The Peanuts Movie

I was skeptical about a Disney reboot of one of my favorite cartoon strips of all time. Disney tends to boil things down to the basic bland, potentially stripping beloved characters found in  “Winnie the Pooh” or Pixar movies to fit the “happily ever after” model.  Characters like Charlie Brown or Eeyore have traditionally lacked self-confidence and popularity which doesn’t match the typical Disney princess or hero.

Charlie Brown’s essence has remained intact for this feature length film. (Probably due to Shultz’s sons having a hand in the script.) Adults will find familiar themes from the made for television features.  Snoopy flies again on his doghouse to defeat the Red Baron.  Lucy offers psychiatric advice for a nickel.  Pig Pen is still allergic to bathing.  Adults still speak like muted trombones.  But most importantly, Charlie Brown still struggles with others teasing him and is own feelings of inadequacy.  There is no “bully-free” zone in Peanuts, and kids are both kind and cruel.

 I think those feelings are realistic and perhaps more identifiable for children then common themes in todays movies where if you try, you succeed, and everyone will love you for being the special snowflake you were born to be.  That’s not to say the movie doesn’t offer Charlie Brown a bit of hope at the end.  Charlie Brown was always an optimist, despite what others said and did to him.  That perseverance in failure is perhaps why the Peanuts resonate with audiences old and new.

I recommend this movie to everyone whose ever read or enjoyed the imaginary world of Charles Shultz.  It may not keep the attention of very young children as its pacing matches the pre-Internet era.  I think it will be added to the collection of Peanuts classics.