The Peanuts Movie

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and the rest of the Peanut Gallery haven't had a cinematic run for the football since 1980. Maybe they shouldn't have named that movie Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and don't come back!). That title didn't sound inviting.

Well now, Chuck and Dog are back in the aptly named The Peanuts Movie. It's their first 3D cinematic adventure and a simplistic one at that. But it was a good one.

Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) is still the neighborhood blockhead and Snoopy (Bill Melendez, through archive sounds) is still his Beagle. One day, the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Angelucci Capaldi) moves into town. Charlie is smitten and tries to work up the nerve to talk to her. But all his past failures, not to mention his current ones, threaten to derail him. But he can't let that get to him. Meanwhile, Snoopy plays with a typewriter and imagines himself a Flying Ace out to save Fifi
(Kristen Chenoweth) the poodle from the evil Red Baron. And that's all there is too it.

It's a simple story that doesn't need research before going in. Its CGI characters emulate the limited animation of their 2D counterparts. Their facial expressions are as memorable as always (especially with that classic "Augh!"). Snoopy is still the best animated beagle. But the highlight is the always imitable trombone "wah wah" to simulate adult speech (provided by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews). The classic bits are there, but what else? What makes it worth seeing them again? These questions can help or hurt your viewing experience.

What pushes the film to "help" for me is its good-nature. The gags are amusing and the characters are likable. Its message of perseverance is a positive one. And yes, Snoopy is still great comic relief. It's a good-natured adventure through Suburbia. Overall, the movie knows what it wants to be and does it well.

The Peanuts Movie is a good introduction to these characters. If one can overlook its simplicity and enjoy all the classic bits, they'll find a movie that'll go hand-in-hand with Charles M. Schulz's comic strips and all the specials and films that came from them. It stays to its roots, but its morals resonate today.

You'll also find a trailer for the upcoming fifth Ice Age film, Ice Age: Collision Course, disguised as a short, Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe. Good news is, the short was funny. Better news is, the full film's in July, so that means the novelty won't wear off by the time I see it.