FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Peanuts Movie
MPAA Rating: G
Director: Steve Martino
Starring: Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins

What It Is: Charlie Brown is back! In this 3-D animated adventure featuring the Charles Schulz characters, Charlie (Schnapp) is trying to cope with the fact that he is the ultimate loser. When a new little red-haired girl (Francesca Capaldi) moves into town Charlie is immediately smitten. He will do whatever he has to in order to impress her. Learn to dance, read and then write a book report on War and Peace. Literally anything to show her he isn’t a loser. Meanwhile, Charlie Browns trusty pal Snoopy (Melendez) is off in his dream land. A place where he, The Flying Ace, battles the sinister Red Baron. All for the hand of Fifi (Kristin Chenoweth).

What We Think: There will be no film more endearing than this one. Not only do the characters fit into the pseudo-computer animated look Blue Sky has built, but they fit into the 21st century just as well as they did the 20th. Even after 65 years, we still feel bad when Lucy removes that football…every…single…time. We can’t help but wish that maybe just once he could win one. If he ever will is probably something we’ll never see. Blue Sky has done an incredible job here of allowing the audiences to ease in. The screenplay is funny, but in the way, Peanuts has always been funny. Everything here just seems to scream nostalgia, while remaining fresh enough.

Our Grade: A-, With a G Rating it does not have nearly the appeal to adult audiences that some other animated fair will, however if you have kids and take them to see it they’ll enjoy the hell out of it and possibly learn a thing or two. That in and of itself is never a bad thing. It will get an Oscar nomination for Best Animated, but sadly that award will go to Pixar’s Inside Out. See this, I am highly recommending you do so!