The Peanuts Movie Review

When I first heard of this movie coming out sometime back in early 2014, I was a bit hesitant. There have been a lot of movies based on cartoons come out of major studios for the last couple of years, and while some are not all that bad, some have been just terrible(i.e The Smurf movies.) At the time, I didn't know if they were going to make it a live action film, a animated/live action film, or what. But as soon as I saw the first trailer, I was interested. The producers said there wouldn't be things like cell phones, or current pop culture references. That furthered my interest. But, after seeing it, did it do what it promised, or was it just another adaption flop?



The story is simple. Charlie Brown tries to impress the new little red haired girl at school by learning how to dance. All the while, Snoopy daydreams his misadventures against his nemesis while trying to save his girlfriend Fifi.

To put it as simple as the movie, it is the perfect adaption. We have seen so many adaptions in movie form. Not just cartoons, but of classic TV shows, books, remakes of other movies, etc. And while some have been OK to pretty good, a large part of them have been absolute flops. The truth is, it hard to make a movie about another source material because the viewer is already familiar to the story, and therefore expect it to be similar or exactly alike. The Peanuts Movie has a perfect blend of adaption and new. It made a new story, and mixed it very well with the original Peanut formulas. On top of the story, the animation is just amazing! It's basically the 3D version of the 2D cartoons. It has a nice sleek and smooth look that creates a very relaxed atmosphere which most of the originals had as well. Another great thing was the voice acting. I was afraid that, like many other movies made for children, would have a celebrity voice cast, with adults as children. But thankfully, it was entirely voiced by relatively unknown child actors who did a great job.

Overall, this was a most enjoyable experience. It has something for everyone; a nostalgic road trip for those who grew up with the Peanuts, and a great introduction for the younger audience. It is in theaters as of the day this was posted, so please go check it out.

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Story- 10/10

A nice and simple story that brings something new to the plate while mimicking the original.
 
Main Characters- 10/10

Voice acting was great. Charlie Brown and Snoopy were as lovable as ever.

Side Characters- 910

They surprisly brought back a lot of the original characters. The only problem? I wanted to see more of them!

Villain- 8/10 

There really wasn't a "villian" I guess you could count whoever was chasing Snoopy. In that case, not bad at all.

Effects/Animation- 10/10

I have to give this a 10. Some of the best CGI you'll see from any other company including Pixar.

Songs/Score- 9/10

Who can't love that Peanut music?! Only problem? Again, I wanted to hear more of it.

Entertainment Factor- 10/10

Immensely entertaining. Not a moment went by that didn't add something new for the viewer to see.


Total Score-  94%
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