Plot
Snoopy embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their arch-nemesis, while his best pal Charlie Brown begins his own epic quest back home.
Release Year: 2015
Rating: 7.9/10 (166 voted)
Critic's Score: 72/100
Director: Steve Martino
Stars: Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller
Storyline
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Charlie Brown, the world's most beloved underdog, embarks upon an epic and heroic quest, while his best pal, the lovable beagle Snoopy, takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis, the Red Baron. From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the ICE AGE films, THE PEANUTS MOVIE will prove that every underdog has his day.
Writers: Bryan Schulz, Charles M. Schulz
Cast: Trombone Shorty -
Miss Othmar /
Mrs. Little Red-Haired Girl
(voice)
Rebecca Bloom -
Marcie
(voice)
Anastasia Bredikhina -
Patty
(voice)
Francesca Capaldi -
The Little Red-Haired Girl /
Frieda
(voice)
Kristin Chenoweth -
Fifi
(voice)
Alexander Garfin -
Linus
(voice)
Noah Johnston -
Schroeder
(voice)
Bill Melendez -
Snoopy /
Woodstock
Hadley Belle Miller -
Lucy
(voice)
Micah Revelli -
Little Kid
(voice)
Noah Schnapp -
Charlie Brown
(voice)
Venus Schultheis -
Peppermint Patty
(voice)
Mariel Sheets -
Sally
(voice)
Madisyn Shipman -
Violet Gray
(voice)
A.J. Tecce -
Pig-Pen
(voice)
Taglines:
Peppermint Patty: My Friends Call Me Sir.
Trivia:
This movie is being released 50 years after "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the first Peanuts animated film. As well as being released 65 years after the first Peanuts comic strip. See more »
Quotes:
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User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
Source of my comment: hitfix.com Review By Drew McWeeny.
When we live in an age when everything, no matter how pure the intent
of the creator, is simply IP to be farmed, it is right to be suspicious
of a "Peanuts" movie. After all, Charlie Brown and the rest of the
characters created by Charles Schulz have been huge business for
decades, and it makes sense that they would put something together if
for no other reason than to keep the characters active in pop culture.
Thankfully, it appears that the people behind "The Peanuts Movie" take
the legacy of these characters very seriously, and the result is a
gentle, charming movie that seems far less frantic than much of what is
created for young audiences these days. Blue Sky, one of the two major
producers of CG animated films for Fox, has produced ten feature films
now, and while the majority of their efforts have been originals, it
was clear from "Horton Hears A Who" that when they adapt someone else's
property, they try to do so from a position of authenticity and
respect.
One of the things that makes "Peanuts" such a broad target is all the
different versions there have been. Even in our editorial meetings at
HitFix, as we talk about the films or the specials that we think of
when "Peanuts" is mentioned, we all have our own take on what that
means. For me, the old school TV specials and the first few movies were
the defining version. Louis Virtel told me he always thinks of "Race
For Your Life, Charlie Brown!" first. My kids have been exposed to some
of the specials, but Toshi took it upon himself to read the
Fantagraphics collections of all of the strips that I have on my
shelves. And to any of those people, I would say, "You'll recognize the
'Peanuts' you love in this movie, and you'll be happy." That could not
have been an easy task, so for that alone, Blue Sky and Fox deserve
some accolades.
One of the most interesting choices they made in approaching the movie
was how to design the characters. They are 3D CG objects, but the faces
are "drawn" onto the heads in a way that always feels like there's a
physical brush stroke, a pencil mark. I assume the entire thing is CG,
but it connects the characters to the long hand-made tradition that
started with the comic strip itself. It's a strong stylistic decision,
and it makes sure the characters feel like the characters we already
know. Steve Martino, working from a script by Bryan Schulz, Craig
Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano, touches on any number of familiar jokes
and scenes and set-ups, with a number of references to the long history
of the characters. Snoopy spends most of the movie working on a book on
his newly-discovered typewriter, the story of a flying ace and his
battle against the infamous Red Baron. Sally's got her crush on her
sweet baboo, Linus, who nurses his faith in the the Great Pumpkin. Lucy
gives advice at her sidewalk psychiatric stand while making passes as
Schroeder every chance she gets. Peppermint Patty and her assistant
Marcie both play their familiar roles as well, with Charlie Brown at
the center of everything, constantly put upon, constantly taking one on
the chin. If this is going to be true to the original strip that Schulz
created, then Charlie Brown has got to be suffering, a kid who can't
catch a break.
What surprised me was the way they took a quiet approach to finding
something else to say about Charlie Brown. I was worried that this was
going to be a film where they had to turn him into something he wasn't
just to tick some demographic checklist, and instead, the film makes
some very strong and interesting points about what is heroic when
you're just a kid trying to define yourself. In this case, there's a
new kid in school, the Little Red-Haired Girl, and Charlie Brown is
determined to reinvent himself in a way that will win this girl's
attention and approval. This being Charlie Brown, things are not that
easy, but I thought the way they eventually bring it together was
unexpectedly honest. At this point, these characters have been playing
the same beats for so long that it is genuinely surprising to see them
do something new that doesn't feel like a violation of the characters,
but rather a natural extension of what we already know about them.
The cast of young voice actors all seem appropriately chosen, and it's
interesting to hear how they've gone out of their way to find kids who
naturally sound like the voices that have been connected to the
characters for over 40 years now. One of the reasons I don't ever want
a "Calvin & Hobbes" adaptation to happen is because I don't want to
hear anyone else's take on how Hobbes should sound, but with these
characters, they've had the same voices for so long now that it's kind
of like a magic trick. It's a cast of real kids here, but they sound
like the "real" Charlie Brown, the "real" Lucy, the "real" Linus.
Frequently very funny, undeniably aimed at younger audiences, and true
to the source material, "The Peanuts Movie" is too mild-mannered to win
over brand new audiences, but it's going to please people who were
already fond of the underlying property, and it should be a big
nostalgia-driven hit for the studio.
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