Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie (2015) Film Review

When reports of a new version of the classic Peanuts stories was announced with the team behind the Ice Age and Rio franchises, there was some scepticism to be had. Bringing a classic brand with some of America's most famous characters back into the limelight and onto the big screen has previously come along with poor pop culture references and outdated musical interludes, with the most notable examples of despised efforts being the Alvin and the Chipmunks series (which dares go up against Star Wars with its upcoming fourth instalment) and the soon-to-be-rebooted Smurfs double bill, and as such something as charming as Snoopy, Charlie Brown and co. in 3D and with modern technology can really dampen things. But once the first teaser for the film appeared in the early months of 2014, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as it was discovered that it would remain faithful to the original strips and animated specials whilst giving it a slicker feel. Certainly helped by the Schulz family being in charge of the writing and production, it appeared like things may be looking up for Charlie Brown – and for someone who grew up on some of the classic strips, that's a factor which greatly pleases me – so it's just a matter of finding out if it's both a good revitalisation for everyone's favourite blockhead and his dog and still has appeal to its family audience.

As we've all come to know, Charlie Brown (here voiced by Noah Schnapp) is the lovable wishy-washy loser that we've known for the past 65 years, and he's just as unlucky as before. This time however, he's having issues gaining the attention of his new neighbour known simply as the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Angelucci Capaldi), of whom he's become quickly infatuated with. With the help of his faithful dog Snoopy (voiced using archive recordings of former Peanuts legend Bill Melendez), who in turn is experimenting in writing with a newly-acquired typewriter, he must prove to himself and his classmates that he is capable enough; with what following being the standards trends of the classic strips and cartoons with various misadventures of trying to gain the Little Red-Haired Girl's adoration ranging from learning to dance to being inexplicably considered a genius by the school. 

With a plot as standard as that, it's somewhat interesting that it comes during a period in which animated features have to have large numbers of action set-pieces and as much comedy as they can squeeze out of. Here, it's just as simple as the original stories, with the numerous elements which make up the film being faithful to how they're portrayed back then whilst avoiding feeling less like a movie and more like a episodic triple-bill like fellow animated revival Mr Peabody and Sherman. Granted, the various sequences involving Snoopy's recurring battle against the elusive Red Baron (quickly set up as a minor antagonist within the actual events of the film) do seem a tad out of place and only really there to show off the eye-popping 3D or to keep younger audiences interested, but at least they have some form of lease of life as being a form of visual representation for how Charlie Brown feels about the events that follow – at least, after the first introductory sequence, followed by a second one quickly popping up to show off how recurring it'll become. But outside of that and two appearances of pop music (which feel very out of place against the typewriters and rotary phones), the story basis and its execution is largely simple and refreshing against its competitors.

The biggest thing going for this film is of course the animation, which despite its advancements into being a CG-produced product has remained consistent with the original 2D visual style. You can easily tell where the CG is best administered through the detailed backdrops and the little details added to the characters; and whilst it's not the best animation quality of the year, it is at least one of Blue Sky Studios' best efforts and its approach is a huge reason as to why this film is so enjoyable – those nostalgic enough will be appeased by the traditional style being reapplied, whilst new viewers will be interested in this different feel against its standard contemporaries...although this is less of an issue for US audiences when taking into account that the holiday specials still draw in big viewing numbers each year.

The recasting of these classic characters has also gone down a treat, with the solely-child cast doing a good job at replicating the iconic characters. Schnapp as Brown succeeds as the hapless loser who wanders between popular and being a blockhead, with each character beat being predictable but well-executed enough to let slide; Mariel Sheets as little sister Sally adds heart to a particular set of events early on but keeps the comedy going when her big brother is bestowed with pleasantries; Hadley Belle Miller's Lucy is just as lovably annoying as she's known to be; Alex Garfin is a tad underused as her brother Linus (especially what with his blanket being an ongoing gag in the strips) but still gives off a strong job when considering his extensive vocabulary; Noah Johnson's Schroeder is also limited to Beethoven jokes and being a cameoing character along with the likes of Pig Pen (who has an admirer of sorts in an admittedly-amusing set of events) and Franklin; while the favourite "are they...?" duo Peppermint Patty and Marcie (Anastasia Bredikhina and Rebecca Bloom respectively) are given plenty to work with and perhaps the most screentime outside of the titular two. As for the Little Red-Haired Girl that Charlie Brown pines for, she is kept largely absent as per standard in the strips, but her occasional interactions – especially in the film's final moments – do make up for it with a heart-warming but typical conclusion, and Capaldi's dual voice-work as the curly-haired Freida does at least give her a little more to do. And of course, hearing the classic sounds of Snoopy and Woodstock do help remind audiences why they were so memorable. As per usual, Snoopy does take over as star of the show and holds the most in terms of comedic value, but when necessary does give enough space in the limelight for the dog's best friend to shine – although I still think that fictional love interest Fifi (Kristin Chenoweth) looks a tad iffy. 

The Peanuts Movie may be conventional, but at least it's faithful in how it approaches its source material. Often funny and with animation which, while not overly detailed, remains as appealing as before, the return for Snoopy and Charlie Brown back onto the big screen is a worthwhile one. The lack of story is made up for in finesse and extremely likeable characters, and while some younger audiences may not be overall appealing by the 2D feel and duller approach compared to something like The Good Dinosaur, it is at least more timeless than the works of Dreamworks and Illumination Entertainment – well, when it doesn’t incorporate Flo Rida and Meghan Trainor to the soundtrack with Christophe Beck and the classic tunes of Vince Guaraldi. In short, simple but effective. 7/10.