Review of The Peanuts Movie (2015) by Brett B — 02 Dec 2016

THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a film that, by all rights, should be nowhere near as good as it is given the typically pandering, lowest-common-denominator flavor of today's family films. And yet, somehow, THE PEANUTS MOVIE completely captures the essence of the Peanuts characters.

The idiosyncratic mixture Schulz conjured up of extreme warmth, good humor, and semi-melancholy is present here in full force, and the result is an ultra charming and enjoyable take on this material. The movie heightens things a bit beyond what we might normally expect from the characters (some of the comedic setpieces are on the bombastic side), but the tone and spirit is consistent throughout; just because the movie goes "big" sometimes doesn't mean that the more reflective elements are kicked aside, because they definitely are not.

A huge part of the reason the movie is as much of a delight as it is would definitely be the animation style; this is one of the more unique-looking animated films in recent memory. The filmmakers managed to basically bring the classic Peanuts designs to the screen in exact fashion, but the subtle dimensionality and depth give those designs a fresh and contemporary look.

There's a slightly rough-around-the-edges, hand-drawn quality to the lines which suggests Schulz's artwork without completely replicating it. All things told, I had no real hope that THE PEANUTS MOVIE would be anything worthwhile, but I'm very pleasantly surprised to report that it is a quality endeavor with its heart very much in the right place.