| The Peanuts Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Steve Martino |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Peanuts byCharles M. Schulz |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Renato Falcão[2] |
| Edited by | Randy Trager[1] |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 88 minutes[5] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $99 million[6] |
| Box office | $246 million[6][7] |
The Peanuts Movie (known in some countries asSnoopy and Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie[8]) is a 2015 American animatedcomedy film based onCharles M. Schulz'scomic stripPeanuts, produced by20th Century Fox Animation andBlue Sky Studios, and distributed by20th Century Fox. The film was directed bySteve Martino from a screenplay by Cornelius Uliano andCraig and Bryan Schulz (Schulz's son and grandson, respectively). Uliano and the Schulzes also serve as producers alongsidePaul Feig and Michael J. Travers. It stars the voices ofNoah Schnapp asCharlie Brown and, via archival recordings,Bill Melendez asSnoopy andWoodstock. The film sees Charlie trying to improve his odds with his love interest, theLittle Red-Haired Girl, while Snoopy writes a book where he is aWorld War IFlying Ace trying to save his fellow pilot and love interest,Fifi, from theRed Baron andhis flying circus. It was the fifth full-lengthPeanuts film and the first in 35 years, followingBon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!).[1]
Development of the film began in 2006, six years after the death of Charles Schulz and the final release of the lastPeanuts comic strip. Craig Schulz, a son of Charles, pitched a film idea to his son, Bryan Schulz. 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios announced development of a computer-animated film in October 2012, a year afterHappiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, with Martino directing, due to his faithfulness to the style ofDr. Seuss in the film,Horton Hears a Who! (2008), also produced by Blue Sky.[2][9] Numerous elements from the comic strip were featured in the film, such as Charlie Brown's skating pond, his house, "the wall" and Lucy's psychiatrist booth, as well as the Snoopy and Woodstock voice tracks from Bill Melendez.[10] The score was composed byChristophe Beck, with additional soundtrack contributions byMeghan Trainor andDavid Benoit.[11][12]
The Peanuts Movie premiered inNew York City on November 1, 2015,[13] and was released in the United States five days later on November 6. It grossed $246 million worldwide against a $99 million budget to become the7th highest-grossing animated film of 2015. The film was met with generally positive reviews from critics. It received nominations for theAnnie Award for Best Animated Feature, theCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature and was the first Blue Sky Studios film to be nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
When theLittle Red-Haired Girl moves into the neighborhood and later joins his class,Charlie Brown becomes infatuated with her, though worries his long-running streak of misfortunes and bad luck will prevent her from noticing him. AfterLucy van Pelt tells him he should try being more confident, Charlie Brown decides to embark upon a series of new activities in hope of finding one that will get the Little Red-Haired Girl to notice him.
Helped bySnoopy andWoodstock, he performs a magic show act in the school'stalent show. However, he is forced to drop his act in order to help his sisterSally with hers, causing him to be humiliated. Charlie Brown then signs up for theschool dance and gets Snoopy to teach him all his dancing skills. At the dance, Charlie Brown attracts praise for his skills, but he slips during his performance. This sets one of his shoes to hit the sprinkler, causing the dance to be cut short and the students to selfishly look down upon him once more.
Charlie Brown is partnered with the Little Red-Haired Girl to write a book report. When she is called away for a week to deal with a family illness, Charlie Brown decides to write the report alone, on the collegiate-level novelWar and Peace byLeo Tolstoy, to which he writes a comprehensive report. At the same time, Charlie Brown finds he is the only student to get a perfect score on a standardized test taken earlier that school year. His friends and the other students congratulate him, and his popularity begins to climb.
However, when he goes to accept a medal at aschool assembly, he learns the test papers were accidentally mixed up, and thatPeppermint Patty was actually the one who got the perfect score. Saddened that his sudden popularity was all for nothing, Charlie Brown reveals the mistake and declines the medal, thus becoming unpopular again, and, once again, aggressively put down by everyone else. His book report is accidentally shredded byLinus van Pelt's modelRed Baron tri-plane, causing him to admit to the Little Red-Haired Girl that he has caused them both to fail the assignment.
Meanwhile, Snoopy writes a novel about hisWorld War IFlying Ace persona trying to saveFifi from the Red Baron with help from Woodstock and his friends, using the key events and situations surrounding Charlie Brown as inspiration to develop his story. He acts out his adventure physically and comes across Charlie Brown and the gang several times along the way. Snoopy, in the end, manages to defeat the Red Baron bykamikaze and save Fifi. Lucy, however, laughs at his story, and Snoopy scares her off by kissing her.
Before leaving school for the summer, Charlie Brown is surprised when the Little Red-Haired Girl chooses him for apen pal (as part of a school project during the summer). Linus convinces Charlie Brown he needs to tell the Little Red-Haired Girl how he feels about her before she leaves for the summer. Racing to her house, he instead encounters her mother, who informs him she is about to leave on a bus forsummer camp. Charlie Brown tries to chase the bus but is prevented from reaching it by the other kids. Just as he is about to give up, he sees a kite fall from theKite-Eating Tree. The string becomes entangled around his waist and sails away with him, thus pulling him along with it. Amazed to see Charlie Brown finally flying a kite, the other kids follow.
Upon reaching the bus, Charlie Brown finally asks the Little Red-Haired Girl why she has chosen him in spite of his previous failed attempts to try and impress her. The Little Red-Haired Girl explains to him that she admires his selflessness and determination, calling him an honest, kind, caring, and compassionate person. The other kids congratulate him and praise Charlie Brown, thus, finally both making it up to him for all their previous acts of selfishness and rude and aggressive behavior towards him and accepting him as a true friend.
In 2006, six years after the release of the last originalPeanuts strip, as well as the death of creatorCharles M. Schulz, his sonCraig Schulz came up with an idea for a newPeanuts film, which he showed to his screenwriter son Bryan Schulz. "I was happy to show my son," Craig said. "He showed me how to make it bigger—how to blow it up more—and he helped me put in structure."[2] When presenting their film to studios, Craig stipulated that the film remain under Schulz control, saying, "We need[ed] to have absolute quality control and keep it under Dad's legacy... You can't bring people in from the outside and expect them to understandPeanuts."[2] On October 9, 2012, it was announced that20th Century Fox andBlue Sky Studios were developing an animated feature film based on the strip, withSteve Martino directing from the screenplay by Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano. Craig, Bryan, and Uliano also produced.[9] Craig, stating there is no one "more protective of the comic strip than myself," chose Martino as director because he showed faithfulness to literature inhis adaptation ofDr. Seuss'Horton Hears a Who!.[2]
On the film's plot, Martino said: "Here's where I lean thematically. I want to go through this journey...Charlie Brown is that guy who, in the face of repeated failure, picks himself back up and tries again. That's no small task. I have kids who aspire to be something big and great... a star football player or on Broadway. I think what Charlie Brown is—what I hope to show in this film—is the everyday qualities of perseverance... to pick yourself back up with a positive attitude—that's every bit as heroic... as having a star on the Walk of Fame or being a star on Broadway. That's the [story's] core. This is a feature film story that has a strong dramatic drive, and takes its core ideas from the strip."[2] In addition to receiving the rights to useBill Melendez's voice forSnoopy andWoodstock, Martino was also able to get the rights to archive music from previousPeanuts specials.[2] Classic locations are featured, such as Charlie Brown's skating pond, his house, "the wall" and Lucy's psychiatrist booth, each retaining the "eternal look of the strip."[10] Additionally, despite being outdated technology, rotary phones and typewriters are seen, as well as Lucy's psychiatrist booth still costing anickel. Adult characters' "wah-wah" voices are represented by a trombone with a plunger mute, as in previousPeanuts media,[25] courtesy ofNew Orleans jazz musicianTrombone Shorty.[18] Because of the robust number of existingPeanuts characters, the film does not introduce any new characters.[23]
On January 8, 2013, Leigh Anne Brodsky became the managing director of Peanuts Worldwide and was set to control all the global deals for the film.[26] In April 2013, Fox announced that the film would be released in3D.[27] In October 2013, it was announced thatPaul Feig would also produce.[28] By April 2015, 75% of the animation was complete, with some footage scheduled to debut atCinemaCon in Las Vegas.[25]
Martino and his animators spent over a year looking at Charles M. Schulz's original drawing style to help translate the "hand-drawn warmth... into the cool pixel-precision ofCGI" without the fear of something getting lost in translation, such as "how the dot of an eye [conveyed] joy or sorrow so efficiently".[2] While the animators tried to translate the 2D characters into the visual aesthetics of CGI animation, the characters are animated on 2s, more akin to astop-motion film than the usual traditions of computer animation, believing that its low framerate stylization was more compatible for "the technical needs to fit the style of Charles Schulz."[29]
In October 2014, it was announced thatChristophe Beck would score the film.[12] Beck stated, "With thePeanuts movies, I grew up on those specials from the '60s and '70s, that, of course, rerun to this day. I'm very fond of all thatVince Guaraldi music, so what we did was try to find spots in the film where we could sort of touch down and remind people who were watching the film that it's still aPeanuts movie, and there's still a place for that music in the film. There's a bunch of spots where we quote the Guaraldi music, or we actually re-record his pieces quite faithfully." He also added that the score would be more orchestral than Guaraldi's previous scores, which were mainly a smalljazz combo.[31] Jazz pianistDavid Benoit contributed to Beck's score.[30]
On July 28, 2015, it was announced thatMeghan Trainor would write and perform a song for the film, entitled "Better When I'm Dancin'".[32]Epic Records released the soundtrack album on October 23, 2015.[11] The 20-track album features Trainor's "Better When I'm Dancin",Flo Rida's "That's What I Like" featuringFitz, "Linus and Lucy", "Skating" and "Christmas Time Is Here" by Vince Guaraldi, from theA Charlie Brown Christmas album, and 15 tracks of Beck's original score for the film. An exclusive edition of the soundtrack released atTarget features a second Trainor track, "Good to Be Alive".[33] The Japanese edition of the soundtrack includes "Good to Be Alive" and three more tracks from Beck's score.[34] The Japan version of the movie also uses Japanese singer-songwriterAyaka's "A Song For You" for the trailer and the ending instead of Trainor's, but it was released as a single and did not appear on the Japanese edition of the soundtrack album.[35][36]
The Peanuts Movie held its premiere inNew York City on November 1, 2015,[13] and was released on November 6, 2015, in the United States on 3,897 screens.[37][38] The release commemorates the 65th anniversary of the comic strip and the 50th anniversary of the TV specialA Charlie Brown Christmas. The film was originally scheduled for November 25, 2015,[9] but in November 2012, it was rescheduled to November 6, 2015.[37] The film was released asSnoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2015.[8][39] The Australian release date was supposed to be December 21, 2015 but was postponed to January 8, 2016.[40]
A video game based on the film, titledSnoopy's Grand Adventure, was released on November 3, 2015, forXbox 360,Nintendo 3DS,Wii U,Xbox One, andPlayStation 4, and published byActivision.[41]
The Peanuts Movie was released on digital platforms on February 12, 2016, before being released onDVD,Blu-ray,Blu-ray 3D, and4K Ultra HD a month later on March 8, 2016.[42] The film debuted at the top of the home media sales chart for the week ending on March 13, 2016.[43]
The Peanuts Movie was released onDisney+ on August 7, 2020. It was removed on February 1, 2022, due to licensing contracts with Max, but was re-added on October 7. The film switches back and forth between platforms every so often.
The Peanuts Movie grossed $130.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $116 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $246.2 million.[6]
The film grossed $12.1 million on its opening day, earning a total of $44 million for the weekend (with 27% of the gross coming from 3D screenings), finishing second at the box office behindSpectre ($70.4 million).[38] Outside North America, the film opened in the same week as the U.S. and grossed $4.56 million from 12 markets. China ($2.76 million) and Italy ($1.16 million) delivered the biggest openings.[44] After three weekends, it opened to a total of 49 markets where it had the second biggest opening of 2015 in Mexico ($3.1 million) and debuted in the U.K., Ireland and Malta at No. 2 with $5.5 million (including previews) behindStar Wars: The Force Awakens.[45] One of the final markets was Australia where the film opened on New Year's Day 2016, earning $2.6 million in its first week.[46]
The review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes reported an 87% approval rating and an average rating of 7.1/10 based on 198 reviews, making it the highest-rated film produced byBlue Sky Studios. The site's consensus states: "The Peanuts Movie offers a colorful gateway into the world of its classic characters and a sweetly nostalgic – if relatively unambitious – treat for the adults who grew up with them."[47] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[48] OnCinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[38]
The Hollywood Reporter's Michael Rechtshaffen found the film to be especially praiseworthy, feeling that Charles Schulz would have been proud of the film, though he criticized the use of Trainor's song in an otherwise good use of Guaraldi's themes with Beck's score.[1] Peter Debruge ofVariety gave similar sentiments, especially praising the animation of the film.[4] Alonso Duralde ofTheWrap felt the film made a nice transition to 3D, saying, while the film might not reach "the melancholy of earlier films... it nonetheless respects the importance of failure and disappointment that Schulz always included in his storytelling". He did, however, feel thatPeanuts purists would take issue with a few things in the film, such as seeing and hearing so much of the Little Red-Haired Girl, who was always off-panel in the comic strips, and Peppermint Patty acknowledging that Snoopy is a dog and not a child with a big nose (even though, unbeknownst to him, Marcie told her that Snoopy was a beagle in the latter years of the strip).[49] Pete Hammond fromDeadline Hollywood admitted his trepidation about translating the characters from 2D to 3D, but enjoyed the film overall, only criticizing the amount of fantasy sequences involving Snoopy.[50] Brian Truitt ofUSA Today gave the film three out of four stars, proclaiming the film "is all about simplicity, and what the plot lacks in nuance and complexity is made up for with relatable characters whom people have spent a lifetime watching. The movie is a testament to Charlie Brown's place in pop culture and a showcase for a new generation bound to fall in love with its perennially insecure star".[51] Neil Genzlinger fromThe New York Times named the film an NYT Critics' Pick, calling it "the most charming and the most daring experiment in human genetics ever conducted". However, he also showed concern for the modern children's audiences who may or may not only know thePeanuts gang from the holiday specials.[52]
Scott Mendelson fromForbes was more critical of the film, saying there was "nothing objectively wrong withThe Peanuts Movie", but as he personally was not a fan of thePeanuts comic strip, that made him "anti-Charlie Brown", loathing each time Charlie Brown failed in the film.[53] Joe McGovern fromEntertainment Weekly was also not as receptive, giving the film a grade of C+, and criticizing the animation, stating, "Even if you assume that Schulz always wanted his frozen pond reflecting lustrous light and Snoopy frolicking in a lavishHayao Miyazaki world, the animation steroids injected into the aesthetic here nonetheless shrivel the great melancholy that's so key to the comic's endurance".[54] Vadim Rizov of Filmmaker Magazine criticized the film's unfaithfulness to the comic, saying "The Peanuts Movie celebrates well-known character quirks, but it completely trashes the spirit of the strip. An unavoidable necessity? I’m forced to conclude this is perhaps the case, but it’s still infuriating."[55]
AlthoughThe Peanuts Movie was considered a success, and Fox was reportedly interested in making a sequel and turningThe Peanuts Movie into a franchise, the company was only granted the rights to onePeanuts film. Schulz's widow, Jean, indicated in November 2015 that a sequel was not imminent, stating, "This one took eight years, so maybe we'll talk again then."[82] In August 2023, Craig, Schulz's son and co-producer of the film, stated that another theatrical film was not "off the table".[83]
In November 2023, it was announced that a newPeanuts film was officially in development. The plot will revolve around Charlie Brown and his friends on an adventure to the Big City. While not a sequel toThe Peanuts Movie, Steve Martino will return as director, with a script byKarey Kirkpatrick from an original story by Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz and Cornelius Uliano; whileBonnie Arnold will serve as producer. The project will be a joint-venture production betweenWildBrain Studios and Peanuts Worldwide and will be distributed byApple TV+.[84]
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