Snoopy et les Peanuts: Le film

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.

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 can't imagine a Christmas or a Halloween without the mention of a young boy trying to lead his school friends in a school play or debate the existence of the Great Pumpkin. This young man is everyone's favorite blockhead, Charlie Brown. Yes, Charlie, Snoopy and his friends from Peanuts have created such a timeless look at childhood while maintaining a deep philosophical moral. The comics and television specials are something that I'm sure everyone has seen at least once. The newspapers and television networks still run Peanuts because their morals never fall out of style and everyone seems to feel nostalgic whenever it's mentioned.

I'm a big fan of Peanuts and hold these characters to such a high standard because creator Charles Schulz took it just as seriously. I think a lot of people have felt like Charlie Brown at one point, wondering how life can be such a good thing when their own failures seem to cloud ones happiness. It may seem downbeat, but Peanuts felt real despite having an exaggerated world where adults are never seen. To top it off, the writing still came off as funny as it's simplicity only added to the appeal. The Peanuts Movie takes our classic characters to the big screen on a personal journey.

Carefully never stating a time nor a setting, we open in the beginning of December where we see Charlie Brown is still trying to fly his kite. If you know the comics, he fails and it becomes a part of the "kite-eating tree", though this time, he seems to be tired of always failing. His sister Sally and his friends Linus, Lucy, Schroder, Peppermint Patty, Marcie and the rest of the gang know Charlie well enough that they always seem him as a klutz. Things change when they notice a new kid is moving right across from Charlie.

Sensing his first feelings of puppy love, Charlie decides that he wants to change himself to start fresh with the new little Red-Haired Girl. After a session with Lucy (and paying her the usual five cents), he tries several new things like trying to win a talent show or a dance contest. He also deals with a sudden popularity when he sees that he delivers a perfect score on a recent school-wide test. On the sidelines, Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy gets caught up in his own imagination as he continues to fight the Red Baron in occasional plane dog fights.

As a computer animated movie, I was worried that the simplicity of Peanuts would be compromised. I can safely say that The Peanuts Movie stays true to the nature to the classic comics…for the most part. To start, the animation is amazing. Unlike something like Pixar or DreamWorks, Fox's Blue Sky Studios have found a best of both worlds by giving the world of Peanuts an upgrade while still feeling like a hand drawn work of art. Another big plus are the voices. Unlike the TV specials where the child voices were always wooden and stilted, the kids portraying the characters can actually act. Pretty well too considering the challenge.

Story wise, it does feel like the kind of plot that Schulz would have given; something simple and emotional for Charlie Brown while leaving the highly imaginative side story to Snoopy. I do feel though that while The Peanuts Movie is smart, the deep philosophical dialogue is not that prominent for something more of a crowd-pleaser. I do understand however that while the comics and TV specials were allowed to do their own thing, they've now got to play by movie rules, and it does so well enough that even Schulz would have been proud to have his name on the picture.

I'll give this eight Snoopys on his doghouse out of five. The Peanuts Movie is a tribute to one of the most iconic set of characters created for the newspapers. It's defiantly something that everyone will appreciate, though I'd say start with the comics and TV specials first before seeing the 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!

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