It’s a good movie, Charlie Brown: a ‘Peanuts’ film review
By Collin Giuliani, Staff Writer//
When I first heard of “The Peanuts Movie” being released, I was skeptical. Between the 3D animation (compared to every other “Peanuts special,” which was in 2D) and the fear that the movie would be littered with pop culture references, I was hesitant going in. However, by the time the 93 minutes was over, “The Peanuts Movie” eliminated my doubts; the movie stayed true to the classic comic strip and television specials and may become another timeless classic in the Peanuts catalog.
The movie from Blue Sky Studios is about Charlie Brown, the lovable underdog. After a new girl (who is never given a name in the film) moves into town across the street from Charlie Brown, he views this moment as an opportunity to impress her and start over with a clean slate. It’s a fairly simple plot, and the only other side-plot in the film involves Snoopy writing a novel in which he tries to rescue a dog named Fifi from the Red Baron. Yet, even with these simple and understandable plots, the movie is not only able to sustain an audience for over an hour and a half, but also stays true to itself the entire time.
Nothing about the movie feels any different than the comic strip and the television specials; nothing about the movie feels compromised. The adults still don’t talk, Snoopy and Woodstock don’t talk and everything about the main characters, such as Sally’s love for Linus, Lucy’s love for Schroder and Peppermint Patty’s constant interruptions of not listening to anything Charlie Brown says, is the same. The producers recognized that “The Peanuts” was timeless and they decided not to mess with the winning formula. That strategy worked, as nothing about this movie felt unfamiliar.
The humor in the movie is very typical of every other “Peanuts” special. While there are some references to previous specials (for example, Linus makes a side comment when the new girl moved in about hoping that she believed in the Great Pumpkin), the majority of the humor comes from the situations that the characters are in.
The humor isn’t anything memorable and one of the criticisms I have with the movie is that most of the best jokes were shown in the trailer. However, there are more than enough moments when I laughed. The movie is not devoid of humor; while there aren’t a lot of memorable jokes, to the film’s credit, no jokes fell flat. There wasn’t a joke that was being built up that didn’t have a good punch line.
The 3D animation works surprisingly well. Nothing about the animation feels any different from the classic comic strip; sound effects are still spelled out and there are some moments where the movie becomes a black and white sketch. And, the moral of the story is not only a powerful one, but it is one that stays true to the original morals of the franchise. Being yourself and having values such as compassion, honesty and integrity, goes a long way. While the message seems somewhat cliché, the way in which it was presented was powerful.
The film feels like vignettes tied together, and in every section of the film, Charlie Brown screws up in classic fashion. However, everything was brought together nicely at the end of the movie through the explanation of these morals.
However, while the movie is largely good, it’s not without its flaws. The major flaw in the movie is with Snoopy, surprisingly enough. Every sequence involving the Red Baron felt like filler and the camera angles during the flying sequences could have been better. Whenever there was a flying sequence, I never felt as though I was flying, which was a missed opportunity. When Snoopy took on the side character role, he had some hilarious sequences and some memorable moments. Perhaps the funniest moment of the entire movie was when Snoopy was on a snow-covered baseball diamond with Charlie Brown and Woodstock, and Snoopy and Woodstock reacted to Charlie Brown’s pitching performance.
However, when Snoopy became the focus of the movie, the plot came to a sudden halt. During the Red Baron sequences, the movie lost momentum and dragged at times. Credit to the film for not compromising anything from the original strips and specials during these sequences, as Snoopy and Woodstock do not talk and do not do anything out of the ordinary. That being said, the sequences could have been better. The pacing between the Charlie Brown main plot and the Red Baron sub-plot was fine, but the Red Baron sequences themselves were under whelming.
At the end of the day, though, “The Peanuts Movie” is another worthy addition into the Peanuts franchise. Any fans of the television specials and comic strips will appreciate this film, as nothing about the film feels different than the classics. The movie coincided with the 50th anniversary of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Perhaps fifty years from now, people will remember “The Peanuts Movie” fondly in the same way that they remember the Christmas special. Nothing about the identity of the characters is different and the formula and morals that made every other installment in the franchise a classic is used here.
For fans of Peanuts, young and old, “The Peanuts Movie” is an enjoyable film and another welcome installment in the classic franchise. Final score: 7 out of 10