News

New Year's Day will be a great time to revisit a beloved Peanuts classic. Originally released in 1977, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown is resurfacing on a new streaming home at the start of the new year.

On Jan. 1, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown will be made available to stream on Paramount+. For subscribers of the Paramount+ service, this will allow anyone who hasn't seen the classic animated film to finally give it a chance. As this story is not tied to a specific holiday, unlike many Peanuts specials, it tends to be overlooked in favor of specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas getting watched annually by fans. As a quality animated film, the 1977 movie may get a chance to shine again on its own by getting a new streaming home.

Related 59 Years Later, A Charlie Brown Christmas Is Still Heartwarmingly Relevant

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a timeless...

This year, AppleTV+ will allow customers and non-subscribers alike the brief opportunity to stream It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas for free, no strings attached. I guess they didn’t get the memo that what we really wanted was real estate.

On December 9, 1965, CBS aired the first-ever animated television special adaptation of Charles Schulz’ beloved comic strip Peanuts, a quick, festive, 25-minute holiday story called A Charlie Brown Christmas. Written by Schulz, directed by Disney and Warner Bros. animation veteran Bill Melendez and commissioned and sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company, A Charlie Brown Christmas was a labor of both love and tight deadlines as Schultz and Melendez scrambled to deliver their corporate masters a passable product to which they could hitch some custom-made Coca-Cola advertisements.

Despite the sentimental Christian theming of the special and its explicit criticisms of consumerisms, A Charlie Brown Christmas was,...

Though A Charlie Brown Christmas has become a holiday classic, it was originally uncertain it would ever be a success. Before the special, the Peanuts characters had only ever appeared in comic strips and several short advertisements. The special was created in 1965 after being commissioned by Coca-Cola. Since then, it has lost its commercial quality, making A Charlie Brown Christmas a classic for audiences of all ages.

The special centers around the melancholic but relatable Charlie Brown as he searches for the meaning of Christmas. He and his other Peanuts friends explore mature themes, all intercut with scenes of holiday activity and even the occasional Bible verse. Though the special has become an American classic and set a television precedent, there are many little-known facts about A Charlie Brown Christmas, including its rocky development before its release.

Hardly Anyone Thought A Charlie Brown Christmas Would Do Well (Including Its Director...

Thanksgiving is the most traditional national holiday celebrated in the United States, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving does justice to the special date in a memorable TV holiday special. Following A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was the third holiday special celebrated by the Peanuts gang. Created by Charles M. Schultz, the Peanuts started out as a comic strip series centered around Charlie Brown's social circle, which included iconic characters such as Lucy van Pelt, Linus, and most notoriously, Charlie Brown's high-spirited dog Snoopy.

In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown starts to lose his mind on Thanksgiving when Peppermint Patty invites herself and some friends to a traditional turkey dinner. Counting on Linus and Sally to help put together the party and Snoopy as the head chef, it soon becomes clear an unconventional Thanksgiving is about to unfold.

A Charlie...

Every year, people find no better time than the holiday season to watch some fantastic TV shows as a family, and the season is almost here. While you can stream iconic Christmas movies like Home Alone, Elf, Die Hard, or It's a Wonderful Life, younger kids will certainly prefer something more light-hearted and entertaining.

Especially since modern TV shows have become exceptionally inventive, kids have found ways to have fun while learning about various new things. In the event of Christmas, Apple TV+ has unveiled a roster of new family and children's holiday specials that will air from November to New Year's. To that end, here is the list of every family and kids' special available on Apple TV+ through the holiday season.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 18

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Release Date November 20, 1973 Director Bill Melendez, Phil Roman Cast Todd Barbee, Robin Kohn,...

The great irony of Halloween is that in subjecting ourselves to scares of the kitschy seasonal-grocery-aisle variety, we somehow inoculate ourselves, for a moment, the Irl horrors that so consistently plague us each day online in the news each day. But horror movies and other October-end entertainments aren’t necessarily always simply a distraction. Just as often they’re an honest expression of universal human anxieties, dressed up in a foul-smelling rubber mask from the ad-hoc aisles of your local Spirit Halloween retail outlet.

Why we love it: October is the ideal and most obvious time to revisit Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Though each Halloween episode of the series is wonderful in its own way (shout-out to sexy-ghost Willow), it’s “Fear, Itself” that I still watch every year. The Scooby Gang finds themselves trapped inside a fraternity house of horrors, as fear demon “Gachnar” exploits their deepest anxieties I...

Halloween is just around the corner, so you better be getting cozy in a pumpkin patch and awaiting the arrival of a Halloween icon with the annual tradition that is It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. An all-time seasonal classic, Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins) and the rest of the Peanuts gang are getting ready for Halloween, with all of them having their own ways of celebrating the spooky festivities. Charlie and the kids are getting their costumes ready for trick or treating, Linus (Christopher Shea) is patiently waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive, and Snoopy (Bill Melendez) is using his flying doghouse to battle the World War 1 villain, the Red Baron.

The quietest, most insightful figure among the beloved Peanuts gang gets the spotlight in the new television special Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie. Premiering this August on Apple TV+ as part of the premium streaming service's revival of the iconic franchise created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, the special follows Marcie as she finds herself fast-tracked towards becoming class president -- whether she likes it or not. And with Marcie's best friend Peppermint Patty entering a golf tournament without her, Marcie will have to decide what she wants from life.

In an exclusive interview with Cbr, One-of-a-Kind Marcie director Raymond S. Persi and executive producer Craig Schulz -- son of the late Charles M. Schulz -- discussed putting Marcie center stage, talked about the special's themes, and reflected on the timeless quality of Peanuts' enduring legacy.

Related: Peanuts Producer Talks Potentially Revisiting Charlie Brown's Holiday Specials

Marcie wasn't introduced to the...

“Happiness is a Warm Gun” isn’t the only connection between The Beatles and Peanuts. Both groups exemplified the optimism of the 1960s era. Charles M. Schulz’s Charlie Brown was so assured of positive outcomes he repeatedly tried to kick a field-goal-placed football held by the town’s resident five-cents-a-session psychiatrist, Lucy, in spite of the knowledge she would pull it out from under him at the last moment. He faced defeat and realized “the world didn’t come to an end.”

When Schulz’s comic strip moved into animated TV specials, much of that expectant wonder was expressed through the music. Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi joined the Peanuts’ creative gang in 1964, when he was hired to score a TV documentary about Schulz, A Boy Named Charlie Brown. The documentary never aired, but jazz label Fantasy Records released the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack, Jazz Impressions of A Boy...

Halloween has a soundtrack. It’s the shrieks, howls, and moans of a spooky sounds cassette. It’s the novelty songs from the era of late, late shows mingling with more straight-faced pop that dips a toe into the macabre and the supernatural. It’s the instrumentals that set the tone for the hauntings, possessions, and/or slashings of a favorite horror movie.

Yet, for decades, this seasonal backdrop was incomplete. The Halloween canon lacked one of its most vital recordings, its esprit de fall confined to annual television airings, home video releases, and one hard to find read-along storybook and record. You couldn’t add it to a costume party mixtape, couldn’t load it onto a playlist for a drive to the pumpkin patch. Which is a shame, because unlike so many of the pop hits retroactively adopted as Halloween standards, jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi’s score for...

The 1966 animated television special It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has become a perennial Halloween standard. Starring the Peanuts gang created by Charles M. Schulz, it is not, however, a horror classic. “It’s not even on the scale,” says film analyst and Peanuts historian Derrick Bang. “It’s too sweet and gentle. The only thing mildly spooky is the title credit sequence.” What the special lacked in fear it made up for in wonder. Much of that magic came from the music.

While Lucy, Linus, and even Snoopy come home with sacks of candy, Charlie Brown’s trick or treat bag is filled with rocks. That’s not how Halloween is supposed to roll. Lee Mendelson, co-creator of the Peanuts animated specials, brought in someone who could make it swing.

San Francisco Bay area jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi had been part of the Peanuts’ creative gang for two...

Peter Robbins, who was the first person to voice Charlie Brown in several “Peanuts” TV specials in the 1960s, has died. He was 65.

His family told Fox 5 San Diego on Tuesday that he died by suicide last week.

At 9 years old, Robbins first voiced Charlie Brown in “A Boy Named Charlie Brown,” which was a television documentary about “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz released in 1963. He followed that up with the holiday classics “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in 1965 and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” in 1966.

Throughout the ’60s, Robbins provided his voice for “Charlie Brown’s All Stars,” “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown,” “It’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown,” “It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown” and the 1969 feature film “A Boy Named Charlie Brown.” The film was directed by veteran animator Bill Melendez, who also provided the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock in dozens of TV specials,...

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” is a holiday tradition. That tradition will continue this year…in a slightly different way.

In October, Apple TV+ acquired the rights to all of the Peanuts holiday specials including “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” It’s understandable why Apple would want to nab exclusive rights to a beloved IP, but the acquisition also raised some concerns about classic children’s programming going behind corporate paywalls and becoming unavailable to the public at large.

Thankfully, it would appear that Apple heard those concerns and registered them. In November, the company announced that “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will be receiving special broadcast airings on PBS in addition to its Apple TV+ premiere. Here is everything you need to know about when and where you can find “A Charlie Brown Christmas” this holiday season.

Those who want to watch the special on traditional, terrestrial TV, like the TV gods intended,...

This year marks a unique Thanksgiving, to be sure. With the pandemic carrying on, families and loved ones across the United States are testing out new ways to celebrate a national holiday that might be best described as food, football, and then, of course, more food. For some that means outdoor gatherings are the order of the day; for others it will mean the first time you might be cutting turkey while wearing a mask.

However you might wish to celebrate the holiday though, gathering with loved ones around a movie never goes out of style. For that reason, we’ve gathered the best Thanksgiving movies to choose from. Some of these films are truly beloved holiday classics, and others might be less obviously about Thanksgiving, even as they wear their affection for the holiday on their sleeves. And yet others still will offer the rare respite: a streak of...

Lee Mendelson, the prolific Emmy-winning producer of more than 50 animated Peanuts TV specials, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, has died. He was 86.

Mendelson died on Christmas Day in Hillsborough, California, following a protracted battle with lung cancer, his family told the Palo Alto Daily Post.

Mendelson imported comic strip characters Cathy and Garfield to television success but his signature career moment came in December 1965 when he brought Charles Schulz’s legendary Peanuts characters to the small screen in A Charlie Brown Christmas. The half-hour animated special with the $96,000 budget aired originally on CBS and would become a beloved touchstone of the holiday season, yield a bestselling jazz album, and win the Emmy and Peabody awards.

Mendelson also wrote the lyrics to the 1965 special’s ethereal Christmas Time Is Here, with music composed by Vince Guaraldi and performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Lee Mendelson, who produced several “Peanuts” and “Garfield” television specials, died at his home in Hillsborough, Calif. on Christmas Day after a battle with lung cancer, according to Palo Alto’s Daily Post.

Mendelson is also known for writing the lyrics to “Christmastime Is Here” from the 1965 TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The producer was born in 1933 and began his career in television in 1961 while working at San Francisco’s Kpix-tv. In 1963, he started Lee Mendelson Productions in Burlingame, Calif., according to his website. That same year, following a hit on NBC with a documentary called “A Man Named Mays” made by Mendelson and cinematographer and editor Sheldon Fay Jr., the two made their first Charlie Brown special, “A Boy Named Charlie Brown.” What followed was a 38-year long relationship with “Peanuts” creator Charles Schultz and animator Bill Melendez that lead to over 50 “Peanuts” specials.

Also Read: Jerry Herman,...

This story was originally published on December 9, 2015

The legend goes like this: In 1963, producer Lee Mendelson made a documentary about Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, for which he needed music. One night, Mendelson was driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, tuned into a San Francisco jazz station. “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” came on the air, a drifting cut where melodies appear and then disappear, and bouncing elation is matched by tiny moments of despair. The track was pianist Vince Guaraldi’s mini-hit that year, and Mendelson was struck...

Lee Mendelson, the six-time Emmy winner who produced more than 60 TV specials, films and other projects featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, has died. He was 86.

Mendelson died on Christmas Day of congestive heart failure at his home in Hillsborough, California, after a long battle with cancer, his son Jason Mendelson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Working often with the late Bill Melendez (the only animator permitted by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz to work with the iconic characters), Mendelson collected his first Emmy in 1966 for A Charlie Brown Christmas — he wrote the lyrics to "...

Lee Mendelson, the six-time Emmy winner who produced more than 60 TV specials, films and other projects featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, has died. He was 86.

Mendelson died on Christmas Day of congestive heart failure at his home in Hillsborough, California, after a long battle with cancer, his son Jason Mendelson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Working often with the late Bill Melendez (the only animator permitted by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz to work with the iconic characters), Mendelson collected his first Emmy in 1966 for A Charlie Brown Christmas — he wrote the lyrics to "...

Good grief! The legendary Peanuts comic strip turns 70 and to celebrate the occasion, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release a gorgeous, collectible Blu-ray&#8482 giftset comprised of three iconic animated holiday specials packaged in a limited edition Snoopy doghouse giftset! Titled Peanuts 70th Anniversary Holiday Collection Limited Edition, this collection will be released on October 1, 2019 and will include It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as six additional Peanuts specials that are re-mastered/restored, plus brand-new special features. All nine specials will be released on Blu-ray&#8482 with a digital copy. This must-own box set comes with two additional, keepsake collectibles, including an exclusive Snoopy figurine and a Charlie Brown holiday book. This is a numbered, limited edition set with only 25,000 total sets available. It's the perfect idea for seasonal gift-giving! Peanuts 70th Anniversary Holiday Collection Limited Edition will retail for $99.99 Srp...

Fans of all ages will enjoy the 50th Anniversary event cinema release of the two full-length digitally re-mastered Peanuts&#174 movies - A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Come Home when the animated features appear in cinema for the first time since 1969 and 1972.

See the original Peanuts characters like you've never seen them before. Humorous and heart-tugging, both features bring back the joys of childhood and teach kids today's important life lessons during their most impressionable years. Filled with laughter, courage, loyalty and the lovable friends we all relate to, the original Peanuts&#174 movies will win the hearts of a whole new generation and create a cinematic experience the whole family will enjoy.

Created by Charles M. Schulz, one of the comic world's most influential cartoonists, Peanuts&#174 became one of the most popular comic strips of all time with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Woodstock and Pigpen-among the most cherished.

Don Lusk, an animator behind “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” and many more classic animated Disney movies, died Sunday morning, according to a Facebook post by Ed Asner’s daughter, Navah Paskowitz-Asner. He was 105.

Lusk’s 60-year career touched countless classic works from Disney, where his career began in 1933. There he worked his animation magic on famous titles including 1938’s “Ferdinand the Bull,” 1942’s “Bambi,” 1950’s “Cinderella,” 1955’s “Lady and the Tramp,” 1959’s “Sleeping Beauty,” and 1961’s “101 Dalmatians.” Some of his most memorable work includes Cleo the goldfish in 1940’s “Pinocchio” and the “Nutcracker Suite” fish dance in “Fantasia.”

After leaving Disney in 1960, he continued freelancing throughout the decade, working on several Charlie Brown specials beginning with 1969’s “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” and throughout the ’70s with “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!” and “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.” He also freelanced for Upa on the animated...

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were the Peanuts animated shows, inspired by Charles M. Schulz’s long-running comic strip.

But when it came to outlining the entire concept for “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” which first aired in 1966, it was all hashed out by lunchtime, save a few scenes that were added after Schulz, director-producer Bill Melendez (also the voice of Snoopy) and executive producer Lee Mendelson finished their sandwiches.

“The reason we were able to do it in one day is that the main theme of the show had been in the comic strips for years,” Mendelson said during an interview with TheWrap in 2016.

Also Read: Ken Bone Inspires Sexy Halloween Costume That May Inspire Sexual Confusion (Photo)

Indeed, Schulz had already featured Linus in the pumpkin patch with Sally in his newspaper strip. “We just added a Halloween party, a trick-or-treat passage...

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were the Peanuts animated shows, inspired by Charles M. Schulz’s long-running comic strip. But when it came to outlining the entire concept for “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” which first aired 50 years ago, it was all hashed out by lunchtime, save a few scenes that were added after Schulz, director-producer Bill Melendez (also the voice of Snoopy) and executive producer Lee Mendelson finished their sandwiches. “The reason we were able to do it in one day is that the main theme of the show had been in the comic strips for.

It's that time of year again, the time when you rewatch holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas and find yourself wondering if any of the other 44 Peanuts specials are worth your time. That's not a hypothetical figure, by the way: While several of the Charles Schulz–scripted and post-Schulz-era specials complain about the evils of consumerism, there are (to date) 45 Peanuts specials. Many of these short, frequently seasonal programs follow formulas established in the early specials, several of which were directed by Bill Melendez and scored by the inimitable Vince Guaraldi. But even some of the more recent shorts, like Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, are fun, and all of them are available online (even the ones that have only been officially released on VHS tape, like Snoopy: The Musical). Still, while many Peanuts specials lack the early shorts' zeal for childlike play, certainly some are worth watching (or rewatching...

The Peanuts Movie was a hit with both critics and audiences a few months ago. The film charmed movie-goers with the classic characters and an uplifting story that couldn.t help but make you smile. And, now, we know that the movie used one very special scene to make sure we remembered Peanuts history. It was a natural opportunity to resurrect some of the classic dance moves and also add new ones. We went back and studied what Bill Melendez [the animator who directed the Christmas special and provided the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock] had done and replicated that. They were so charming and entertaining. And we wanted to build on the tradition, so we added a handful of new dances, but in the same spirit.that simplistic, repetitive style of movement. The director of The Peanuts Movie, Steve Martino, relayed this information to The Hollywood Reporter. The scene ...

Colourful 3D animation brightens up the beloved creations of Charles Schulz, but the humour and observations remain the same

This return to the cinema for the stars of Charles M Schulz’s beloved comic strip has heritage credibility; it is co-written by Craig and Bryan Schulz (with Cornelius Uliano), respectively son and grandson of Charles, and uses archive recordings of Bill Melendez (the one person Schulz entrusted to bring his creations to the screen) to lend voice to Snoopy and Woodstock.

Fans of such classic screen incarnations as 1965’s TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas may balk at the colourful digital 3D that leads us into some loop-de-looping dogfights between Snoopy and the cursed Red Baron, but for the most part there’s a reassuring “go fly a kite” simplicity to the visuals; north of the 2D cut-outs of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut naturally, but still far, far...

facebook

twitter

google+

Here’s how The Peanuts Movie creators tried to honour the look and feel of Charles ‘Sparky’ Schulz’s original comic strips…

On a desk in a Santa Rosa office sits a red and gold box measuring 10x8cm. It dates from the 1940s, is one of only three such boxes in existence, and contains around a hundred of what comic book artist and creative director of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, Paige Braddock, calls “the holy grail of pen nibs”. These are the nibs used by Charles 'Sparky' Schulz to draw over 17,000 Peanuts comic strips.

When the R. Esterbrook Company stopped manufacturing Charles Schulz’s preferred 914 pen nibs, he bought up the remaining stock. Three boxes are all that remain; one on display at the Schulz Museum adjacent to his former studio, one kept in the studio safe, and the one we’re shown by Braddock,...

I had the opportunity to speak with director Steve Martino about a film that is out in theaters, The Peanuts Movie, the first feature-length outing for Charles Schulz’s iconic characters. In 2008, Martino was one of the duo who directed Blue Sky Studios’ Horton Hears A Who!, a theatrical CGI adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ picture book. And in 2012 he also co-directed Ice Age: Continental Drift.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Charlie Brown, the world's most beloved underdog, embarks upon an epic and heroic quest, while his best pal, the lovable beagle Snoopy, takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis, the Red Baron.

Here is what Martino had to say about the film. And below is our exclusive image from the film.

I wanted to...

At first glance, The Peanuts Movie seems like a bad idea. To take the classic, Bill Melendez–directed Peanuts specials of the 1960s and '70s — handmade, slight, charming little toss-offs that nevertheless have had a strangely enduring pull over the years — and adapt them for the hyperadrenalized, CGI, 3-D age feels like you’re crossing two streams that should never meet. So watching the film itself comes as something of a relief: Somehow, this Peanuts feels familiar, even cozy. I can’t make any great claims for it, but it feels like the return of an old friend. One thing that makes the Peanuts stories resonate so much has been their very wise, realistic understanding of human behavior. The appeal of Charlie Brown as a character, of course, is immediate: We all feel like him from time to time. Some of us more than others, sure, but go find the most popular,...

Chicago – They didn’t screw it up, and that is good. Eschewing modern conventions or typical animation pop culture jokes, “The Peanuts Movie” honors its source (Charlie Brown and the gang) and its creator, Charles M. Schultz, in a joyous and nostalgic celebration.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The filmmakers – director Steve Martino (“Horton Hears a Who”) and writers Craig Schultz (Charles’s son), Bryan Schultz (grandson) and Cornelius Uliano – kept a philosophy of “Wwcsd” (What would Charles Schultz do?), and produced a animated feature that contains the best of what made “Peanuts” great. The look is as if the comic strip has sprung to life, especially in optional 3D, and the character voices and feel have the same warmth as the familiar TV specials (there are several references along the way to those treats as well). The story was incidental to the subplots that played like mini comic strips, featuring Good Ol’ Charlie Brown,...

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, November 6. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise. Wide The Peanuts Movie Director: Steve Martino Cast: Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Venus Schultheis, Hadley Belle Miller, Madisyn Shipman, Francesca Capaldi, Noah Johnston, Alexander Garfin, Mariel Sheets, A.J. Tecce, Mar Mar, Rebecca Bloom, Anastasia Bredikhina, William Wunsch Synopsis: "Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved 'Peanuts' gang make their big-screen debut, like they’ve never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Charlie Brown, the world’s most beloved underdog, embarks upon an epic and heroic quest, while his best pal, the lovable beagle Snoopy, takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis, the Red Baron." Criticwire Grade Average: B (4 reviews) Spectre Director: Sam Mendes Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Dave...

The Peanuts Movie

Written by Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz & Cornelius Uliano

Directed by Steve Martino

USA, 2015

The Peanuts Movie is like a warm blanket of nostalgia stitched together with modern technology. Crisp, beautiful animation highlights director Steve Martino’s ode to perseverance. Creator Charles M. Schulz would have praised the earnest purity of his classic characters, assuming the $100 million price tag didn’t render him speechless. The Peanuts Movie will enchant younger audiences with its spirit of adventure, while offering adults a welcome respite from irony and ugliness. Maybe Linus was onto something, because this security blanket never felt so good.

Charlie Brown (voiced by Noah Schnapp) may be a good man, but he can’t seem to catch a break. The local trees are littered with his failed attempts at kite flying (sometimes in the middle of winter), he has a standing therapy appointment at Lucy’s lemonade stand...

It’s not the great reboot, Charlie Brown!

Just over a month into the 65th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown and his pet beagle have returned in a new, syrupy sweet, 3D animated adventure. The Peanuts Movie features the reliable forlorn Charlie Brown suddenly lovestruck by the arrival of a new girl in school, while Snoopy daydreams about flying against the Red Baron and winning the heart of a poofy, pink puppy named Fifi (whose wordless squeaks are voiced by Kristin Chenoweth, for a reason, we assume).

Coming out over 15 years removed from Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz’s death and the end of his iconic comic strip, The Peanuts Movie feels like a relic from a bygone era of languid kids entertainment. Co-writers Craig Schulz (Charles’ son), Bryan Schulz (Charles’ grandson), and Cornelius Uliano (no known relation) retain the wholesome, Americana appeal of the original comics and cartoons – talent shows,...

Spectre – November 6

Director: Sam Mendes

Stars: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux

Synopsis: A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre.

Analysis: The question on a lot of people’s minds going into Spectre will no doubt be “is it going to be as good as or better than Skyfall?” Skyfall was certainly an awesome Bond movie, but if there is one thing we can take away from oh say Quantum of Solace, it’s that we should take each Bond movie as a single experience and try not to compare them with each other. That’s what I do anyway and it really takes away from the expectations and makes for a more enjoyable time.

'Tis the season to annoy everyone by using "'tis the season" way too many times when talking about holiday stuff. Halloween hasn't even happened yet, but the Christmas decorations are already taking over drug stores so ABC is just going ahead and announcing its 2015 holiday lineup. It's something to look forward to after the candy is gone, anyway, and since the "Toy Story 20th Anniversary Special" and "It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown" are involved, you should definitely mark your calendars.

Here's a chronological list of holiday programming highlights, via ABC:

Friday, November 27

"Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" - In the perennial favorite created in 1970 by Rankin-Bass Productions ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman"), Fred Astaire narrates this timeless tale of Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney), a young boy with an immense desire to do good things for others. The vocal cast features Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, Keenan Wynn as Winter,...

Fox has released a new trailer for The Peanuts Movie, bringing Charlie Brown to CG-animated life on November 6 and this time we get a bit more of the story, plus a look at the voice cast. Directed by Steve Martino, it's quite clear the focus will be on character as they haven't brought in a bunch of big name celebrities to capture the audience's attention, but instead the voices will be provided by Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown, Alex Garfin as Linus, Hadley Miller as Lucy, Mariel Sheets as Sally, Noah Johnston as Schroeder, Aj Tecce as Pig-Pen, Venus Schultheis as Peppermint Patty, Rebecca Bloom as Marcie, Mar Mar as Franklin and Madisyn Shipman as Violet. The archived voice of Bill Melendez will be used for both Snoopy and Woodstock. Here's the official synopsis: Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle - and flying ace! - embarks upon his greatest mission...

The Peanuts Movie is celebrating Draw A Bird Day! To help everyone join the fun, 20th Century Fox has released a brand new character poster and video to show you how to #DrawWoodstock! Check out the video below and share your own drawing of Woodstock using #DrawWoodstock now!

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation.&#160 Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle &#173 and flying ace &#173 embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest.&#160

From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the Ice Age films, The Peanuts Movie will prove that every underdog has his day. Check out Woodstock in his triumphant return as...

The Peanuts Movie is one of the most anticipated animated releases of the year, and we have a new photo which returns one of the most iconic characters back to her post in the neighborhood. Yes, that's right! Lucy van Pelt will continue her career as a doctor offering Psychiatric Help from a make-shift booth on the lawn. But will she find more than one client, or is Charlie Brown the only soul in need of her precious life advice?

In The Peanuts Movie, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang are set to make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation.&#160Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle &#173and flying ace &#173embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron. While his best pal, Charlie Brown,...

Charles M. Schulz's beloved Peanuts comic strip characters are finally coming to life on the big screen later this year with The Peanuts Movie, a 3D CGI animated comedy from 20th Century Fox, director Steve Martino and producer Paul Feig, who is best known for his edgy comedies such as Bridesmaids and the upcoming Spy, in theaters May 22. There were several longtime Peanuts fans who were worried about a big-budget 3D animated film, and that these beloved characters might be reconceived to cater to modern-day audiences. While doing press for Spy at SXSW, Paul Feig revealed that the movie is "very sweet," confirming that it will be a G-rated movie, casting aside fear that it will be tonally comparable to a movie like Space Jam.

"It's very sweet. It's totally a G-rated movie, because you can't get edgy with Charlie Brown. That was the Schulz family's fear, that me...

For the first time ever, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang from Charles M. Schulz's classic cartoon will make their big-screen debut in state of the art 3D animation when The Peanuts Movie hits theaters this year. Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the Ice Age films, The Peanuts Movie will prove that every underdog has his day. Featuring the voices of Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Alexander Garfin, Aj Teece, Mariel Sheets, Noah Johnston, and Francesca Capaldi, along with Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock (from archival...

20th Century Fox has revealed four new character posters for The Peanuts Movie, featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown (voiced by Noah Schnapp), Linus (Alexander Garfin) and Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller). The ensemble voice cast was announced back in November, and these four posters only scratch the surface of the numerous characters who will be featured in this 3D animated movie. Hopefully these one-sheets are just the start of a massive poster roll-out while we wait for a new full-length trailer.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved Peanuts gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle, and flying ace, embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. From the imagination...

At one time, 2015 was poised to be the biggest year at the movies in recorded cinematic history. But that was before Warner Bros. pushed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to 2016. Still, in the next twelve months, we'll be getting a new Star Wars movie, 2 Marvel adventures, a Terminator reboot, a Jurassic Park sequel, and a new 007. That's just the very tip top of this giant tasty cake. There are over a hundred big movies coming in 2015. We're taking a look at the best of the best. These are the movies you know you don't want to miss. Check it out as we delve into the 27 most anticipated movies of 2015!

1Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Release Date: December 18

Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o and Max von Sydow.

Director: J.J. Abrams

What It's About: Continuing the Star Wars...

Peanuts Trailer 3. Steve Martino‘s Peanuts (2015) movie trailer 3 stars Bill Melendez and was written by Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano. Peanuts‘ plot synopsis: based on Charles M. Schulz created characters, “Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved “Peanuts” gang make their big-screen debut, like [...]

Continue reading: Peanuts (2015) Movie Trailer 3: New Footage for Charles M. Schulz’s Characters...

Wwi flying ace Snoopy is back in action this November, and he's set his sights on the Red Baron in a new trailer for 20th Century Fox's upcoming animated adventure The Peanuts Movie. It will be a fight to the death as these two iconic legends continue a fight that started way back in the funny pages on October 10, 1965.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved The Peanuts Movie gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle, and flying ace, embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest.

Never stop dreaming big! From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the Ice Age films, The Peanuts...

Though the full trailer for the Peanuts animated movie from Blue Sky Animation has already debuted, with Charlie Brown, his loyal dog Snoopy, and the rest of the gang heading to the big screen, we had yet to hear who was providing the voices for the animated characters. Well, we already knew that archival recordings of Bill Melendez would be used for the voice of Snoopy and his bird friend Woodstock, but what about all the kids? Well, producer Paul Feig (director of Bridesmaids and the Ghostbusters reboot) took to "The Today Show" to reveal a cast of child actors lending their voices to all of Charles Schulz's iconic friends. Read on! Here's a photo Paul Feig posted to Twitter showing off all the kids in Peanuts (look at their t-shirts!): Just introduced the talented kids who will be the voices of the #PeanutsMovie on @TODAYshow. Thanks, @NMoralesNBC!

20th Century Fox has officially announced the voice cast for their upcoming animated adventure The Peanuts Movie. Producer Paul Feig revealed the actors that will be playing the iconic Peanuts characters on his personal Twitter account, which was followed by an official press release from the studio. The voice cast is made up of mostly unknowns, with all of the actors being age appropriate, as is the tradition for previous Peanuts animated specials and series. The full cast rundown is included here, along with more information about the release:

Aaugh! You're a good man, Charlie Brown, but Twentieth Century Fox pulled the football out from under you and announced the voice casting for The Peanuts Movie today. The Great Houndini reports, "It was a dark and stormy night..."

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the cherished Peanuts gang will make their long awaited big-screen debut in stunning...

Today is Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz's birthday. To celebrate, 20th Century Fox has released the first teaser poster from the hugely anticipated animated adventure The Peanuts Movie. Snoopy and Woodstock have big dreams for their all-new big screen adventure. And those dreams include a good snooze.

In The Peanuts Movie, a 3D, CGI animated comedic adventure, Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle, and Wwi flying ace, embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their arch-nemesis. In the meantime, his best pal Charlie Brown begins his own epic quest back home. Will these two best friends discover that they really don't need what they thought they did in the first place?

This latest look at The Peanuts Movie comes hot on the heels of the first full-length trailer, which has earned raves from fans across the world. From Ice Age: Continental Drift...

It’s not opening in theatres for another 12 months, but that doesn’t mean we can’t revel in the beauty of the wonderful Peanuts teaser trailer that has just been released. As the first theatrical Peanuts movie in 35 years, this glorious return to the world of Charlie Brown and Snoopy is sure to stir all kinds of feelings in those that recall the TV specials, while creating a whole generation of new fans.

Created by Charles M Schulz, Peanuts was originally a syndicated comic strip which ran from 1950 until 2000, when Schulz had prepared to retire due to ill health, but sadly passed away. At the height of its popularity – though, thanks to continued re-prints, it has never really waned – the strip was printed in more than 2,600 newspapers with a collective readership of 355 million.

The story centred around Charlie Brown – a nervous boy, lacking in self-confidence, and having little experience of anything.

The Peanuts Movie trailer has leaked! And it's Snoopy's fault, as one silly boy lets his dog get ahold of the first footage from this new animated adventure.

In The Peanuts Movie, a 3D, CGI animated comedic adventure, Snoopy, the world's most lovable beagle, and Wwi flying ace, embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their arch-nemesis, while his best pal Charlie Brown begins his own epic quest back home.

From producer Paul Feig (director of the new Ghostbusters) and director Steve Martino (Ice Age: Continental Drift), The Peanuts Movie&#160hits theaters everywhere on&#160November 6, 2015!

The Peanuts Movie comes to theaters November 6th, 2015 and stars Bill Melendez. The film is directed by Steve Martino.