SNOOPY AND CHARLIE: THE PEANUTS MOVIE
DIRECTOR: Steve Martino
VOICE CAST: Noah Schnapp, Francesca Capaldi, Kristin Chenoweth, Hadley Belle Miller, Alexander Garfin, Noah Johnston, Mariel Sheets
CLASSIFICATION: PG
RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes
RATING: 3 stars (our of 5)
Sandie Angulo Chen
IF THE idea of a computer-animated, 3D version of the Peanuts gang has you sighing “good grief” to your five-cent therapist, fear not. While plenty of other childhood treasures have been atrociously adapted for the big screen, The Peanuts Movie is a sweet little gift for fans of the long-running comic strip.
Based on a script written in part by the son and grandson of Peanuts creator, Charles M Schulz, The Peanuts Movie is delightfully faithful to the spirit of the original characters and their beloved holiday television specials. Director Steve Martino (Ice Age: Continental Drift) focuses on several themes familiar from those works: youthful angst, love, embarrassment and imagination, all of which will tug on the heartstrings of nostalgic adults while introducing young moviegoers to the world of Charlie Brown and his pals.
Charlie (voiced by Schnapp) has fallen in love with the Little Red-Haired Girl (Capaldi), who lives across the street. Trying to impress her, he learns magic tricks and dance moves and even reads War and Peace. But he can’t find the courage to talk to her.
Snoopy is also in love, but with the dog of his daydreams. As the imaginary Flying Ace battling the Red Baron from the roof of his doghouse, Snoopy comes across a beautiful French poodle, Fifi (Chenoweth). The brightly-coloured World War I flight scenes take good advantage of the 3-D animation.
Director Martino has captured the emotions that made Peanuts so meaningful, masterfully replicating Schulz’s hand-drawn expressions, including Charlie’s sighs, Sally’s smiles and the exasperated yells of Lucy (Miller). The makers stay true to the timelessness of Schulz’s world. The only tweets come from Woodstock, and Linus (Garfin) grips his blanket instead of an iPhone. Schroeder (Johnston) still plays Beethoven on his toy piano and Lucy charges only 5c for advice.
Parents’ hearts will melt every time Sally (Sheets) lovingly calls Charlie “Big Brother”, and when Charlie laments that he has no future with the Little Red-Haired Girl because “she’s something, and I’m nothing”. This isn’t just an all-ages crowd-pleaser. It’s a perfect first film for a preschooler. – The Washington Post
If you liked the Peanuts comic strip as a kid, you will like this.