Fish and Cherries Productions

The Peanuts Movie is… well, pretty much that. Everything from the trademark tones of voices and sounds to the animation style to the constant dismay of Charlie Brown carries over from the comic strip and cartoons. And I do mean everything. If you saw a minor character (like Snoopy’s… cousins?) or incident (such as the classic football scenario) in any form of Charlie Brown, it’s somewhere in this movie. It certainly helps that this movie was written by members of Charles M. Schultz’s family, so they certainly understand the legacy that they have to uphold.

While the faithfulness and overall plot do hold strong, there are two gripes I have. One is that someone upstairs decided that what the story of Charlie Brown really needed was a pop song by Meghan Trainor of all people. As you can imagine, this fits in with the overall theme as well as earthworms in between the slices of a peanut butter sandwich. The second is one part in particular: Charlie Brown is at his absolutely lowest point and we all feel bad for him… and then we cut to one of Snoopy’s Red Baron fantasies so quickly that it’s complete mood whiplash. I get that it’s related, but it’s really jarring to go from the worst day in a boy’s life to a dog flying his dog house around the World War I skies making funny noises. Despite all this, the ending actually got me choked up in the middle of the theater, which is pretty rare in itself. And besides that… well, it’s Peanuts and everything that goes with it. Amidst the tragedy and humor is the same kindness, purity, and timelessness that kept us reading for many years. It’s a great way to introduce that lovable blockhead to the younger generation and a great trip down memory lane for readers and fans past.