Grade (A)
A trip down memory lane with all the familiar characters that many grew up with during their childhood.
“THE PEANUTS MOVIE” follows the lovable underdog Charlie Brown as he attempts to surpass his fears to impress the new love of his life, while his best-friend, the comical beagle named Snoopy takes to the skies to stop his nemesis the Red Baron.
Like many, I grew up watching the “Peanuts” films, and the holiday specials were a yearly tradition throughout my childhood years. Today there is still a complete, original Charlie Brown encyclopedia set in my home so to say I enjoyed these characters would be an understatement. With the word of a new full-length animated feature coming to theaters and being given the addition of a 3D treatment, I was both intrigued, and apprehensive to how it would turn out.
Much to my delight this was a very entertaining film, and a great continuation of the comic world created by Charles M. Schulz. What I loved most about this film was the way it stayed true to the source-material. It was subtle, but something that really drew me into the story-line. Without the pop-culture references, and attempting to appeal to a younger audience of today, audiences familiar with the “Peanuts” can be lured into the settings where you cannot distinguish a true decade the story takes place in.
Another great addition that made this film so great was the animation. The detail was excellent and the vibrant colors and texturing brought the characters to life like never before. The 3D texturing was pretty good and added a nice depth to the settings that easy conjured old childhood memories. I will admit though, there were a couple scenes where the backdrops opted for a CGI look, which stood out as odd when being set behind the animated characters. It was not a major thing but something that seemed very out of place and somewhat distracting.
The story-line was very entertaining and it was a fun-filled adventure to see if Charlie Brown could finally over come the odds and shed his underdog persona. Snoopy as always (for me) was the true star and provided plenty of laughs like he always does. I enjoyed how this film captured the bond between Charlie and his puppy and the cute scenarios easily brought back fond memories.
If there was anything that could have made this one better would have been some more additions from the other characters. For me, at times it felt a little too Charlie/Snoopy centric, but that usually is the case and never did it really hinder the enjoyment. For the most part all the characters were present throughout the story-line, but some did end up receiving little screen-time or attention. However, this is a small complaint about a script that delivered a cute, adventurous tale that warms the heart and takes fans back to the world full of lovable characters.
In the end, “The Peanuts Movie” was a success and highly entertains. Currently in the movie industry it is a trend to take old, nostalgic material from the past and process it in to an (often) lackluster film simply to sell itself of name recognition alone. This film did not, and showed its own self-confidence in staying true to the source-martial. It did not stray from its roots to adapt to a modern world in an attempt to sell more tickets either. If you loved the “Peanuts” growing up you will appreciate the effort taken into this one and will find it very entertaining.
– Directed By –
Steve Martino
– Created By –
Charles M. Schulz
– Written By –
Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, Cornelius Uliano
Time: 88 min
MPAA Rating: G (Approved for all audiences)