There’s been a whole host of remakes, reboots and reincarnations in the movie world in recent years and it doesn’t look like it’s showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. The good news, though, it that in the release of The Peanuts Movie it looks more like a reintroduction to old pals on the big screen than anything else. Transitioning from its TV cartoon roots to the lofty heights of a cinematic release wasn’t going to be an easy feat for Charlie Brown and pals, however, the new 3D makeover they’ve had went a long way to bridge the divide.
The movie has been created by the guys at Blue Sky Studios, who’s previous work includes Ice Age: Continental Drift and Epic. It’s based on the Charles M. Schulz cartoon comic strip of the same name and it’s subsequent TV adaptations and you can see the gang in action in the trailer below. They’ve done a brilliant job of retaining the old Peanuts style, despite the 3D computer animation upgrade to the characters, and it looks like it’s going to be a very cute winter season for Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown.
Release date
Cinema: The Peanuts Movie had a UK release date of the 21st December 2015, more than a month after the US cinematic release date on the 6th November 2015. That probably felt a little unfair for anyone that lives in the UK, but it’s sort of tied into the different cinema going traditions between the two countries, with the US tending to lean towards Thanksgiving and the UK to be more around the Christmas holidays.
It was available to watch in both 2D and 3D, but with the animated efforts of Blue Sky Studios and the prospect of Snoopy’s flying escapades in his bid to beat the Red Baron once and for all, it was probably one to see in 3D.
DVD, Blu-ray and digital download: iTunes has listed the film as being expected for home entertainment release on the 13th May 2016, so the DVD and Blu-ray should follow the week after in the UK. It follows the US release, which has been scheduled for the 8th March 2016.
Story
It’s another cold and miserable day for Charlie Brown, but out of nowhere he gets a chance to reinvent himself when a new kid arrives in the neighbourhood and turns out to be the pretty new addition to his class. Though he sees an opportunity to put the bumbling underdog of his past behind him, it’s not easy to pluck up the courage to talk to the new girl, but with friends like Shroeder, his sister Sally, best bud Linus, Franklin, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Pig Pen, Lucy and his trusty dog Snoopy what could possibly go wrong.
Cast
There aren’t really any names you’re going to recognise in the cast list, but all of the Peanuts characters you remember from the TV show have been respectably recreated by the new voice actors. Perhaps the biggest name in the cast list is the late, great Bill Melendez, who’s archive voice recordings have been used to bring back both Snoopy and Woodstock for the movie.
The rest of the cast, includes youngsters Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown, Hadley Belle Miller as Lucy, AJ Teece as Pig-Pen, Noah Johnston as Schroeder, Venus Schultheis as Peppermint Patty, Alexander Garfin as Linus, Francesca Capaldi as the Little Red-Haired Girl, Mar Mar as Franklin, Mariel Sheets as Sally, Rebecca Bloom as Marcie, William Alexander Wunsch as Shermy, Anastasia Bredikhina as Patty and Madisyn Shipman as Violet.
Production
The Peanuts Movie has been directed by Steve Martino, who co-directed Ice Age: Continental Drift, and written by Craig and Bryan Schulz, Charles M. Schulz’s son and grandson, along with Cornelius Uliano. Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, Cornelius Uliano and Paul Feig are down as the producers of the film, adding even more to the family continuation.
First impressions
Massive swathes of nostalgia aside, The Peanuts Movie looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch, especially for kids that grew up with the TV specials or reading the comic strip, which is a pretty big group of people considering the fact that it goes all the way back to the 1950s. However, it’s also bound to be a big release for the kids of today too with impressive 3D computer animation and the hilarity of Charlie Brown’s young love slip-ups and Snoopy’s helpful nudges in the right direction.
