The Peanuts Movie
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
In the morning, the kids wake up and find out that school has been cancelled because of snow. They all get together at Charlie Brown's (Noah Schnapp) house to start a hockey game. By the time Charlie puts on his winter clothes and comes outside, everyone has already left for the pond. Charlie decides to try flying his kite, since the Kite-Eating Tree is in hibernation. He gets the kite to fly, but everyone else is playing hockey, and they don't see him. The string tangles around his feet, and he gets dragged onto the pond, stopping right in front of Linus (Alexander Garfin). A gust of wind catches the kite, and Charlie gets pulled across the pond, running into Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller), who was doing figure skating tricks. The wind carries the kite into the Tree, and Charlie gets tied up by the string.Snoopy (Bill Melendez) skates out and grabs Linus' blanket, whipping him around in circles. Reaching out, Linus grabs Sally's (Mariel Sheets) hand, and he sends her spinning into a snowbank. "Isn't he the cutest thing?" she sighs. Snoopy is still dragging Linus, and he grabs Peppermint Patty (Venus Schultheis), whose stick snags Marcie (Rebecca Bloom). Others join in, starting a game of crack-the-whip. Frieda, Shermy (William Wunsch), Schroeder (Noah Johnston), Lucy, Franklin (Marleik Mar Mar Walker) and Pigpen (A.J. Tecce) zoom across the ice, passing by Woodstock (Bill Melendez), who is driving a Zamboni. When the whip cracks, the kids are scattered across the pond. Charlie frees himself from the tree and walks to the baseball diamond, still untangling the kite string from his legs. When he's done, the string is the size of a baseball, and he decides to practice his pitching. He builds snowmen for a team and a batter, and then pitches a snowball. To his surprise, the ball comes right back at him, knocking him out of his clothes. "It's going to be a long winter," he groans.Charlie sees a moving truck pull up to the house across the street from his. Everyone runs up to see who is moving in, blocking Charlie's view. He rolls up a snow mound and stands on top of it to see, but then he loses his balance and crashes the fence. "He did it," say the other kids, pointing to Charlie, who runs back into his house.The next day, the snow is gone, and the kids go back to school. Snoopy tries to get into school, but he is stopped by Franklin. Everyone sits down for class, and Charlie sees Linus' show-and-tell project, a World War I diorama featuring the Red Baron. He spins the tiny propeller, causing the plane to start up and take the whole thing flying out the window. The teacher, Miss Othmar, tells everyone that the new kid will be joining the class. The Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) walks in and takes a seat, causing Charlie to be mesmerized. Then Miss Othmar announces that the class will be taking a standardized test. Snoopy crawls through a vent and uses a yo-yo to rappel into a classroom chair. Smiling, he takes a binder and fills it with papers, but then he pinches his finger in the rings, letting out a howl. Lucy throws him out of the building, and he lands in the trash, finding an old typewriter. The Red-Haired Girl finishes her test and hands it in, and her pencil falls off her desk and rolls up to Charlie's feet. He picks it up and notices that she chews on it, just like he does with his pencils. Charlie and Peppermint Patty are the last ones to hand in their tests, and the teacher reminds them to put their names on the papers. When Charlie turns around, he's facing the Red-Haired Girl. "Hi, I'm Brown Charlie, I mean Barney Clown..." he blurts out, before running out of the room. On the bus, Charlie sees the Red-Haired Girl walking up to him, and at the last second, he scurries under the seat and crawls up to the front.Snoopy takes the typewriter back to his doghouse and starts typing a story, with Woodstock looking on. He starts writing a few times, and each time he tears out the paper and crumples it up. Then, Linus' plane goes flying by, and Snoopy is inspired. "It was a dark and stormy night. Thunder roared. Lightning flashed in the sky. High above the French countryside, the World War I Flying Ace had never been so close to his lifelong enemy, the Red Baron!" Snoopy puts on goggles and a scarf, and his doghouse becomes a plane, chasing after the Baron. Imagining that the Baron is on his tail, Snoopy does evasive maneuvers, losing his balance and falling off the doghouse and into his water dish. Woodstock laughs heartily, but Snoopy climbs back up, not to be deterred.Charlie quickly gets off the bus at his house, and hides behind the doghouse as the Red-Haired Girl walks home. Thinking that Charlie is being a spy, Snoopy follows behind her, staying out of sight. In his room, Charlie pulls down the blinds, then opens them a bit to watch her check the mailbox, and then walk to her door. Snoopy realizes that his story should be a love story."Chapter One: It Was the Greatest Story Ever Told.The Flying Ace emerged from the airport wearing his green cap, red scarf, and goggles. But when he saw his plane, he gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes. This was a disaster!The plane was in a shambles! Parts were scattered everywhere. He approached Woodstock, the leader of his flight crew. Woodstock started chirping orders to his team of mechanics--young birds loyal to the Flying Ace.There was a flurry of action as the crew quickly fixed the plane. The Flying Ace stood behind it, inspecting it, as Woodstock turned the propeller.POOF! A cloud of black smoke shot out, covering the Flying Ace. Woodstock glared at his team of mechanics.The sound of an airplane engine filled the air. It was coughing and sputtering. The Flying Ace looked up to see a white plane chugging across the sky. Black smoke trailed from the tail. The plane was in trouble, and was coming down for a landing.As it got closer, the Flying Ace saw that the plane was a White Albatross. A real beauty. The pilot flew her in for a safe, expert landing.The Flying Ace walked toward the plane. The pilot stepped out and removed her flying cap to reveal the lovely face of a French poodle. The Flying Ace's mouth dropped.Her name was Fifi. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.Fifi moved to the front of her plane and removed one of the panels. She pulled out a wrench and got to work fixing the engine. A smudge of grease appeared on her cheek, but the Flying Ace thought it only made her look more beautiful. She was gorgeous, and she could fix an engine!Suddenly, the Flying Ace felt self-conscious. He rubbed most of the grease spots (but not all) from his own fur. Then he ran to the grass and picked some purple flowers. He turned to go back to the plane, but Fifi was already taking off again.The Flying Ace watched in awe as Fifi flew off toward the horizon--right through a heart-shaped cloud.He was in love. But when would he ever see her again?"Charlie decides to bring the Red-Haired Girl a housewarming gift, and Snoopy hands him a flower. He walks up to the door, but turns away without ringing the bell. Snoopy rings it for him and bolts. The Red-Haired Girl opens the door and doesn't see anyone there. Charlie has hidden behind a plant. She shrugs and shuts the door. Charlie walks to Lucy's house, where she has a cardboard stand with a sign reading "Psychiatric Advice, 5 cents." Charlie asks her how he can impress the Red-Haired Girl, and she tells him that girls are impressed by a boy who is a winner. She hands him a book called "10 Ways to Become a Winner," then taps her cup. He drops in a coin, and she says, "Ah, nickels, nickels, nickels. What a beautiful sound!"The next day, Charlie is reading the book. "Congratulations, you're on your way to becoming a winner! Step One: Forget everything you know about yourself. Step Two: Project confidence!" Charlie tries to strike a confident pose, with Snoopy copying him. "Don't slouch!" Charlie straightens his back. "Maintain eye contact at all times." Charlie looks into the mirror and sees Snoopy, and they have a staring contest, which Snoopy wins. Charlie hears a crash downstairs and finds Sally practicing with a lasso for the school talent contest. Charlie decides that winning the contest will impress the Red-Haired Girl, so he and Snoopy put together a magic act.Schroeder starts off the contest playing Beethoven on the piano. Backstage, Charlie sees Lucy, who gets licked by Snoopy. "Ugh! I've been kissed by a dog! I have dog germs! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!" Onstage, Peppermint Patty is karate chopping some boards. It's Sally's turn to perform, and the audience laughs at her rodeo act. She freezes up, and Charlie comes out in a cow costume and tells her to rope him. She jumps on Snoopy's back and chases Charlie around the stage. The crowd goes wild and snaps pictures of a tied up Charlie in costume.The next day, Charlie's picture is on the front of the school newspaper. When he walks into the cafeteria, everyone says, "Moo!" Back at home, Charlie remembers a line from the book. "Number Six: Tell yourself 'I am worthy. I can do this. I have what it takes.'" Just then, he gets a phone call from Peppermint Patty. She tells him that she volunteered him to make cupcakes for the Winter Dance. From his window, he sees the Red-Haired Girl dancing in her room, and decides to learn how to dance himself, spending days practicing with Snoopy.At the dance, the boys are on one side of the gym, and the girls are on the other side. Sally drags Linus to the middle and dances with him, and the other kids join in. Outside, Charlie walks up to the door with a tray of cupcakes and steels himself for his entrance. He doesn't notice Snoopy gobbling up the cupcakes until they're gone. Marcie is struggling with a heavy punch bowl, and Charlie grabs it for her. Then, the door shuts on his shirt, trapping him with the bowl still in his hands. A contest starts to decide the best boy and girl dancer, with the two winners sharing a dance at the end. The girls start, and Charlie can't see the Red-Haired Girl's dance, but he hears everyone applaud for her. Then, it's the boys' turn. Charlie is still stuck in the door, until Snoopy bursts through wearing sunglasses and a "Joe Cool" shirt. Charlie spills most of the punch on the floor, but finally gets the bowl to the table. The other boys do their dance, and Charlie is the last one. He gracefully dances across the floor, and everyone claps for him. Then he slips on the spilled punch, causing his shoe to come off and hit the fire sprinkler. Water comes down and everyone runs out of the gym.Dripping wet, Charlie walks home with Snoopy. Moved by Charlie's sadness, Snoopy starts typing."The Flying Ace took to the air, in search of his long-lost love, Fifi.He flew across the sky, keeping his eyes peeled for her white plane. Finally, he spotted her! Fifi, piloting her White Albatross, was flying right toward him. Her eyes widened when she saw him.The Flying Ace steered his plane next to Fifi's. She looked over at him and smiled. He did a loop in the sky to impress her. When he finished, Fifi steered her plane into a DOUBLE loop.Then she took off in front of the Flying Ace, and he followed her. The two planes looped and dipped in the sky. Then they both dropped down and flew across a green valley below.Fifi held up a camera and started snapping photos of the Flying Ace in his plane. He hammed it up, striking poses for her--which is why he didn't see the old barn up ahead.WHOOSH! The Flying Ace zipped through the barn and came out the other side covered in hay. He flashed an embarrassed smile at Fifi, and she smiled back.Fifi steered up and grabbed a piece of cloud with her hand. Then she blew on it, and it formed the shape of a heart. It floated across the sky toward the Flying Ace.He responded by rolling his plane above the valley. When the plane was upright again, the Flying Ace held flowers in his hand. He flew up next to Fifi and extended them toward her.BOOM! The flowers exploded! Startled, Fifi and the Flying Ace looked behind them.A red plane circled them and then flew across their path. The Red Baron!He flew off into the distance, but the Flying Ace gave chase.Then the Red Baron set his sights on Fifi's plane.He steered right on top of the White Albatross. Then he dipped down and punctured her wing with his wheel. Fifi's damaged plane suddenly rolled over!Taken by surprise, Fifi fell out of the cockpit! The Flying Ace dove down with a shriek, determined to save her.Just before he reached her, Fifi pulled the string on her parachute. She shot up in the air as the chute blew open.The Flying Ace banked hard, flying straight up to try to reach Fifi. As she slowly began to float back toward the ground, the Red Baron zoomed toward her.Both pilots raced toward Fifi. At the last second the Red Baron's wing snagged the string of the parachute. Then he flew off, with Fifi dangling from his wing!The Flying Ace flew as fast as he could toward the Red Baron. The villain headed toward a large mountain. A long bridge with train tracks led into a dark tunnel inside the mountain. A train was chugging across the bridge, headed for the tunnel.ZOOM! The Red Baron zipped inside the tunnel just before the train. The Flying Ace followed him.Then Fifi's pink scarf flew out of the tunnel, covering the face of the Flying Ace! He ripped it off, but he was too late. The craggy face of the mountain was quickly approaching..."Woodstock tears the paper out of the typewriter, seeing the scared look on Snoopy's face. Snoopy takes another look at the last line he wrote."He thought he had lost her forever."The next day at school, the Red-Haired Girl's desk is empty. Linus tells Charlie that she went to take care of her grandmother. The teacher announces that she is assigning a team book report, and the partners will be drawn from a bag. Lucy keeps picking names until she ends up with Schroeder. Charlie walks up and picks the Red-Haired Girl from the bag. In the cafeteria, he panics and tells Linus that he can't handle being her partner. He decides to do the report himself while she's gone. Everyone leaves the cafeteria to look at the test scores that are just being posted. Charlie sees that he was the only one to get a perfect score. Over the PA, Franklin announces that there will be an assembly to honor Charlie.In art class, Charlie is supposed to be making a sculpture out of hangers, but it just becomes a big mess. Franklin compliments him on his "contemporary" piece. After school, the kids play hockey, and Charlie shoots the puck. It flies off the pond and bounces off a tree trunk, coming back onto the pond and landing in the net. His teammates cheer for him, except for Lucy, who knows something is wrong.In the morning, Sally gives the other kids a tour of Charlie's house. At the bus stop, a group of kids is waiting for him. Snoopy and Woodstock escort him onto the bus, wearing Secret Service uniforms. At school, a lot of kids are wearing his style of shirt. Pigpen reminds him that the book report is due on Monday, just a few days away. Charlie decides to ask Marcie for help. Marcie is at the pond, trying to get Peppermint Patty to decide on a book, but she just wants to shoot pucks. Frustrated, Marcie leaves for the library. Charlie shows up looking for her, and Peppermint Patty says that Marcie recommended the book "Leo's Toy Store" by Warren Peace.Charlie goes to the library and finds Marcie there. She points out "War and Peace" and Charlie is amazed at how long it is. Charlie checks out the book and puts it into a sled, dragging it home. He spends the whole weekend reading, finishing as the sun sets on Sunday. As he writes the report, the pen he's using breaks, covering everything with ink. He picks up the Red-Haired Girl's pencil and starts again. He finishes just before he has to get ready for school.At the assembly, Charlie sees the Red-Haired Girl in the audience. Lucy walks up and tells him she may have been wrong about him all along. Franklin calls him up to the stage, and Marcie reads a proclamation that it is Charlie Brown Day. Then she pins a gold medal to his shirt, and hands him his test paper. He realizes that he put his name at the top of Peppermint Patty's test. He decides to be honest and gives back the medal, and he walks out alone. Linus reminds him that things could go better when he hands in his book report. Charlie places the report on one side of a seesaw. Just then, the Red-Haired Girl walks up, and Linus tells her that Charlie did the report for both of them. She smiles at Charlie, who leans on the seesaw to steady himself. The report goes flying into the air, and then is ripped to shreds by Linus' plane. Charlie places a pile of confetti in the Red-Haired Girl's hands and runs off.Seeing Charlie's frustration, Snoopy goes back to the typewriter."Chapter Four: Curse You, Red Baron!Woodstock and his mechanics cranked a siren--the Red Baron had been spotted in the skies!The Flying Ace jumped into his plane and took off into the air. He chased the Red Baron all the way from the countryside to the city of Paris. He never lost sight of the red plane. He followed it past the Eiffel Tower and the cathedral at Notre-Dame.The Red Baron looped around and flew back to the Eiffel Tower. He pulled up at the last second, flying vertically up the side of the tower. The Flying Ace flew right beneath him. A drip of oil spilled from the Red Baron's plane, splashing the Flying Ace in the face. He shook his head, sending the droplets flying.The Red Baron looped and quickly flew back down along the Eiffel Tower, startling the Flying Ace. He tried to make the same sharp turn, but his plane got stuck on the point of the Eiffel Tower! He stood up and stomped on his plane, freeing it. His plane plummeted toward the ground, but he pulled up hard at the last minute.The Red Baron's plane was a red dot in the distance now, and it was growing dark as night fell and a fog set in. But the Flying Ace was not going to give up. He bravely flew into the gloomy fog, chasing the Red Baron.When the fog lifted, he realized he was behind enemy lines. He could see the barbed wire of the enemy camp below. Then he looked up--and realized he was flying right underneath the Red Baron! His enemy could not see him. It was the perfect cover!The Flying Ace and the Red Baron flew until they reached the Baron's aerodrome. Enemy planes patrolled the skies. Suddenly, spotlights shone on the Flying Ace's plane, and sirens began to wail.The Flying Ace began to descend to avoid the spotlights. Up ahead he saw a wooden tower. There, inside, was Fifi!Their eyes met. The Flying Ace circled the tower. Then Fifi pointed behind him, and he turned around to look.The Red Baron was on his tail!The Flying Ace gasped. His plane was hit! He was going down!He stood on top of his plane and saluted. She had served him well. Smoke poured from the engines as he landed in the middle of the enemy aerodrome.The Flying Ace took cover behind the plane as spotlights shone on him. Shading his eyes from the brightness, he saw a zeppelin flying overhead. Fifi sadly waved out the window of the airship. The Flying Ace watched helplessly as it soared away, accompanied by the Red Baron and his squadron of enemy planes, the Flying Circus.Things were grim. It looked like all was lost.But he would not give up. The Red Baron could not win! Fifi was counting on him.The Flying Ace stormed off into the dark night."Charlie goes to his room and shoves his kite, his baseball glove and Lucy's book underneath his bed. Then he takes the Red-Haired Girl's pencil and sticks it in a drawer. As the sun sets, Charlie sees a single star light up the sky. He imagines it to be his star, saying to him, "Don't give up, kid.""The Flying Ace knew he had to rescue Fifi."Snoopy strolls through the neighborhood, looking for inspiration to finish his story. He hears piano music coming from Schroeder's house, and howls along with it. He climbs across a string of Christmas lights outside of Peppermint Patty's house, but she chases him away. For the rest of the winter, Snoopy doesn't write, and Charlie doesn't try to talk to the Red-Haired Girl.In the spring, Charlie is walking past a tree when a kite lands at his feet. He sees a kid on a ladder trying to fly it. The kid asks him if he's ever flown one before. He tells the kid to get a good running start, keep the string tight, and never give up."Chapter Seven: Never Give Up!The Flying Ace knew he could never give up on her. He could never give up on himself.He repaired his plane and flew back to the aerodrome. Then he gathered his own squadron of Sopwith Camel planes. They took off in the darkness of night, headed for the ocean.Early the next morning the Flying Ace spotted the huge zeppelin up ahead, glinting in the sunlight. He zoomed toward it. The Red Baron's squadron turned and headed toward the Flying Ace and the Sopwith Camels.As the Flying Ace flew closer to the zeppelin, he could see Fifi staring out the window of the carriage of the airship. They locked eyes. He surged forward to rescue her.Then an enemy plane appeared behind him! The Flying Ace ducked to avoid it, but the plane was hot on his tail.CRASH!Fifi smashed a chair through the window. It hit the enemy plane, sending it crashing into one of the airship's big propellers.The Flying Ace flew back to Fifi, but her eyes were wide with fear. He looked behind him to see the Red Baron coming toward him at superspeed.The Red Baron fired. The Flying Ace dodged the spray, and the bullets hit the airship instead. The Flying Ace didn't notice.He flew away from the dogfight, hoping the Red Baron would follow him. The villain took the bait. He followed the Flying Ace away from the ocean, back to land...where another member of the Flying Ace's team was waiting.Then Woodstock leaped from the Flying Ace's plane and landed on a wing of the red plane. He quickly began to unhook the hinged panels on the wings that helped the plane remain steady in the air. The Red Baron's plane lurched.BONK!One of the panels hit Woodstock, sending him spiraling away. But he righted himself and gave the Flying Ace a thumbs-up before he flew away. The Flying Ace nodded, then dove toward the Red Baron's damaged plane.At the same time, Fifi noticed the damage to the airship. The envelope was swiftly deflating, and the broken propeller was sputtering and groaning. The zeppelin wouldn't stay aloft much longer. She looked for a way out and spotted an escape hatch on the ceiling. She opened it and poked out her head. The wind blew across her face.She grabbed on to a rope and climbed on top of the carriage, slowly making her way across the top. The damaged propeller broke loose, and she stumbled. She hung onto the rope, dangling over the side of the zeppelin!Meanwhile, the Flying Ace had the Red Baron in his sights. He closed in on him--and then he heard Fifi's scream. He looked over just as the carriage detached from the airship, and Fifi plummeted toward the ground.Finish off the Red Baron forever, or save his one true love? There was only one choice he could make. He sped off after Fifi as the Red Baron escaped.Fifi flailed her arms and legs as she fell through the clouds. Then suddenly the Flying Ace's plane was underneath her, and she fell right into his arms. The Flying Ace gazed into her eyes and then looked behind him to see the Red Baron's plane disappear, a cloud of black smoke trailing behind it.The Flying Ace and Fifi came in to land, setting down among the squad of Sopwith Camels. The pilots cheered for their hero. The battle was over--for now.And so, as our hero observed, he was destined to face the Red Baron another day."Charlie and Sally are walking to school on the last day. There's a carnival set up by the pond. Linus tells everyone that there will be a pen pal project over the summer. He picks names out, and people will call out if they want to be that person's pen pal. Linus calls Charlie's name, and there's silence in the room. "I will." Charlie looks up and sees the Red-Haired Girl. When school ends, everyone runs to the carnival. Charlie wonders why the Red-Haired Girl picked him. Linus tells him to go ask her. He goes to his room and grabs her pencil, and then walks over to her house and rings the doorbell. Her mom answers and tells him that she got on a bus to summer camp.Frantically, Charlie runs through the neighborhood to get to the bus. He makes it to a fence with a hole, but an ice cream truck surrounded by kids blocks off the hole. Desperately, he asks for a little help for once in his life. Just then, the Kite-Eating Tree lets go of a kite, and the string wraps around Charlie's leg. Then, the wind blows the kite upward, carrying Charlie over the fence. Charlie runs toward the bus, with the wind carrying the kite behind him. Everyone sees Charlie apparently flying the kite, and runs after him. He gets to the bus and finds the Red-Haired Girl. He asks her why she picked him, and she replies that she admires the type of person he is. "An insecure, wishy-washy boy?""That's not who you are at all. You showed compassion for your sister at the talent show. Honesty at the assembly. And at the dance, you were brave yet funny. And what you did for me, doing the book report while I was away, was so sweet of you."The other kids start to tear up. "So you see, when I look at you, I don't see an insecure, wishy-washy boy at all."The bus honks its horn. "Sorry, I have to go now.""Wait. I think this belongs to you." He pulls out her pencil."Oh, thank you. I've been looking everywhere for this." She climbs on the bus. "I'll write to you, pen pal!"As the bus pulls away, she waves goodbye from the window. The kids congratulate Charlie. Lucy walks up to him. "This time you've really gone and done it, you blockhead! You've shown a whole new side to yourself. Good ol' Charlie Brown."

Review: 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.
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..
Schulz passed away in 2000, this movie is a tribute to his memory and the legacy that he left behind.While the members of the Peanuts Gang look and act like their lovable selves, there are many updates to this film.
The Peanuts Movie is about Charlie Brown trying to break his losing streak so the little Red Haired Girl (voiced by Disney's Francesca Capaldi) will view him differently than his friends do.
I have always appreciated the blend of childhood innocence with deep theology and philosophy that is present throughout the 65 years since the world was introduced to the lovable blockhead Charlie Brown (actually 68 years going back to 'Li'l Folks').This movie continues the blend: both modern and classic animation styles that I believe set Blue Sky Studios apart from and ahead of both Pixar and Dreamworks; a classic Vince Guraldi soundtrack with some tastefully and not overdone modern sound; but best of all nearly all the classic tropes and references to story lines blended together in a thoroughly entertaining story that might have come from Schulz himself.Without giving too much away, this movie has everything any and every super fan of Peanuts could want: kite eating tree; baseball; hockey; an epic battle with the Red Baron; Lucy's booth; Schroeder's toy piano and Beethoven; Snoopy sneaking into school; Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'; and Charlie Brown pining away for the little red headed girl.As I said, ten out of ten is too low a rating..
As someone who grew up watching the Charlie Brown animated specials as well as reading the comic strip "Peanuts" in my local paper and also in various book compilations, I highly enjoyed this movie immensely.
In summary, The Peanuts Movie is a wonderful tribute to the comic strip and the animated specials produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez whose vintage voice tracks as Snoopy and Woodstock were provided here as well.
Watching this made me remember the Charlie Brown specials I use to watch when I was a kid, I believe kids and adults will find this movie charming.The plot centers around Charlie Brown trying to overcome his insecurities in hopes to talk to the new girl that lives across the street, and course you know what follows.The whole Peanuts gang really come alive here, I also love the subplot with Snoopy.
Over the past six decades, Peanuts had leapt from its comic strip medium and into the form of animated TV shows, holiday specials, and even a few movies, but rendering these well-known characters into CGI in this new animated feature turned out to be unique in its own right because it's basically channeling the essence of Schulz's original designs and humor that the older generation had gotten to know so well.For the littler crowd who are just getting to know Charlie Brown himself, his beloved dog Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang, they're in for a story that focuses on the insecurities of the former and how he manages to overcome it on a life-changing adventure with his friends along the way.The Peanuts Movie serves as a fitting comeback for the characters who have long been absent from the big screen.
I had of course read a few of the comic strips over the years, and I'm confident that I saw the TV specials a few times, but I was still a bit fuzzy on the details of things like Snoopy and his battles with the Red Barron, the names of certain characters, and the gist of how different aspects of the series fits together into a competent narrative.
Even though they revealed her unlike the comic strips, she's still really cute, and uses her very few lines in the movie to tell Charlie Brown about how she liked him for who he was, which was sweet.If you're a fan of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, go watch this film, Even people who never watched the Peanuts cartoons or read the comics should watch it.
You watch some of those movies and specials, which have stood the test of time due to the wit of the writing and the beautiful (yes, beautiful) animation that does simply to bring Charles Schulz's comic to life, and those shows and movies (i.e. the best, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, but also Snoopy Come Home and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown) with issues that kids deal with, whether or not they directly relate to the hero.
And of course Snoopy as the super rascal/charmer/adventurer of the lot who tries to do things like sneak into school as a teacher ("No dogs allowed!" duh) and spends his part time writing stories about being an ace pilot with the "Red Baron" plane.With the exception of a couple of elements that, frankly, I could've taken or left, like some of the Red Baron bits (some are OK, some may drag unless you're a kid into the action-loaded visuals), and the inclusion of a couple of pop songs (not annoying ones, but they are of this time period) and a lack (not completely, but not enough) of Vince Guaraldi's irreplaceable jazz score, the movie really works.
It's just a classy adaptation of the classy source material we grew up loving--even featuring echoes of Vince Guaraldi's trademark compositions.The Peanuts Movie revolves around everyone's favorite underdog, Charlie Brown, and his quest to get the new girl to think of him as more than a klutz.
THE PEANUTS MOVIE wants to remind us that this is the dog that everybody would like to have, the ultimate man's best friend.As I said earlier, even though it's 3D CG animation, the film retains the essence of Charles Schulz's drawing-sale, this is not a re-imagining, it's an homage, and I think Schulz would be proud of how this film also conveys the good and moral things that his comic strip promoted all those years, because deep in the heart of its humor is the honesty, the courage, and the solidarity of Charlie Brown and his friends.
Basically, on one end Charlie Brown is trying to work up the courage to talk to and impress a new girl in town, known only as the Little Red-Haired Girl (more on her in a bit), while Snoopy gets his own story-line where his imagination runs wild, leading to a few clashes with his nemesis the Red Baron.
There are plenty of light-hearted moments that will have you laughing, and just about every trope you can associate with Peanuts is in the movie somewhere: Snoopy's typewriter, Lucy pulling the football away, Charlie Brown getting clobbered by a baseball, etc.
For those of you who aren't aware, in the comics the Little Red-Haired Girl is the object of Charlie Brown's affection, much like she is in the movie, but sadly he never got up the nerve to talk to her and so we never actually see her with the exception of a silhouette once.
On the sidelines, Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy gets caught up in his own imagination as he continues to fight the Red Baron in occasional plane dog fights.As a computer animated movie, I was worried that the simplicity of Peanuts would be compromised.
He's a bald kid with some serious hang ups he needs to get over if he's going to get to known the cute little red head that moved in next store.The Peanuts movie is jammed with trivial stuff, a little too jammed packed at times, like they're hitting us over the head trying to be everything everyone loves about the Peanuts gang, but I did like it when a certain scene would be ripped straight from the panels of the comic strip.The movie is really good at capturing the Child like innocence that can be missing in a lot of films when they try to favor everyone who may see this.
As I write this review I play the Rod Mckuen song A Boy Named Charlie Brown for it seems just appropriateIn 1969 my mother took myself and my older brother to see the first film Until I was able to see it on TV years later I did have fragmented memories of the film (particulary this song) and though loved it had some emotions from it even though I was not in Kindergarten yetToday I took one of my brother's children to see the new filmAnd despite the CGI as it unfolded I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!!!As some else has posted Blue Sky nailed it and they sure did!!!!!From the most trite to the tiniest detail(see the film and you'll see what I am talking about) the film did NOT forget what the true spirit of the strip was From Charlie Browns pursuit of the Little Red Haired Girl(Heather) to Snoopy's Pursuit of the Red Baron it was just beautiful to watchBut No WW2 The Cat Next Door?
Overall I would highly recommend this movie to long time Peanuts fans for a fresh take on the series and to new fans who want to experience the charm that only Charlie Brown can have.
But when watching this movie you can tell that the source material was treated right and the characters and story was taken care of in order to pay respects to the original works but to also bring a new charm to audiences young and old.
Peppermint Patty informs him one of the greatest books of all time is a book called "Leo's Toystore" written by "some guy" named "Warren Peace," to which Charlie tracks down the book, reads the behemoth of a novel, and emerges determined to write one of the greatest book reports ever.This should give you some sort of idea of what you're in for with "The Peanuts Movie." Also thrown into this charming story are many scenes involving Snoopy flying on his airplane with two goals in mind - taking down the infamous Red Baron fighter jet and winning the heart of the gorgeous poodle Fifi.
However, the "Peanuts" strips and specials were always cut from a rather slight cloth, so perhaps these sequences do indeed work to serve the better part of the spirit.Nonetheless, I'm not one to complain when a product of the past gets its fair treatment on the big screen and that's precisely what "The Peanuts Movie" gets: a very fair, very funny, thoroughly charming revitalization of characters that, to many, feel like old friends, created with unique animation that effectively blends styles of the past and present thanks to Blue Sky Animation.
They did an amazing job reconstructing the Charlie Brown appeal both in spirit as more tangibly in the drawings: this here is a 3D rendition of the characters and backgrounds, only boosted with computer-generated virtual motion and it's absolutely superbly done: all the authenticity and pure Peanuts aesthetics preserved, but adapted into the modern mold carefully and most subtly and with excellent attention to detail.However, as mentioned the effect only lasts so long and this film needs to be critiqued as a film for adults, as millennial kids hardly know anything about it and it is obviously aimed at the then-children/now-adult portion of society.
So when this film rolled around it was fun to see the old gang again doing their thing.The director got the character nuances right for the animation, but the script, though having a good premise, was pretty vapid in terms of what gags and jokes made peanuts appealing.There was a bit of Lucas-Spielberg influence here in the form of Indy- Jones kind of stuff, which felt mildly out of place given the kind of emotionally-cerebral strip Peanuts is.When all was said and done I observed that the production team relied heavily on mining past glories of Peanuts, and then combining that with modern CGI-toon joke-convention.
Nor did I mind the film being in 3D, nor did I mind the use of 3-dimensional models as opposed to flat 2D cel animation.What I did mind was a script that had little originality to it in terms of giving these characters the intellect that we knew they had from the previous 50 or so years of the stip, books based on the strip, and the ABC specials that used to air.It's my conclusion that the production team relied a bit too heavily on the appeal of the Peanuts' gang, and then woefully invoked modern cartoon formulation in terms of jokes.
I know Snoopy is one of the most popular characters in the canon...but there is entirely too much of his "heroic journey" and far too little of Charlie Brown's growth and coping with life's travailsThere were also problems with characters being distorted almost out of recognition (Peppermint Pattie and Marcie are horribly treated...as is the subtle quirkiness of their interplay.If this serves as an introduction to the Schulz canon for a new generation...great...if they can go on to accept the subtlety and delicacy of the comic strips and earlier adaptations.My fear is that this over blown and over simplified treatment may make them expect nothing but over frenetic mischief and under wrought writing...neither of which Mr. Schulz would have approved of..
In this movie, there's a new character, The Little Red-Haired Girl AKA Frieda, Charlie loved her but cannot even speak to her, and it's funny in every ways...I waited 3 weeks before seeing this film in theaters, i should not have wait a minute.
Failing his mission of woo, Charlie struggles to define his self-worth, while Snoopy's imagination becomes all too real when he works on an adventure story featuring the feared WWI German fighter pilot, The Red Baron, while trying to save true love Fifi (Kristin Chenoweth) from harm."The Peanuts Movie" is in a hurry to remind audiences of what they love about the series, devoting the opening ten minutes of the film to a blast of callbacks that deliver the essentials when it comes to the personalities that populate the franchise.
It's funny and sweet with great voice work, nice animation, and a wonderful script that blends many key Peanuts moments while telling the timeless story of Charlie Brown's crush on the Little Red-Haired Girl.
'The Peanuts Movie' is a children's Animated Comedy following Charlie Brown and Snoopy as they each go on their own little adventure, one to defeat the evil 'Red Baron' and the other to try and win over the love of his life.
But beyond that, we get a lot of slap stick with Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Woodstock that after a few minutes, I found very boring, and not in the least bit funny or even interesting.It was as if they wanted to fill time.I believe it is still worthwhile, in spite of that, and even if you have seen all of the Peanuts TV shows, as I have, just because of the ending.
Plot = new girl moves in across the road, Charlie Brown spends the entire movie trying to impress/talk to her!This director has form, with 'Horton Hears a Who!' and does well to keep things happening, especially when Snoopy's daydreaming and dogfighting in the European WWI skies against the Red Baron!
Some stories from the lives of these children, including Charlie Brown's infatuation with the Little Red Haired Girl and Snoopy vs The Red Baron.Sweet, fun movie.
It's also the most popular and influential comic strip of all time.Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, Marcy, Woodstock, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have all returned for their first theatrical adventure in 35 years.
I will say I did love the story and the classic little red haired girl that Charlie Brown has always liked.
When I heard that there WAS that "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe" short at the beginning I decided to hold off on trying this movie about the iconic character Charlie Brown until it came out on DVD and Blu-Ray. I still haven't seen the entire film from start to finish yet, but I don't believe I'll give it a try for a few reasons.First of all, I'm an absolutely HUGE fan of the old "Peanuts" shorts created by Charles Schulz in the 1970's, and I also think that the dog Snoopy is so cute and lovable.
I was thinking that this was going to pull off the charm the originals have, with its new source of 'stop-motion' animation that keeps the spirit of the cartoons and its creativity.But instead, this wanted to be a cartoon quite like last year's Annie, where Charlie gets famous and appears on newspapers, not quite appropriate for a movie based on an old comic strip from the 50s.
For once, Charlie Brown makes good...and the film seems like an excellent way to cap off the wonderful work of Charles Schulz.
Charlie Brown will take the help of Snoopy to impress The Little Red-Haired Girl, because he really likes her.
Fans of our beloved Charlie Brown, Snoopy and their whole crew, you may watch The Peanuts Movie, as it will not disappoint you!
It's not like this film adds anything new to the franchise, but it's a good introduction for the up-and-coming generation to Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang..