There’s something to be said for familiarity. For some generations, “Peanuts” meant or means a certain something you got at the breakfast table in the comics section of the daily newspaper (in print!), or perhaps a 30-minute cartoon during a handful of holidays on one of the four or so channels available on TV.
Charles M. Schulz’s creation warmed many a child and adult alike for pretty much the second half of the 20th century, spilling into the new millennium, until it sort of just disappeared.
Well, leave it to the film industry to not leave a single stone unturned in finding source material to offset its creative bankruptcy. This could have gone wrong in so many ways, but fortunately, they’ve done a great job bringing “Peanuts” to the big screen, paying homage to Schulz’s legacy.
“The Peanuts Movie” is a wonderful tribute to the original work, generally by being traditional and staid. Plot lines have not been enhanced, modernized or post-modernized. Characters have not been demographically updated to reflect the times. There are no gender or ethnic alterations, e.g. Snoopy is still white and ostensibly male.
Charlie Brown is a lovable loser. Snoopy is the coolest. Sally and Linus still do the dance of unrequited love. Schroeder still plays the keys (although he really should try jazz). Lucy still charges a nickel per session and hasn’t let her pharmaceutical reps dig their claws into her. And for Peppermint Patty, gender assignment is still a path not taken, and she remains a tomboy.
There are wisely only a few modern touches — the inflationary practice of CG-animation and 3-D, plus a couple of vapid pop songs to beef up the sound track available for download now on iTunes. They really should’ve just kept the original jazz-based sound tracks from Vince Guaraldi, but even “Peanuts” can’t avoid today’s movie economics.
And blessedly, they haven’t hired every A-lister and red carpet ingenue to provide the voices of the characters.
The humor is pretty straightforward and has a certain innocence that provided me enjoyment both as a former child and as a parent of young children. I recalled nary a stupid fart joke, which, today, is a rarity for an animated film not made by Pixar. Honestly, this movie may not do well for kids used to more modern social fare Snapchat, twerking and “Call of Duty.” It may actually do better for the older set seeking some quiet nostalgia.
Best of all, they kept the “wah wah wah wah” voice of all the adult characters. That unique sound is probably worth the price of admission alone.
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