The Peanuts Movie

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.

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.

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

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.

A worry going in to The Peanuts Movie was simply this: in 2015, in a time where animation is all computer-animated and with super-sophistication but also lacking the sort of approach that came with the simple, quirky, edgy-but-cute style of the Peanuts cartoons from the past half century, how do you bring that world out and make it feel right? And there was an element of the story that made me raise an eyebrow, and reminded me of an issue I had with the recent 2011 return of The Muppets - a new character comes to the universe of the Peanuts. Would this character fit in? Would it be distracting if he or she looks different or acts un-Peanuts-like? And what does Peanuts-like mean, you might ask, by the way? It's that thing where, simply, kids think like kids, but with an extra level of sophistication in the writing. Let me put it this way: The Peanuts Movie is the only movie that kids will see which has a reference to Tolstoy's War and Peace (though it's not initially called that by Peppermint Patty).

But fears are assuaged as I return from seeing the movie and find the movie is very successful at what it aims to be. In short, this is at its best... just another Peanuts movie, but that's a sincere compliment. You watch some of those movies and specials, which have stood the test of time due to the wit of the writing and the beautiful (yes, beautiful) animation that does simply to bring Charles Schulz's comic to life, and those shows and movies (i.e. the best, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, but also Snoopy Come Home and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown) with issues that kids deal with, whether or not they directly relate to the hero. In this story it's all about this new girl coming to school (we never learn her name, there's really no need to), and how good old Chuck can barely deal with his ridiculously nervous reaction. How can he even say hello to her, much less carry a conversation? What can he do to build up his confidence? Can Lucy with her Nickel-store advice and 10-step book help? Can he become a success in some way?

Whether you're coming to this as someone who has been watching Peanuts all your life, or if you have a little kid (or are one) and have never seen one of these and it's your introduction, it is a wholly delightful experience. Schulz's kids were co-screenwriters, which could have been great or not-so-great (one never knows if the purity will work or become too stifling, or if there are too many attempts to make it "hip" and "Modern", which means it won't age so well years down the line). All of the Peanuts characters we know and like are here - I couldn't find one major one who wasn't, and everyone gets a moment or two (I even forgot for a moment Lucy's crush for Schroeder, but it's here too). And of course Snoopy as the super rascal/charmer/adventurer of the lot who tries to do things like sneak into school as a teacher ("No dogs allowed!" duh) and spends his part time writing stories about being an ace pilot with the "Red Baron" plane.

With the exception of a couple of elements that, frankly, I could've taken or left, like some of the Red Baron bits (some are OK, some may drag unless you're a kid into the action-loaded visuals), and the inclusion of a couple of pop songs (not annoying ones, but they are of this time period) and a lack (not completely, but not enough) of Vince Guaraldi's irreplaceable jazz score, the movie really works. I cared about Charlie Brown on his journey through building up his confidence, through ups and downs that were not, and occasionally were, his fault. And along the whole way, there's that special thing that made Peanuts work, has always made it work, and will continue for many years to come: you want to see this guy win, and yet it's funnier/more realistic when he falls on his face. But maybe every Charlie Brown has his day in this case? Between the talent show, school dance, book report, summer pen-pal deal, can Charlie Brown say ONE word to this girl? Who knows.

They're all here and its spirit is pure. What else do you need to know? The Peanuts Movie is a blast of family entertainment in the young and old sense of the word, full of clever lines and visual-eye-pleasing slapstick and, (happy surprise) pathos.