Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie

The Peanuts Movie
Twentieth Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios, Feigco Entertainment, USA, 2015.

It is winter and the Peanuts go skating. Except for Charlie Brown who wants to fly his kite. It doesn't end well. The Little Red-Haired Girl moves into the neighbourhood. The main story is about Charlie Brown's clumsy attempts to impress her. Charlie tries to attend a talent contest, Charlie learns to dance, Charlie writes a book essay. But everything he tries goes wrong. Another storyline has Snoopy finding a typewriter and starting his writer's career. He also imagines being a WWI fighter ace who battles against Red Baron. 

Charlie Brown wants to be somebody

The gang is all here

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

If you have seen previous Peanuts cartoons it goes with a similar formula: there is a loose story connecting the episodic gags. Although 3D-animation is used the characters have elements (eyes and mouths) that imitate the hand drawn style of Schultz. and look like enhanced comic characters. At least some of the jokes are from the original comics. Much of the original animations' spirit is preserved. The music is still jazzy but some scenes use modern touches. The adults speak with the classic wah wah sound. Little Red-Haired Girl who was never shown in the comics is now seen.

The classic Charles M. Schulz comic was often quite bleak with neurotic characters constantly failing to achieve their dreams. Again Charlie rises from zero to hero and then back to zero. The movie has somewhat more happier ending, making it family friendly. Everyone likes Charlie although he is clumsy. Luckily the world of the Peanuts is kept faithful to the comic without introducing ill-fitting modern elements. It was a nice nostalgia trip, with all the elements you would expect from a Peanuts animation.

Rating: Very good

Voice actors: Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews, Rebecca Bloom, Anastasia Bredikhina, Francesca Capaldi, Kristin Chenoweth, Alexander Garfin, Noah Johnston, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller, Micah Revelli, Noah Schnapp, Venus Omega Schultheis, Mariel Sheets, Madisyn Shipman, A.J. Tecce, Marleik Mar Mar Walker, William Wunsch, Christopher Campbell, Holly Dorff, Kelly Michele Mills, Al Nelson, Tessa Netting, Randy Thom, Randy Trager, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gia Bravos, Ileanna Bravos, Nikolas Bravos, Clayton Drier, Kori Elmore, Adam Joshua Jastrow, Frances Bella Kayser, Theodore F. Kayser, Ava Kramer, Sam Lavagnino, Ava Leslie, Jaiden A.M. Mathews, Terence Matthews II, Dylan Naber, Marley Pearson, Nigel Pope, Aramé Scott, Eden Vietro, Nicole Wedel, Allen Zyler 

Director: Steve Martino