Peanuts

[areaseven]

Nope, this film is not about that bass, about that bass, or treble...

And here's the film's take on the classic Peanuts theme:

[areaseven]

Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie

Blue Sky Studios/20th Century Fox, 2015

Directed by Steve Martino (Horton Hears a Who!, Ice Age: Continental Drift)

Written by Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano

Based on the comic strip by the late Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

Running Time: 88 minutes

Rated G. Enjoy the film.

Cast

Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown

Bill Melendez (1916-2008) as Snoopy and Woodstock (archive recordings)

Hadley Belle Miller as Lucy Van Pelt

Alex Garfin as Linus Van Pelt

Mariel Sheets as Sally Brown

Venus Omega Schultheis as Peppermint Patty

Rebecca Bloom as Marcie

Noah Johnston as Schroeder

Francesca Capaldi as the Little Red-Haired Girl and Frieda

A. J. Teece as Pig-Pen

Marelik "Mar Mar" Walker as Franklin

Anastasia Bredikhina as Patty (the other one)

William "Alex" Wunsch as Shermy

Madisyn Shipman As Violet Gray

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews as the adult voices

Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) as Fifi

Synopsis

In the middle of the Winter season, Charlie Brown and the gang discover a new kid in town. He falls in love with her, but being the pessimist that he is, he cannot bring himself to talk to her. Meanwhile, Charlie's love problems inspire Snoopy to take an old typewriter and create his adventures of the Flying Ace.

Story: A

In a time when your childhood favorites are being modernized by Hollywood, The Peanuts Movie comes as a surprise. The film is devoid of smartphones, Internet speak, or anything that's hipster material. Instead, it still feels like a classic Peanuts story with everything you know and love about the comic strip, from Charlie Brown's low self-esteem to Lucy's Psychiatry booth that still charges 5 cents. Common tropes such as Charlie missing the football and Snoopy's imaginary flights never grow old.

As for the voice acting, it is phenomenal. The new kids are spot-on to the voices of the original cartoons. The film honors the late Bill Melendez by using his original voice clips for Snoopy and Woodstock. And as always, the adult voices are done on trumpet, courtesy of musician Trombone Shorty.

Animation: A

Blue Sky Studios may be known for 3D animation, but for this film, they've toned it down a lot to stay as faithful to Charles M. Schulz's style as possible. All of the characters may have textures, but their motions are in 2D while 3D animation is used only in the backgrounds of Snoopy's side story. Some of the textures even work perfectly, such as Snoopy's plush toy look and the brown highlights of Linus' filthy blanket. The addition of classic black-and-white animation in some scenes also adds to the nostalgia.

Soundtrack: A-

Christophe Beck (Frozen, Ant-Man) and jazz pianist David Benoit do a good job at replicating the late Vince Guaraldi's original Peanuts themes such as "Linus and Lucy". Songs by Meghan Trainor, Flo Rida, and Gipsy Kings are used sparingly and go well with the film's narratives.

The Bottom Line

If not for Inside Out, The Peanuts Movie would be the best animated film of 2015. It's a perfect way to introduce today's kids into the world of Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

Links

Official Site