Adults and children alike have adored the “Peanuts” comic strip for decades. Everyone knows the beloved characters of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty and all the adventures they have together while attending elementary school.
Personally, I have always appreciated the intelligence of the characters, considering how young they are. They interpret life through adult minds, despite the fact that what they attempt to achieve being so simple. This spirit of “Peanuts” stays alive in the film and is not difficult to see.
For “The Peanuts Movie,” Charlie Brown has one simple goal in mind: To muster up the confidence to talk to the Little Redhead Girl, but, like many real people, he thinks down on himself and prematurely concludes that it is no use.
He constantly seeks advice from his friends, who, albeit reluctantly, give him the help he requests. The strongest take away for the story is the relationship between Charlie and Peppermint Patty. Despite Patty being affectionate toward Charlie Brown, they keep their friendship strictly platonic and he learns a lot from her.
Charlie Brown comes across several new situations in the movie. He has to adapt to get through them, no matter how much energy it takes. It is very easy for people to walk away from challenges. Regardless of Charlie Brown being tough on himself, the execution of his life's trials are so much fun to realize.
The film is a collection of wonderful lessons for children to learn from and for adults to appreciate and that is what makes the film work. “The Peanuts Movie” respects Charles Schultz's original comic strips and does not modernize the Peanuts characters. There are no scenes of Charlie Brown and the gang getting lost in New York City, no fish-out-of-water moments, the kids do not spend time on their iPads, ignoring reality around them: None of that easy, uninspired schlock is in this film.
“The Peanuts Movie” is also a dazzling animation. It is a combination of 3D stop motion and penciled effects. Perhaps the most obvious way to detect this is the smoke that exhumes out of Snoopy's biplane during the Red Baron scenes. The colors are vibrant and the locations are lush and deep. “Peanuts” is a massive relief from the headache-inducing abomination that was Dreamworks' “Home.”
When a modern kids' film takes a break during all the chaos and allows the audience to breathe, those are the moments when we take in all the impressive visuals. Complimented with the awe-inspiring story, “The Peanuts Movie” is a joy to behold.
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