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.
