A Day at the Movies: Peanuts

Good Grief! And I mean that in a good way!

Hey guys, it's John. Now let me tell you all something, if there was anything that was a shining gem from my childhood, it's Peanuts. For those of you who don't know, Peanuts, a newspaper strip created by Charles Schulz, tells the story of the every day lives of a boy named Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy. It is hands down one of the most influential and iconic comic strips of all time and it has spawned numerous television specials (most famously the Christmas and Halloween ones) and even a couple of feature films. But now after 35 years, Charlie Brown and the gang have made a return to theaters. So how does the peanuts latest film fair? Let's find out.

The Good

Hoo boy, where do I begin? Because this film got numerous things right. Let's start off with the animation. When I first heard that the movie was going to be in CGI I was extremely worried because I thought that this meant that the characters wouldn't look the way they normally do. That and I'm really attached to the way they looked in the 2d works. But luckily the CG in this movie manages to capture that classic peanuts style, while also managing to enhance it in a way.

Next we have the story. Being a peanuts film, it's the good ol' slice of life story that this franchise is known for giving us. It's about Charlie Brown wanting to start fresh by befriending a new red haired girl that moved in across the street from him. Meanwhile, Snoopy tries to help him impress the new girl while also findings time to write a story about him fighting the Red Baron. 

Now, another concern that I initially had for this movie is whether the writers would be able to capture what made audiences fall in love with the peanuts in the first place. Luckily my fears were put to rest as soon as I was just merely a couple of minutes into the movie. The guys over at Blue Sky freaking nailed it. They managed to perfectly capture the spirit of what made Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang famous in the first place and do a flawless job at introducing them to a modern day audience. 

Another thing that I liked about this movie  is that it's not overly mean spirited to Charlie Brown whenever he messes up. Now trust me, being a peanuts film, there are some moments where Charlie Brown screws up royally but unlike some previous tv specials or comic strips the film nor the characters (specifically Lucy) are overly cruel towards him when he does. And whenever Lucy does start being mean, she actually gets comeuppance for it (in the form of those good ol' fashioned dog germs).

But by far, the thing that I loved the most about this movie is the ending. I won't dare spoil it but trust me when I say that it will have you leaving the theater grinning from ear to ear. Especially if your a long time Peanuts fan.

The Bad

Now there's nothing remotely bad about this movie but I did feel that the Red Baron subplot, as entertaining as it was did take away from the main plot a little bit. Again, there's nothing bad about it, it's just an extremely minor nitpick.

Conclusion

When this movie was first announced , it's safe to say that it had a lot of skepticism thrown at it. Mainly because whenever a classic cartoon is made into a new movie, Hollywood often strays away from the source material and tries to "modernize" said property. And the result is almost always a steaming pile of crap (Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Smurfs, and Jem are shining examples of this).

But with Peanuts, Blue Sky proved that it truly is possible to stay 100% faithful to the source material and have a classic property resonate with a modern day audience. 

If you haven't seen the Peanuts movie yet, please go see it as soon as you can. It is a truly funny, charming, and heartwarming film that will entertain Peanuts fans both young and old.

Rating: 9.9/10