The Peanuts Movie

Voices of: Noah Schnapp, Rebecca Bloom, Kristen Chenoweth, Anastasia Bredikhina, Francesca Capaldi, Alexander Garfin, Hadley Belle Miller
Directed by: Steve Martino
Rating: G
Genre: Animation, Comedy
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Charlie Brown tries to win the affections of the Little Red Haired Girl with the help of his loyal dog, Snoopy.

Review:

Tim: I have to be upfront here- I kind of hate "Peanuts". I've never, ever been a fan of it, going back to the very first time I was cognitive enough to recognize I had a choice. It has always been very depressing to me. The main character, Charlie Brown, is a total loser. He fails constantly, never makes progress. Some may find it endearing, but it's just hard to watch. I don't like watching losers stay losers. That might sound harsh, but I really struggle with everything "Peanuts". I sat down to watch this movie with an open mind- it's a new film and perhaps it's changed enough, or perhaps I've matured enough that I could appreciate it. Nope.

The story still feels depressing to me. While Charlie Brown actually gets a few wins here, for the most part, he stays cowardly and loses. The parts of the film where he actually makes progress as a human being were among the best, however fleeting they might be. Still, I did not have fun watching this movie. I don't care about any of these characters (except for wanting Charlie Brown to succeed). We get long stretches of Snoopy fighting the Red Baron. I've never really gotten the appeal of that. It's all make believe, so why would there be any tension during those scenes? They go on way too long and don't offer anything new or interesting. Why do we care about those battles? Why do we care whether he rescues that girl dog whose name I instantly forgot? The whole movie fails to give us a reason to invest in anything we see on screen. This movie requires prior knowledge of the characters to really succeed. We don't get a lot of time with the supporting characters. I don't know, it was just hard for me to sit through the whole film. The story wasn't engaging.

Now, I don't want to be all negative- the animation was beautiful. The film looks so crisp and colorful. I really liked how the film looked. That's the biggest strength of the movie.

I fully recognize that part of my disdain for this movie stems from the source material. In an attempt to stay true to the original creation (which normally I applaud), this movie wasn't going to connect with me. I still find it unfathomable how so many people love the whole "Peanuts" world. Charlie Brown can never win, which is depressing. Lucy is a terrible human being and a bully. Pigpen might be humorous to some, but how is a filthy child funny? He probably has negligent parents. That bothers me. Linus is smart and nice, but has serious attachment issues. Snoopy is cool, I have no issues with him. I could go on, but I just do not get the appeal of these characters or the world they inhabit.

Putting aside my personal dislike, I still don't believe this is a particularly good movie. It looks great, but the story is fairly interchangeable with other "Peanuts" tales. I read a review of this movie that called it "unambitious", which is exactly what it is. It never tries to be anything unique or special, it just puts the same characters up on screen and plods along to the finish.

I get that people like "Peanuts", so it's fine that some may like this movie. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on it, but I have to be honest with how I feel. I didn't care for this movie and I hope we don't get more of these.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: More Peanuts stuff, I don't know