The Peanuts Movie

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!

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.

I was unsure at first because of the animation style, it was much more modern than the charming animation style of the 60s and 70s specials. However, despite the 3D CGI animation style, the original charm of the cartoon specials remained intact. I liked how the animation didn't seem as finished just like the original Peanuts specials. In the film, just like in the specials, the trees and other plants in the background remained static. Even when it was supposedly windy. This film, like many of the Peanuts specials, had two storylines: A Charlie Brown storyline and a Snoopy storyline. In the Charlie Brown storyline, the film deals with Charlie trying to work up enough nerve to talk to the Little Red Haired Girl. In the Snoopy story, Snoopy finds an old typewriter and works on writing a novel. His novel deals with the World War I flying ace trying to save his crush Fifi from the clutches of the evil Red Baron.

This movie featured many in-jokes from the specials and comic strips. The typical Peanuts sentimentality was also present as were the lack of adults. The wonderful Peanuts music was present throughout the film. I wish they wouldn't have included a modern song, but it doesn't detract too much from the film. There were also bits of the comic strip that popped up throughout the film and also the fun 60s style graphics that would also appear periodically. It was such a fun film, I will definitely be purchasing my own copy.

I read that this film was written in complete cooperation with Charles M. Schulz's widow and the other members of his family. Schulz' son and grandson wrote the screenplay and apparently the Schulz family had to have approval over all aspects of the film. They also used archive sound recordings of Bill Melendez' Snoopy sounds for Snoopy's "voice" in the film. I did think that the Peppermint Patty voice was slightly off. The other Patty (who normally has brown hair and wears an orange dress) in this film was blonde and wore a green dress. Neither of the Pattys inaccuracies affected my enjoyment of this 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

While a film based off the beloved "Peanuts" comic strip in 2015 will appear a desperate cash-in for money-hungry Hollywood at a time where $1 billion grosses are now reasonable goals for some films, thanks to the participation of Bryan and Craig Schulz, the grandson and son of the late "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz, respectively, the humor and original spirit of the original product is still very much in tact. With warm animation that delightfully mimics the look of the comic, while bringing computer animation into the picture.

"The Peanuts Movie" is a beautiful little film, one that doesn't predicate its existence entirely on the nostalgia and warmth provided by the original comic strip and one that doesn't get so blindsided by the glitz of Hollywood excess that it abandons its roots. Our story focuses on Charlie Brown, everyone's lovable blockhead, who is usually found attempting to get his kite off the ground or avoiding being the laughingstock of his whole neighborhood. He also spends a great deal of time with his friends, such as Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sally, and of course, Snoopy and Woodstock.

Charlie's whole world is turned upside down, however, when a beautiful new girl, known only as "Little Red-Haired Girl," moves into the neighborhood and is placed in Charlie's class. As usual, Charlie finds himself overcome with his klutzy nature and personal insecurities to make any kind gesture towards the apple of his eye. In effort to make himself hipper and more admirable, Charlie begins to read a book maps out the ten ways to be successful.

When Charlie and the Little Red-Haired Girl get paired up to do a book report together, and the Little Red-Haired Girl is out of town visiting her sick grandmother, Charlie motivates himself to do the book report by himself to impress his crush. Peppermint Patty informs him one of the greatest books of all time is a book called "Leo's Toystore" written by "some guy" named "Warren Peace," to which Charlie tracks down the book, reads the behemoth of a novel, and emerges determined to write one of the greatest book reports ever.

This should give you some sort of idea of what you're in for with "The Peanuts Movie." Also thrown into this charming story are many scenes involving Snoopy flying on his airplane with two goals in mind - taking down the infamous Red Baron fighter jet and winning the heart of the gorgeous poodle Fifi. It's a tireless pursuit, and it's one that is interjected in the film prolifically enough to really feel like a diversion to the fact that this is a story that would've probably been better suited for basic cable with a runtime of about seventy minutes. These are the scenes that really appear to be filler and work to distract from the more interesting and relatable story at hand. However, the "Peanuts" strips and specials were always cut from a rather slight cloth, so perhaps these sequences do indeed work to serve the better part of the spirit.

Nonetheless, I'm not one to complain when a product of the past gets its fair treatment on the big screen and that's precisely what "The Peanuts Movie" gets: a very fair, very funny, thoroughly charming revitalization of characters that, to many, feel like old friends, created with unique animation that effectively blends styles of the past and present thanks to Blue Sky Animation. This film would be an ideal pairing alongside Disney's "Winnie the Pooh" from 2011, both of which together would make for a lovely introduction to film for young audiences thanks to their warmness and genial spirit and humor.