"Peanuts" review thread

[Mr. Adventure]

It is problematic that Linus and Lucy are the same age and in the same class, though. The whole point of Linus is that he's younger than the other characters but he's actually the smartest.

Whoa. Linus and Lucy are in the same class? And Charlie Brown and Sally as well? It is very unusual for non-twin siblings to be in the same grade, to say the least!

Was it a one-room schoolhouse kind of thing? In rural areas, children of different ages/grades could be educated in a single building especially for primary education. I think my dad went to such, I know he had to use an outhouse and they'd bring their rifles to school during hunting season, it was a different time.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

It is problematic that Linus and Lucy are the same age and in the same class, though. The whole point of Linus is that he's younger than the other characters but he's actually the smartest.

Whoa. Linus and Lucy are in the same class? And Charlie Brown and Sally as well? It is very unusual for non-twin siblings to be in the same grade, to say the least!

Sally is clearly younger in the film. Vox has an article on the way the film mixes the characters at school in ways that are contrary to the comic strip. The writer there feels that Linus, of the major characters, is the one who doesn't work the most in the film.

 

[Christopher]

While reading that Vox article, it occurred to me that it was overlooking a possibility. Linus could still be Lucy's younger brother if he's been skipped ahead a grade or two. He's certainly smart enough.

Still, it's disappointing to hear that Linus plays such a minor role in the film. He's always been one of the characters I identified with the most, since I had a bossy, brunette older sister of my own. (Though I also identified with Charlie Brown, because I was a depression-prone introvert who had few friends and never succeeded at much of anything as a kid. Wow, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it. My childhood sucked.)

 

[Greylock Crescent]

The decision to put the kids in the same class is not a significant one. Linus is also my favorite character from the comics and TV shows. And I can see a point to the criticism that Linus wasn't used quite as much - or at least in the same obviously pontificating manner - as previous installments. But I do not agree that that is a result of having him in the same class. It had more to do with a greater explicit emphasis on Snoopy as Charlie's best friend - and Snoopy's Adventures - which left less screen time for many other characters, including Linus.

 

[Aldo]

The decision to put the kids in the same class is not a significant one. Linus is also my favorite character from the comics and TV shows. And I can see a point to the criticism that Linus wasn't used quite as much - or at least in the same obviously pontificating manner - as previous installments. But I do not agree that that is a result of having him in the same class. It had more to do with a greater explicit emphasis on Snoopy as Charlie's best friend - and Snoopy's Adventures - which left less screen time for many other characters, including Linus.

That's a little disappointing. While I don't consider myself overtly religious, one of my favorite parts of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' is when Linus explains to everyone the true meaning of Christmas. It's a really beautiful sequence and always meant a lot to me as a kid.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

It is a beautiful sequence. But ... that was another time. The new movie has the same spirit, though. It's about being genuine, staying true to oneself - even if you are Charlie Brown.

 

[the G-man]

It was a great movie. Yes, there were moments that deviated from the comic strip, but no more than the (beloved) animated specials did. My only real disappointment was that they didn't work in the BB King "Joe Cool" song.

 

[Trekker4747]

While reading that Vox article, it occurred to me that it was overlooking a possibility. Linus could still be Lucy's younger brother if he's been skipped ahead a grade or two. He's certainly smart enough.

Still, it's disappointing to hear that Linus plays such a minor role in the film. He's always been one of the characters I identified with the most, since I had a bossy, brunette older sister of my own. (Though I also identified with Charlie Brown, because I was a depression-prone introvert who had few friends and never succeeded at much of anything as a kid. Wow, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it. My childhood sucked.)

I always identified with Ol' Chuck the most as well. The whole world being against him really felt true.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I just got home from seeing The Peanuts Movie.

The Ice Age short that precedes the movie is terrible. If it was supposed to be funny, no one in my audience found it so. We all sat there in silence for the interminable eternity it took to get through it. (It also ends in a very dark place, with one character soon to die in the vacuum of space after he destroyed two planets and rained down ginormous meteors on the Earth. Where's the humor in that?)

As for The Peanuts Movie, it was very enjoyable. I saw it in 2-D, not 3-D; I didn't feel that 3-D would add a lot. It did pretty much everything right, I thought. The story is Charlie Brown-centric -- he's trying to talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl, but he keeps failing or embarrassing himself -- and there's a B-plot with Snoopy finding a typewriter and writing the Great American Novel about the World War I Flying Ace and the great love of his life. Maybe it could have done more with the ensemble, but most all of the major Peanuts characters at least got a moment.

I mentioned the issues I had with the story from the kids novelization, so I won't repeat them here. In the context of the movie, everything works. Even the ending, which is very un-Schulz-ian, worked and left me with a dopey grin, feeling upbeat.

I don't think you need to stay all the way to the end of the credits for the final coda. The two mid-credits scenes (ending with Snoopy's family) suffice.

It was nice. I hope they make another. Maybe next time, something with more of an ensemble flavor? Maybe something about Charlie Brown and his baseball team? That could be fun.

 

[Christopher]

and there's a B-plot with Snoopy finding a typewriter and writing the Great American Novel about the World War I Flying Ace and the great love of his life.

Please tell me it begins on a dark and stormy night...

 

[Aldo]

^^^It does.

I just got back from seeing this movie with my girlfriend, and I absolutely adored it, and she did too.

This was exactly the kind of nostalgia trip I wanted it to be, while also being extremely (and genuinely) funny. I think I laughed more at this movie than I have several "comedy" films of the last couple of years. I was also impressed with how spot on the voices were. While also keeping in mind the voices changed up every couple of years as kids grew up, it was still really well done how close they were to how I remember them.

Like other people in this thread, I was a bit disappointed at how sidelined Linus seemed to be. He's always been one of my favorite characters outside of Charlie Brown, so it was kind of a bummer for him to take a backseat. But I loved all of Snoopy's bits, and at first I felt his story took away from the main one, it slowly dawned on me that his story complimented Charlie Brown's and actually mirrored it in several ways, just using WWI as the backdrop.

I can't get over how much I loved this movie, since I did have some reservations going in. I think as far as a new Peanuts movie goes, this is as close to perfect in my mind. I know others will disagree, but this really hit all the right beats for me.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter posted an article on how The Peanuts Movie happened on the business side.

The article answered a question that has nagged at the back of my mind for a few years. After Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, there was to be another animated special, this one focusing on Snoopy and the Red Baron, but it never materialized. The script for that became the starting point for The Peanuts Movie.

Also, the Schulz estate isn't interested in a sequel at this time.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The idea of showing the Little Red-Haired Girl's face doesn't bother me.

Me neither. I mean, when you get right down to it, everyone's face kinda looks the same...so showing Heather's face really doesn't seem like a big deal, because we already know what she would look like.

I'm not sure, but did we see Rerun at all?

No.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I'm not sure, but did we see Rerun at all?

No.

Actually, Rerun is in the closing credits as part of the montage of panels from the comic strip. Yes, he's not part of the film's story proper, but he's there.

The way to tell the difference between Linus and Rerun is that Rerun wears overalls.

 

[Keith1701]

That's because it's 3D now; they figured Schulz just didn't have the ability to rotate the image.

The trailer looks really good to me.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Also, the Schulz estate isn't interested in a sequel at this time.

That's a pity. I wonder why.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Also, the Schulz estate isn't interested in a sequel at this time.

That's a pity. I wonder why.

Per that article:

"We had this one movie," he says. "I'm 62 years old. I thought it would be great if in my lifetime I could see one really good Peanuts movie before somebody decides to buy the brand out and decides to make movies just to make money. For the Schulz family, everything we do is to honor my dad's work and the last thing on our want list is money. It's always about quality control and making the best things we can."

 

[sojourner]

The Schulz's are like the Tolkiens of the comic industry.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Lucy proclaiming "You shall not pass!" would be pretty epic.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

The Schulz's are like the Tolkiens of the comic industry.

I think that's a little unfair. The Schulzes, unlike Christopher Tolkien, aren't unwilling to exploit the property. They're just choosy about how they do it.

There are some things I would like to see the Schulzes do, like publish all of the Al Plastino strips (though I've heard that most of them may no longer exist) or collect the 1960s Peanuts comic books by Jim Sasseville. To me, these are projects that I think Fantagraphics would be suitable for, since their Complete Peanuts series next year. I'm not holding my breath on either, though.