at HitFix, as we talk about the films or the specials that we think of when "Peanuts" is mentioned, we all have our own take on what that means. For me, the old school TV specials and the first few movies were the defining version. Louis Virtel told me he always thinks of "Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown!" first. My kids have been exposed to some of the specials, but Toshi took it upon himself to read the Fantagraphics collections of all of the strips that I have on my shelves. And to any of those people, I would say, "You'll recognize the 'Peanuts' you love in this movie, and you'll be happy." That could not have been an easy task, so for that alone, Blue Sky and Fox deserve some accolades.

One of the most interesting choices they made in approaching the movie was how to design the characters. They are 3D CG objects, but the faces are "drawn" onto the heads in a way that always feels like there's a physical brush stroke, a pencil mark. I assume the entire thing is CG, but it connects the characters to the long hand-made tradition that started with the comic strip itself. It's a strong stylistic decision, and it makes sure the characters feel like the characters we already know. Steve Martino, working from a script by Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano, touches on any number of familiar jokes and scenes and set-ups, with a number of references to the long history of the characters. Snoopy spends most of the movie working on a book on his newly-discovered typewriter, the story of a flying ace and his battle against the infamous Red Baron. Sally's got her crush on her sweet baboo, Linus, who nurses his faith in the the Great Pumpkin. Lucy gives advice at her sidewalk psychiatric stand while making passes as Schroeder every chance she gets. Peppermint Patty and her assistant Marcie both play their familiar roles as well, with Charlie Brown at the center of everything, constantly put upon, constantly taking one on the chin. If this is going to be true to the original strip that Schulz created, then Charlie Brown has got to be suffering, a kid who can't catch a break.

What surprised me was the way they took a quiet approach to finding something else to say about Charlie Brown. I was worried that this was going to be a film where they had to turn him into something he wasn't just to tick some demographic checklist, and instead, the film makes some very strong and interesting points about what is heroic when you're just a kid trying to define yourself. In this case, there's a new kid in school, the Little Red-Haired Girl, and Charlie Brown is determined to reinvent himself in a way that will win this girl's attention and approval. This being Charlie Brown, things are not that easy, but I thought the way they eventually bring it together was unexpectedly honest. At this point, these characters have been playing the same beats for so long that it is genuinely surprising to see them do something new that doesn't feel like a violation of the characters, but rather a natural extension of what we already know about them.

The cast of young voice actors all seem appropriately chosen, and it's interesting to hear how they've gone out of their way to find kids who naturally sound like the voices that have been connected to the characters for over 40 years now. One of the reasons I don't ever want a "Calvin & Hobbes" adaptation to happen is because I don't want to hear anyone else's take on how Hobbes should sound, but with these characters, they've had the same voices for so long now that it's kind of like a magic trick. It's a cast of real kids here, but they sound like the "real" Charlie Brown, the "real" Lucy, the "real" Linus.

Frequently very funny, undeniably aimed at younger audiences, and true to the source material, "The Peanuts Movie" is too mild-mannered to win over brand new audiences, but it's going to please people who were already fond of the underlying property, and it should be a big nostalgia-driven hit for the studio.

A little red-haired girl has moved across the street from Charlie Brown. He sees her and falls in love. He wants to ask her out or impress her but everything he tries fails. Meanwhile Snoopy is in his doghouse plane fighting the Red Baron for cute little poodle Fifi.

I was expecting the worst when this was announced. I'm glad to announce that I was wrong. This is a charming, amusing and excellent update of the Peanuts. Actually there's no updating of the characters and their world. They still use phones and typewriters, No computers, cells or such exist here. The animation is now all CGI but manages to retain the charm of the hand-drawn originals. The aerial battles between Snoopy and the Red Baron are VERY well-done. The voices are now done by actual children and not adults like the previous ones did. Also there's no crude humor or violence--this is VERY G rated. Even better it has messages that say be yourself and don't give up no matter what. And of course it has a big old happy ending! Warm, amusing and perfect for the whole family. Recommended.

I saw "The Peanuts Movie" last night, and I thought it was superb! I grew up in the 80's, and so I was familiar with the Charlie Brown gang, but only through vague recollections. I had of course read a few of the comic strips over the years, and I'm confident that I saw the TV specials a few times, but I was still a bit fuzzy on the details of things like Snoopy and his battles with the Red Barron, the names of certain characters, and the gist of how different aspects of the series fits together into a competent narrative.

I'm crystal clear on that now, as this movie does a wonderful job of weaving together the many separate concepts of the Peanuts series. I really fell in love with the franchise by watching this film, and I can see how it will be very rewatchable.

My only criticism is that the film does cram a bit too much into its ninety minutes. It all comes together nicely, but it was clear that the script was trying to accomplish a LOT in this movie. It felt almost as though nothing was left for a sequel, but I suppose the idea was to introduce as much of the series as possible. The slightly crammed feel of the film is the only reason I didn't give it a perfect ten stars. But it's fantastic, even if a bit overdone!