The Peanuts Movie

by Aprille Hanson
There is great risk involved when trying to modernize and bring beloved characters brewing over with nostalgia to the big screen for a new generation. If you do it wrong, especially when it’s Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the Peanuts gang, all I can say is … good grief.

Luckily, the fifth theatrical Peanuts film “The Peanuts Movie,” in theaters now, is just good … adorable, fun, warm, heartfelt and any other sweet adjective you can insert.

Based off of the 1950 cartoon strip by the genius that is Charles M. Schulz (who died in 2000), this is the first Peanuts film to be released on the big screen in 35 years, according to IMDB.com.

My hopes for the movie were higher than all those kites stuck in the trees that Charlie Brown was never able to reach. The only way to successfully pay honor to Peanuts and its creator is to have a team that truly loved both -- which is what made Craig Schulz (Charles Schulz’s son) and Bryan Schulz (his grandson) the only ones able to pull it off so beautifully.

The film centers around Charlie Brown’s (voiced by Noah Schnapp) love for the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) and his ongoing struggle to impress her -- not to mention just talk to her.

But in his normal Charlie Brown fashion, he fails again and again. He practices hard for the winter dance to show off his moves, only to ultimately set off the sprinklers and ruin the party. Then there’s the talent show -- he prepares his magic tricks only to abandon his routine to help his sister Sally (Mariel Sheets) who is bombing on stage with her cowgirl roping routine. He winds up looking like a fool in the process. For a little while, the school thinks he’s a genius, scoring 100 percent on a standardized test, only to realize in front of the whole school it was the wrong test and to admit it right then and there. Finally, he’s partnered up with ‘Red’ for a book report and while she’s out of town, he decides to finish the report for the both of them, picking the incredibly thick “War and Peace.” He spends all weekend reading it and producing literary insight that’s unmatched, according to Linus (Alexander Garfin). However, you guessed it, it turns into a disaster, shredded apart by the low flying Red Baron … but you’ll just have to watch the film to find out how that happens.

Charlie Brown is at his wits end, but he never gives up. That’s the point and the message for every kid (and adult for that matter) in the audience -- when life knocks you down, you take a page in the book of Charlie Brown and keep trying to fly that kite and eventually that Little Red-Haired Girl will love you for it.

Intertwined with Charlie Brown’s storyline was his best friend and trusty beagle Snoopy up to his old antics, writing his novel that portrays the World War I Flying Ace trying to take down the Red Baron, this time for the love of a poodle named Fifi (Kristin Chenoweth -- how perfect is that) with Woodstock by his side. One of the greatest things about the film was how the noises from Snoopy and Woodstock were used from Bill Melendez recordings, meaning these two sound the same as they always have, a real treat for fans. The Peanuts gang were voiced by child actors, making it that much more authentic.

I saw one review for this film describe it as a “love letter” to Charles Schulz and the fans of Peanuts and that sentiment is so spot-on, I’m hard-pressed to think of another way to characterize it. Most of the film included scenes from the comic strips and lines that any fan of the comic strip will know -- “Ugh I've been kissed by a dog! I’ve got dog germs! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!” ah good old Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller). We saw Charlie Brown at the pitcher’s mound; at the park trying to get his kite to fly; on the skating rink with the rest of the gang; the characters dancing exactly how they did in the Christmas special; Snoopy tearing off with Linus’ blanket; no adults were seen but that “WaWa” sound of course was heard; Lucy counseling Charlie Brown at her “5 Cents” psychiatrist stand; and so many more moments that made it so special. The comic strip drawings themselves even made an appearance onscreen -- when Charlie Brown was thinking, the cartoons would appear in his thought bubble.

What is perhaps the greatest achievement, though, is the creator’s willingness to only modernize Peanuts with CGI and nothing else. Audiences saw Charlie Brown writing with a liquid ink pen on a piece of paper, no computers in sight. He answered a phone with a cord and got tangled up as he always does, no cell phones or texting. I doubt any of this even occurred to the little ones in the audience, who were likely mesmerized by the colors, 3D images and Snoopy being a goof.

Most refreshing too was the fact that there was no need for innuendos to make the movie enjoyable for adults -- no hidden bits of humor, just pure joy and G-ratedness that was perfectly entertaining.

As the movie was nearing its end, I had one complaint -- how had they made a Peanuts movie without Charlie Brown attempting to kick the football and Lucy pulling it away?! Then, after the credits began, there was one more surprise -- they were halted to play out that most memorable scene.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy and all their friends are timeless. More than anything, this film proved that “Happiness is … ‘The Peanuts Movie.’”

---