The Peanuts Movie
The Peanuts Movie
By Hiram Trillo
Nostalgia in 3D!!!
My introduction to Charlie Brown and the gang was like most through a holiday special, but since that first time there has been a soft spot for that little kid with an enormous heart and never quit attitude. So when The Peanuts film was first announced I had my doubts, I mean, CG animation and 3D…All I could think was “you knuckle heads!”
One of the most pleasant surprises about this film is the voice-over cast. Voiced almost entirely by actual kids, it shows that the filmmakers wanted to do things right. Another great thing is that this is still a kid’s film through and through, but still kept it’s timeless feel of that loved comic strip and TV cartoons. Like the original, it doesn’t shy away from topical references, but you never see any modern gadgets through out. Schroder still plays his baby piano, no one is ever talking on a cell phone, kids still enjoy a fun filled snow day by ice skating and playing sandlot baseball, but most importantly Snoopy still composes adventures on a manual typewriter…yes a typewriter! Now to modernize it a bit the soundtrack came into play with songs by Meghan Trainor and Flo Rida but also the timeless classic jazz piano of Vince Guaraldi. Great detail was taken for this film and it is shows.
The main plot of the film is that of unattainable love, which also ties in perfectly with that of Snoopy’s adventure in which he battles the dreaded Red Baron to rescue his love during fantastic aerial dogfights along side his trusty side kick Woodstock. Here is where the choice of making this film 3D makes total sense since you are immersed into the battles. There are many subplots with in the film that tie in every original character without making it feel forced or out of context. The 5-cent visits of Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) to would be psychiatrist Lucy voiced by Hadley Belle Miller or the protectiveness of Linus and his defense of his security blanket tie in perfectly into what in the end comes to be the true underlying message of the film of just be yourself. Peanuts purists I’m sure will no doubt find plenty of causes or things to ruffle their feathers. I know for starters director Steve Martino’s (Ice Age: Continental Drift, Horton Hears a Who!”) Choice of going CG will not set well with many, however, it is well done and in a way simplistic enough that you actually forget that it’s happening in a 3D computer-generated world, and then there’s the mysterious Red-Hair Girl. She definitely makes an appearance through out, and unlike the comic strip where she is never actually shown; we do get to see her a bit more on this film and hear her thoughts about neighbor and friend Charlie Brown.
All in all Martino did an amazing job to the memory of Schulz with a solid screen play written by Bryan and Craig Schulz and Cornelius Uliano that keeps the jokes familiar to fans coming and venturing into new territory such as the out of control model plane gag through out the film. I believe that this new generation of Peanuts does an incredible job at paying homage to the importance of failure and disappointment that Schulz always included in his storytelling while adding an important message of getting back up, standing up for those you love, and just being yourself. Unlike many films this day in age, Peanuts is what it’s supposed to be, a kid’s movie for all ages. Whether you are an old fan or like my own children recently introduced this film shows that in a way there is still a kid in all of us that doesn’t need to try to hard to be great.
9/10
Reviewed at Angelika theater Dallas, Texas, Nov 1, 2015. MPAA Rating: G. Running time: 89 MIN.
Production
(Animated) A 20th Century Fox release of a 20th Century Fox Animation presentation of a Blue Sky Studios production. Produced by Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, Cornelius Uliano, Paul Feig, Michael J. Travers.
Crew
Directed by Steve Martino. Screenplay, Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, Cornelius Uliano, based on the comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. Camera (color, 3D), Renato Falcao; editor, Randy Trager; music, Christophe Beck; music supervisor, John Houlihan; art diretcor, Nash Dunnigan; supervising sound designer (Dolby Atmos), Randy Thom; supervising sound editors, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Thom; re-recording mixers, Lora Hirschberg, Thom, Leff Lefferts; effects supervisor, Elvira Pinkhas; stereoscopic supervisor, Daniel Abramovich; production manager, Anthony Nisi; CG supervisor, Robert Cavaleri; head of story, Jim Kammerud; supervising animators, Nick Bruno, Scott Carroll; casting, Christian Kaplan.
With
Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Alex Garfin, Francesca Angelucci Capaldi, Venus Omega Schultheis, Rebecca Bloom, Marlieik “Mar Mar” Walker, Noah
