The Peanuts Movie (AKA Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie)

Dir: Steve Martino

2015

*****

2015 was a year of disappointing revisits to favourite childhood franchises. After the over-hype of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Terminator Genisys and Jurassic World I feared for my Peanuts. The Schulz family had very wisely retained the rights to Charles M's comic strip. Many a studio have wanted to make a feature but it wasn't until Schulz's son Craig wrote a story and, along with the help of screenwriter son Bryan, approached the studios and insisted on director Steve Martino (who had impressed them with how he adapted Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!) did it ever come close to becoming a reality. The Schulz family are obviously very protective of their fathers work and it shows in this feature film. It's a lot more colourful than the Peanuts have ever been and it features more rounded animation (although it's not quite 3D in the classic sense). More importantly, the characters are the same, the interaction between them is the same, the story is reminiscent of the older comic strips and its soul is intact. This in itself is a huge relief, the wonderful story is almost a bonus, and it really is wonderful. This wasn't nostalgia speaking, this was the real deal. It may have been ever so slightly toned down for the younger audience but there were also a lot of beaming adult faces around me when I saw it in the cinema. It's rare that a film can genuinely take me back to my childhood and make me feel as I did then. The Peanuts Movie is pure joy from start to finish. Without a doubt the feel good film of 2015.