In the mean time, to make up for no Talk, I went to go see one of the newer releases last weekend in The Peanuts Movie with my family. So I'm definitely willing to share my thoughts about the second family movie I've seen in the past two weeks. Is it better than Goosebumps? Definitely. But how? And what are my exact thoughts about this? Let's discuss.
For starters, to really understand the impact this movie has not only with my family and I, but in pop culture, let's go back about fifty years. Author Charles Schultz created a daily comic strip about a loveable yet unlucky kid named Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, his little sister Sally, and his friends Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Pigpen, Peppermint Patty, etc. What did they do? Nothing really. Just living life. Til this day, how Peanuts lasted this long remains a mystery. It's just about a kid who lacks self confidence and has the world around him against him. Yet, the appeal of Peanuts is quite simple. We all have those days where we think the world is conspiring against us as nothing seems to go our way. Why not read a daily strip and witness this happen to a kid every day. Peanuts is literally the greatest American unsuccessful story. Not only is it still the longest lasting daily comic strip (granted it ended fifteen years ago after Schulz's untimely death, but it's still syndicated daily in classic strips) but spun-off into an entertainment franchise with cartoons, holiday specials, movies, clothing, and so much more.
So needless to say without any real new Peanuts material in nearly fifteen years, that soon changed once 20th Century Fox and their animated production company Blue Sky Studios bought the rights to make a new CGI full length feature. Now as someone who has read his fair share of Classic Peanuts comics, watched all the holiday specials as a child growing up, seen the countless tv series and movies as well, I was nervous. Not with excitement mind you because I was completely open for a brand new Peanuts movie. No, I was nervous with who was producing the movie. Blue Sky Studios is absolutely my least favorite mainstream animated movie studio. Their track record is ridiculously shaky and I hate a larger portion of their library in comparison to it's competitors. I'll even go on the record to say that their best movies really aren't that great. The first two Ice Age movies are decent enough. But when your B plot has been and always will be the best part of your marquee franchise as a movie studio, you know your movies aren't that memorable. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Scrat's subplots regarding his nut are far more entertaining than whatever Sid, Manny, and Diego are doing in the Ice Age movies. The rest of the company's movies really aren't that much better. Robots is terrible, Horton Hears a Who is forgettable for a Dr. Seuss adaptation, Epic is boring, and the Rio movies really are nothing to write home about....I guess the first one is okay enough, but the sequel looks like it has no reason to exist. Notice how I haven't mentioned the other two Ice Age movies? Yeah, if Rio 2 has no reason to exist, the other two Ice Age movies are literal cash grabs at the expense of historical inaccuracy. Absolutely hate those two movies. So yeah, with Peanuts on the way, I kept begging for Blue Sky to not fuck up one of my favorite franchises. Because I could deal with these characters becoming CGI, but with Blue Sky's adoration for pop culture references, modernizing for the sake of modernizing, and uncreative humor, I was afraid what they would do to the Peanuts franchise.
So was my fear warranted? Yes, but not at the expense of what I saw on Sunday. What I saw on Sunday was a timeless classic franchise being brought back to life for a new generation while still making fans of the past happy. This was Blue Sky honoring the legacy of the Peanuts while still making it accessible for potential new fans that don't know the effect of Peanuts on a pop culture landscape. Now some would point out that this movie was very simple. To them I say....so? Have you read the Peanuts? In it's fifty years of existence, Peanuts has never been an epic narrative with so many twists and turns. They don't need to be over-complicated. It's just about watching kids live their lives daily. Charlie Brown wants to learn how to be a winner, no matter how much the world he lives in enjoys watching him fail. That's already epic enough because the whole existence of Peanuts is watching Charlie Brown falter. And the movie is as clever about it as the adaptations before it. They play his failures as light hearted as possible just like Charles Schulz did beforehand. I'll give tons of credit for Fox and Blue Sky bringing aboard Charles's sons not only as producers, but as writers. Clearly, Bryan and Craig Schulz learned about their father's characters and how to write them because they are absolutely near perfect adaptations of them. Like Lucy being bossy and controlling, Linus being the intellectual light of the group while still insecure without his blanket, Sally being the bratty little sister, Snoopy being....well Snoopy down to the completely creative imagination. It's just those small tidbits that really go a long way.
It's honestly different to judge this movie in terms of basic storytelling because the Peanuts have always had a conventional story arch that not many other movies can really replicate. For example, the object of Charlie Brown's affection is one-dimensional. She has no name, no real defining character traits, hell not many lines either. But she gets more screen time than the likes of Schroeder, Pigpen, and others because the story revolves around Charlie Brown trying to impress her. Other movies in modern times would be chastised by critics on Rotten Tomatoes for a flaw this glaring. But to me? It's always been that way. The Little Red Head Girl has always been a moral compass for Charlie Brown. Whenever she has speaked previously, it's been for the sake of the story. Here, when she speaks, it's to give Charlie Brown's quest purpose. I can definitely see any other movie being nitpicked to hell over this, but it works because it's Peanuts. They don't need to modernize anything or fall into conventional trends. They just need to stay true to Charles Schulz's storytelling to satisfy it's fan base.
And that they did. I mean I am thankful Blue Sky didn't modernize this like they've done to so many other movies. I don't see Charlie Brown on his iPad gaming with friends. I see Charlie Brown and his friends playing outside. How odd is that in 2015? Hell even Snoopy and Woodstock are still being voiced by Bill Melendez archived footage. Speaking of which, the CGI is absolutely glorious as well. Especially in Snoopy's Red Baron subplot where they images and visuals just take your breath away. All while not showing the bottom of Snoopy's dog house, just like in the cartoons. See, it's just the little things in this movie and how loyal and faithful it is to the source material that just makes me happy to love this movie. Hell, even the ending where Charlie Brown wins, which goes completely against the status quo of the series. It felt worth it because the storytelling in this just absolutely worked on all cylinders.
That being said, if I can offer one criticism. It's not something that I'm going to hold this movie entirely accountable against in the long term, but I kinda led onto it earlier when I was talking about the Little Red Head Girl. I kinda wish more Peanuts characters got more screen time if that makes any sense. Linus could have gotten a few more minutes of focus because after all, he has always been Charlie Brown's best friend. At the same time, Schroeder I felt got a little undercut and was just Lucy's crush the entire time. We could have gotten a few more piano melodies and maybe a few lines in. I know that Schroeder was far more silent, but when he spoke in the old cartoons, it was always dry sarcasm that I kinda like. I wanted to see more of that. Because you know it's bad for some of these guys when Violet and Patty get more screen time when they have always been background characters more than main ones.
Overall though, I loved Peanuts. I haven't been this content full of nostalgia since Disney successfully brought back The Muppets in 2011. This was as successful of a revival as that and now I eagerly await more Peanuts adaptations. You all know they are coming and I welcome them with open arms. One of the best animated movies of 2015 and definitely in contention for my Best Movies of 2015 list come next month.
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