Good grief, ‘The Peanuts Movie’ is great

“The Peanuts Movie” (retitled for international audiences as “Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie”) is based on the iconic newspaper comic strip which encompassed nearly 18,000 daily strips from 1950 until creator Charles M. Schulz’s passing in 2000.

Widely considered to be the definitive example of the four-panel medium, “Peanuts’” told the story of the loveably neurotic Charlie Brown and his interactions with a colorful cast of characters.

The series won audiences with its nuanced social commentary and psychological depth, as depicted through the eyes of its young leads. The lovably hapless Brown resonated with readers as, despite his low self-esteem, he could always be counted on to dust himself off from his latest failure and/or strive do the right thing. Early in the series’ run, Brown’s pet beagle, Snoopy, established himself as a major player and, through increased focus on his antics, became just as famous apart from the series as he was within it.

Growing quickly from an initial lineup of nine newspapers, “Peanuts” would find syndicated homes in thousands of titles across 75 countries, handily making the transition from publishing phenomenon to billion-dollar franchise thanks to all manner of memorabilia, toys, apparel, restaurants, and even theme park attractions. Charlie Brown and his friends have also been the subjects of an award-winning Broadway musical and multiple traditionally-animated theatrical and TV specials, many of which have become holiday staples.

When “The Peanuts Movie” was announced as a Blue Sky production (the 20th Century Fox-owned animation house behind “Ice Age”), there was a fair amount of cautious optimism. After all, while it was true that the studio had turned out a couple of decent Dr. Seuss adaptations in the past, there was precious little else in their filmography that suggested they could do justice to the subtle complexities of Schulz’s work. As it turned out, fans needn’t have worried, as Schulz’s son and grandson co-wrote the story and worked hand in hand with director Steve Martino (“Horton Hears a Who”) to craft a cinematic experience that is as pure and faithful an adaptation as moviegoers have ever seen. 

From the Schroeder (Noah Johnston)-assisted 20th Century Fox fanfare that starts the show to the opening sequences (re-)introducing the “Peanuts” gang, the filmmakers lose no time in reassuring the viewer that, despite the shiny new trappings, everything fans remember about these characters has made the transition to 3D pretty much intact. Charlie Brown (voiced by Noah Schnapp) is still the underdog hero around whose insecurities the story revolves; Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller) is the perennial know-it-all who charges 5 cents for her psychiatry services; Peppermint Patty (Venus Omega Schultheis) is still a classroom somnambulist; and Snoopy’s (the late Bill Melendez, via archival recordings) flights of fancy as a legendary World War I Flying Ace are here, realized in vertiginous three-dimensional glory.

The film’s story follows Charlie Brown as he tries to win the affections (or at least the attention) of the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Angelucci Capaldi) who has just moved into the neighborhood. Head-over-heels, he follows Lucy’s advice to try being more confident, but manages to bungle every attempt to impress the object of his infatuation, including a plan to learn dance moves from his dog. At the same time, perennially frustrated author Snoopy is hard at work on a found typewriter, pounding out a World War I Flying Ace love epic that has his alter-ego risking everything to rescue his own beloved (Kristin Chenoweth).

Visually, Blue Sky has outdone itself in recreating the aesthetic and feel of both the source material as well as aforementioned animated specials. Indeed, the characters’ movements have the same slightly movements as the old animation, while their facial expressions are lifted right out of the original strips. Heck, their daydreams ARE the actual strips, in all their black and white glory. For “Peanuts” fans casual and die-hard, the film is packed with touchstones and throwbacks, from Charlie Brown realizing he’s the goat of his own story to the first time we see Snoopy perched on his dog house’s snow-covered roof.

Performance-wise, it is worth noting that the kids playing Charlie Brown and his friends are actual children, rather than adults trying to play younger. Incredibly, a standout is the late Bill Melendez, whose posthumous double performances (assembled from several decades’ worth of recordings) as Snoopy and bird pal Woodstock fit right in with the film’s nostalgic feel, and one would be hard pressed to imagine anyone else trying to imitate the pairs’ trademark vocalizations. Similarly on-point are the muffled trumpet notes that represent the (unseen) adults’ dialogue.

“Frozen” composer Christophe Beck delivers the film’s score, striking a balance between his fresh material and instances of the old animated specials’ timeless themes, including the toe-tapping jazz standard, “Linus and Lucy.”

The abundant heart and lack of pandering in this mainstream 3D animated release is, quite frankly, refreshing. In an age when even the formerly-venerable likes of Pixar can no longer deliver guaranteed slam dunks and everyone else meanders in quickly-dated pop culture references, Martino never takes the easy way out, remaining true to the characters and how they have always been represented. Representing nothing less than a creative labor of love, “The Peanuts Movie” is good, intelligent, comfort food that anyone can enjoy.

Sixty-five years after Charles M. Schulz’s introduced Charlie Brown and his cohorts to a world that didn’t know it needed them, his creations are alive, well, and ready to entertain not just the generations that grew up on their exploits, but anyone looking for that rare family film that every member can actually enjoy.

This is “Peanuts”, ladies and gentlemen, and good grief, it is great. — BM, GMA News

“The Peanuts Movie” opens on Friday.