The Peanuts Movie, 2015.
Directed by Steve Martino.
Starring Bill Melendez, Noah Schnapp, Francesca Capaldi, Hadley Belle Miller, Alexander Garfin, Anastasia Bredikhina, Rebecca Bloom, Noah Johnston, Venus Schultheis, Mariel Sheets, A.J. Tecce, Kristin Chenoweth, and Trombone Shorty.
SYNOPSIS:
Snoopy 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.
When adapting beloved material held to sky-high standards such as Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips to life on the silver screen, undoubtedly the most crucial aspect for success is keeping the look and style as similar as possible, even in the face of modern technology. This has of course been accomplished numerous times with various specials, but never before has the gang ventured out of hand-drawn territory.
The situation closely resembles the 2014 video game South Park: The Stick of Truth, which was developed by Ubisoft with heavy oversight from show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The overall hypothesis was that, a large contributing factor to many video games based off of existing properties sucking a fat one (including previous South Park efforts) came from the inability to transfer the visual authenticity of the work into a different medium; something that was accomplished here, and just one of many reasons that game went on to be both a critical and commercial success racking up numerous industry awards.
Coming back around to my point, the very first noticeable thing when watching The Peanuts Movie is that, although this is CGI, the movements of the animation are kept janky and simplistic, mimicking the original cartoons with near perfection. The Peanuts Movie actually looks like it could pass off as hand-drawn to viewers with untrained eyes for animation. This goes a long way in keeping the spirit of past efforts alive, but certainly not the only reason this foray into Hollywood shines.
Written by the son and grandson of Charles Schulz, The Peanuts Movie beautifully captures the essence of all the iconic children. Most notably is naturally Charlie Brown (don’t worry though, every little rascal is here with opportunities to win hearts), who seems to be constantly picking himself up after repeated failures, whether it be at sports, making friends, or finding a way to catch the interest of the new girl in town.
It’s a testament to the filmmaking on display here that, even though this is largely a familiar story patched together with numerous references to the series, the narrative can remain as engaging as it does, even despite the baggage of predictability for adults. Every time Charlie Brown fails miserably at an activity or social event, we legitimately feel bad; we like him thanks to the strong characterization.
At one point in the film, Charlie Brown takes it upon himself to complete a book report for himself and the new girl (she is away for the weekend), but not before it gets knocked up into the air and shredded by an airplane on its due date. Simply put, you feel the pain and agony of Charlie Brown. He’s a good person with very little confidence in himself trying to do the right thing at every point in time, yet instead of being handed lemons, life hands him elephant diarrhea on a non-stop basis. Charlie Brown possesses the most admirable personality trait of never giving in to defeat, eliciting the sensation that no one should sell themselves short and give up.
Outside of the aforementioned predictability, there is also a subplot involving Snoopy finding a typewriter and writing a story about him dogfighting, using his doghouse as a method of aerial means, all to save the love of his life. The problem isn’t that these scenes aren’t entertaining, but that there might be just one too many. Thanks to this misguided decision, The Peanuts Movie, even at a lean 86 minutes, often feels like it’s stretching for material and could have benefited from chopping off some of these fights.
All in all, The Peanuts Movie is a solid and lovingly crafted attempt at bringing the gang back into the limelight for a whole new generation of children. The movie definitely tends to ride itself off of nostalgia, meaning that adults will get more out of the film, but it’s hard to see children not succumbing to the vibrant colors, lighthearted comedy, and earnest message about continuing to get back up no matter how many times you are knocked down. The all-children cast also does a remarkable job at making the characters sound like their past counterparts, while archival voice recordings of Bill Melendez are here to make Snoopy the charmingly mischievous Beagle we all know and love.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=W04aXcyQ0NQ
Originally published November 8, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
