When we first got the news that Blue Sky Studios was going to tackle a theatrical film adaptation of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, we were quite frightened and protective indeed! When we heard it was going to be a CG film, that didn’t help matters much either! Finally, after months of waiting, the movie was released and generally, people liked it! It was critically acclaimed and got overall positive reviews! But, what do I think of it? Read on to find out.
As we said before, The Peanuts Movie is based on Charles Schulz’s famous comic strip series, Peanuts, which focuses on the daily lives of a bunch of kids. The main kid, in particular, is Charlie Brown, who’s pretty much a loser. When I say “loser”, I don’t mean that he’s pathetic, rather he just doesn’t manage to succeed in anything! He can’t ever get a kite to fly, he can never win a baseball game with his friends, he has constant thoughts of mediocrity, etc.
One more thing that he can’t manage to do is talk to or even approach his crush, the “Little Red-Haired Girl”. And that’s basically the premise of this film. In the film, we’re introduced to the world of Charlie Brown and his friends and the main plot point is Charlie Brown trying to get the attention of the “Little Red-Haired Girl” who has recently moved into town.
Charlie Brown tries various things to get her to notice him such as participating in a talent show, trying to win a dance trophy, doing a book report for her, etc. While this goes on, we also see glimpses of a story that Charlie Brown’s dog, Snoopy, is writing wherein Snoopy plays a pilot whose nemesis is the infamous Red Baron.
And that’s pretty much The Peanuts Movie. What do I think of it? Well, I agree with the consensus saying that I like this movie as well! It is very well-made and most of all, it did its best to respect the original source material. There was no rude humor in the film or any sort of modernization to make the film seem more “hip” or “relevant to 21st Century kids”. It kept the timelessness and simplicity that the original comic strip gave us. This is by far, the best film we’ve gotten from Blue Sky Studios!
The CG is also incredibly well-done making the overall look of the film seem just like the traditional hand-drawn style of the original comic strip! You sometimes even forget that the film is CG; it was that innovative and good!
The main complaint that the movie received was that it wasn’t particularly plot-heavy. And as you probably saw from when I described the plot of the film, it really isn’t plot-heavy. It’s an incredibly simple, straightforward story. But, that’s really what the essence of Peanuts is! The Peanuts comic strip never tackled any sort of incredibly complex plot point such as the characters going on an adventure looking for buried treasure halfway across the globe! Peanuts was always just about kids in a small-town dealing with small-town issues such as a favorite teacher getting fired, a kid waiting for his barber father to cut his hair, a pumpkin deity to rise out of a pumpkin patch, etc.
So, if you’re a fan of the Peanuts franchise, generally, I think you’re going to enjoy this film. If you’re not into Peanuts generally and feel it’s something boring, then you’re probably not going to enjoy this film. You gotta make the decision for yourself as to whether you’ll watch it or not!
The Animation Commendation 
I was shocked with how much I ended up liking it, and it is the second best film of the year. Charm can carry a lot of a film. Blue Sky will go back to a lot of their crap though.
Yeah, it’s a charming film indeed. And I too fear that Blue Sky will have a hard time getting another good film like this again. Maybe Ferdinand in 2017?
I saw this film 3 times in theater and have it now on blu-ray. It charmed the socks off of me. I loved how sweet and innocent it was and funny. And I don’t think it got enough credit for the hybrid animation style visuals. Just because something is CG does not mean it is any less innovative or worthy of recognition as you point out. I just thought it was a real charmer and my nieces loved it too. I was so grateful they stayed true to the Peanuts and didn’t make Charlie Brown all hip or cool. It’s about him trying to gain confidence and as you say that’s what Peanuts has always been about.
My 5th favorite movie of 2015 and I saw 88 new releases!
It’s funny too because when people complain about the simple plot I shrug because I think it was the best thing about the movie that it was old fashioned and a simple story.
Yeah, that’s why I warned at the end that if you generally find Peanuts to be boring or too simple for you, then that’s probably how you’re gonna feel about this film.
I feel this film was made for the Peanuts fans.
Yeah probably
And for small kids
Would you feel that the term “kid’s movie” or “children’s movie” would be an apt term for this movie? Or would you say “family film” is the better way to describe it?
Hmmm. I’d say this is made for kids and adults who are fans of the Peanuts so for majority of families it’s a family film
I guess this is one of those films for me that I wouldn’t be offended if someone called it a “kid’s film”. I personally wouldn’t, but if someone else called it that, I don’t think it would bother me.
Me either. That doesnt mean adults cant enjoy a kids film but I honestly think that whole debate is silly. Why is it offensive to like things for kids? Kids are awesome.
At least I am not insulted if I like something that is made for kids.
I’m a big fan of the original strip, and I’ve seen *most* (but not all) of the hand-drawn animated films and specials based off it (as well as some episodes of THE CHARLIE BROWN AND SNOOPY SHOW on video several years ago), so I rather liked how this one turned out. I probably could have done without the Meghan Trainor songs, which kind of date it a little; PEANUTS, by its nature, is supposed to be timeless….
Yeah, the Meghan Trainor song does date it, but it didn’t bother me all that much.