The Peanuts Movie (2015)

If you were to ask me, at the end of 2015, what my favorite movie of the year was, my answer would've been quick and easy: The Peanuts Movie. In a year where I also went to check out Jurassic World and really enjoyed it, as well as Spectre, which I liked more than most, this was the movie that had me leaving the theater with the biggest smile on my face. It helped that it came along at the perfect time, as it was not too long after I started really getting back into the Peanuts and collecting the classic TV specials, and also when the past Peanuts movies, like Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, were finally being released on home media for the first time since VHS (in fact, I also collected a double-feature DVD set of those latter two when I picked this up on Blu-Ray the following spring). But, putting all that aside, this movie is just a pure delight, and was a very nice surprise at the time. Mind you, I didn't have any real trepidation going into it, as the buzz I was hearing was nothing but positive, but even I was amazed at how well it turned out. Not only is it beautifully animated and a feast for the eyes in every way, but the characters' portrayals are as likable as they ever were (and, in some cases, even more so), with great performances by the child actors, it's often genuinely funny without getting too juvenile or crude, both the music score and the soundtrack never fail to make me smile, and, above all else, the movie has a really good heart and is genuinely sweet and touching, without falling into sappiness. I have read some complaints that it doesn't embrace the melancholic tone of the comic strip or many of the classic TV specials, but personally, that's alright with me, which I'll get into. That said, there are some qualms that I myself do have but, on the whole, I think you'd have to be a real cynical bastard not to get at least some minor enjoyment out of this.

It's the middle of winter, and all of the kids decide to celebrate a snow day by heading down to the frozen lake for some skating or hockey... except for Charlie Brown. He decides to attempt to fly his kite, seeing as how the Kite-Eating Tree is in hibernation. But that ends in disaster when his feet get tangled up in the string, sending him tumbling down to the lake and causing chaos when a bunch of kids get caught up in his sliding out of control across the ice. One of them is Lucy, who's attempting to show off her skating moves to a group of onlookers. In her irritation, she tells Charlie Brown to give up and that he'll never get the kite to fly. Afterward, he attempts to practice his pitching, with Snoopy and Woodstock's help, but that doesn't go well for him, either. Then, a new kid moves to the neighborhood, into the house across the street from his. He hopes that, since they're a newcomer, he'll be able to make a good first impression and not come off as an insecure, bumbling loser. The next day at school, he learns the new kid is in his class, and they also turn out to be a very cute, red-haired girl. Charlie Brown is immediately smitten, and ends up with her pink pencil when it falls off her desk and rolls over to him. But he can't work up the courage to talk to her, even under the pretense of returning her pencil, despite Snoopy's assistance and encouragement. He then repeatedly attempts to improve himself and impress the girl, such as by entering a talent show, practicing his moves for an upcoming winter dance, and opting to write a book report for the both of them after they're partnered up... all of which end up failing in one way or another. Even when he learns he got a perfect score on a yearly standardized test, and his popularity soars as a result, things turn out to be good to be true. All the while, Snoopy, using Charlie Brown's plight as inspiration, writes a novel about the World War I Flying Ace, as he attempts to rescue the love of his life, Fifi, from the clutches of his archenemy, the Red Baron. And as per usual, Snoopy's imagination runs wild the longer he writes.

While the TV specials had continued into the 2000's, even after the deaths of both Charles Schulz and Bill Melendez, The Peanuts Movie was the first feature based on the comic strip since Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) way back in 1980. The idea for it came about in 2006, by Schulz's son, Craig (pictured), who'd been a producer on 2011's Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, the first special produced after Melendez's death and the last before Apple purchased the franchise. Working with his own son, Bryan, and another writer, Cornelius Uliano, they developed it into a screenplay and pitched it to various studios. Being very protective of their father and grandfather's legacy, however, Craig and Bryan insisted they retain all creative control, which is likely why it took nine years to get made (and why a sequel wasn't made, despite the movie being a huge hit). Still, their persistence paid off, as they were allowed to have it after they got both 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios onboard, and maintained it throughout production. Craig, Bryan, and Uliano have since been involved with a number of Peanuts projects, namely as producers and writers on the various shorts and series produced by Apple TV+ 

As for the director, Craig Schulz chose Steve Martino, who'd previously been an art director on Ice Age and Robots, and before this had co-directed two other Blue Sky movies: Horton Hears a Who!, with Jimmy Hayward, and Ice Age: Continental Drift, with Michael Thurmeier, along with some Scrat short subjects. I personally haven't seen his other movies, as I've never been interested in the Ice Age franchise (and, by all accounts, Continental Drift isn't one of the better ones), and those attempts to turn Dr. Seuss stories into feature length movies always seem to come off as horrendous and inane. However, it was Horton Hears a Who! and its faithfulness to its source material that got Martino hired for The Peanuts Movie. And I think he did an excellent job, bringing a nice, clean handle and approach to this particular IP, which he did right by in spades. He was next meant to co-direct a movie that was given the initial title of Foster, but Disney's purchase of Fox and their closing Blue Sky Studios put an end to it. However, Martino would return to Peanuts and direct another movie, this time for Apple TV+ (at the time I'm writing this, it hasn't been given an official title yet).

Though his depiction here is as shy, awkward, and insecure as always, from his first scene, Charlie Brown (voiced by Noah Schnapp) proves that, if nothing else, he is determined to succeed at any undertaking, no matter how impossible it may seem. While all the other kids are planning to spend the snow day either skating or playing hockey down at the frozen lake, he decides to finally get his kite up and flying, seeing as how the Kite-Eating Tree shouldn't be a problem in the middle of winter. Naturally, things go wrong, he causes a huge disaster down at the lake, and then gets verbally destroyed by Lucy, who tells him to give up, because he'll never succeed simply because he's Charlie Brown. But he decides not to listen to her, and next tries to improve his baseball pitching with Snoopy and Woodstock's help, playing against a "team" made up of snowmen. . That doesn't work out too well, either (due to Snoopy messing around), but he just gets back up and goes on to whatever comes next. That's when the Little Red-Haired Girl not only moves in across the street from him, but turns out to be in his class. Charlie Brown is, of course, instantly smitten the moment he lays eyes on her, but his shyness and insecurity leave him unable to actually speak to her. He gets several opportunities to, like when he ends up with her dropped pencil and when she almost sits next to him on the school bus, but he bows out at the last minute. 

Following some "psychiatric" advice from Lucy, as well as taking cues from a book she gives him called 10 Ways To Become A Winner, Charlie Brown attempts to change himself in various ways to try to impress the girl, but each one is foiled in some manner. He enters a school talent show, where he intends to perform a magic act with Snoopy, but has to help out Sally when her own act is in danger of falling apart. He next practices his dancing for an upcoming event, and actually manages to strut his 

stuff and impress the kids the night of the dance. He even comes close to winning a trophy for his moves and getting to dance with the girl, but he ends up accidentally setting off a fire alarm, causing everyone to evacuate. Most impressively, he opts to do a book report assignment for the both of them when he's partnered up with her, only to learn she's out of town and doesn't even know about the report. The latter is especially commendable because Charlie Brown, in his desperation for them to achieve the highest honors imaginable, opts to do the report on War and Peace, 

and he not only manages to both read that massive book and write the report in a weekend (he spends literally every waking hour on it), but when Linus reads the report, he's impressed how intelligent and insightful it is. But then, just as the Little Red-Haired Girl returns to school and learns what he did for her, the report is destroyed, leaving Charlie Brown completely crestfallen.

Around this same time, Charlie Brown learns that he's the only student in the whole school who got a perfect score on a standardized test. He's to be honored with a medal at a school assembly the following week and his popularity skyrockets, with numerous kids now wanting to be his friend, have him join their clubs, help them with their own assignments, and such. Sally even cashes in on her brother's newfound "celebrity," going as far as selling merchandise based around him. And through a series of sheer dumb 

luck, as well as just common sense on his part, he seems to confirm that he is, in fact, a genius. However, he doesn't know how to feel about the attention, unsure if everyone now likes him for who he is or, as he says, who they think he is. And then, come the day of the assembly, he learns that he signed the wrong test back when they took it, and the one who got the perfect score was none other than Peppermint Patty (again, she only got it through sheer dumb luck). Faced with this, and despite everyone in the auditorium cheering him on, including the Little 

Red-Haired Girl, Charlie Brown has to admit the truth. With that, he's back to being unpopular again. To add insult to injury, his book report gets shredded in the following scene (it's partly his fault that it happens as well), and he walks home, completely depressed. That night, he completely gives up on everything, and throws his kite in the garbage can, puts away his baseball glove, kicks Lucy's self-improvement book under his bed, and puts the Little Red-Haired Girl's pencil in a drawer. He stays like this for the rest of the school year, only starting to feel

good about himself again come springtime, when he manages to successfully teach a young kid how to fly a kite. Then, on the very last day of school, when they're assigned partners for a Summer Pen-Pal project, the Little Red-Haired Girl volunteers to be Charlie Brown's. Perplexed by this, and wondering why she would want to be his pen pal after having seen the run of bad luck he often has, he decides to finally get the courage to talk to her.

Stopping at her house and learning from her mother that she's about to leave for summer camp, Charlie Brown rushes to the bus stop, but runs into one obstacle after another, mainly due to his cutting through a crowded summer fair. About to give up again, he gets some unexpected help in the form of a kite that the Kite-Eating Tree "spits" out at him. It literally drags him towards the bus stop when he gets tangled in its string and it gets caught up in some wind, and he then flies it all the way there. In fact, it's 

what stops the Little Red-Haired Girl from climbing aboard the bus right away, giving him the opportunity to talk with her. When he does, he's surprised that she not only remembers his name but says that, as far as she's concerned, he's anything but a loser; rather, she's seen what a compassionate, honest, and courageous person he is, and admires those qualities. Needless to say, Charlie Brown is nearly over the moon after hearing this, and before she leaves, he's finally able to return her pencil. Once she's gone, the other kids, including Lucy, are just as happy for him, and cheer him on for what he's accomplished.

I like Snoopy as much as the next person, but there are many times in the past cartoons and movies, especially where Charlie Brown is concerned, where he acts like a total dick. Specials like He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown, and the movies Snoopy Come Home and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (the latter of which has him overhear the Baron's plan to all but murder Charlie Brown and Linus, and he acts like he couldn't care less), come to mind; however, he's awesome in The Peanuts Movie. He does have his moments where he trolls Charlie Brown, like when the latter catches him batting for the "opposing team" while practicing his pitching, when he falls asleep while Charlie Brown is pouring his heart out to him about his insecurities, and eats the cupcakes meant for the school dance, but for the most part, Snoopy has Charlie Brown's back here. He repeatedly tries to help and encourage him in his attempts to impress the Little Red-Haired Girl. He hands him a flower to give to her, accompanies him over to her house, stops him from running away, and presses the doorbell when he's too scared to. He later helps him learn how to dance, and gives him the opportunity to strut his stuff at the dance itself. Plus, when Charlie Brown really becomes discouraged, Snoopy does attempt to comfort him. After his attempt to impress the Little Red-Haired Girl at the dance has been ruined, Snoopy offers him one last cupcake, which he saved for him, and is dejected when Charlie Brown is too depressed to take it. Also, when his report is destroyed, Snoopy comes running when he hears Charlie Brown yell in anguish and tries to comfort him as he walks home, totally depressed. And like everybody else, he encourages Charlie Brown when he successfully flies a kite during the climax, and at the end, is just as happy for his master as the other kids.

A big side-plot involving Snoopy is, after he unsuccessfully attempts to attend school, he comes home with a typewriter he found in the garbage bin outside and, with Woodstock's help, begins writing a story about the World War I Flying Ace and his archenemy, the Red Baron. He takes inspiration from various events and episodes that happen to Charlie Brown, with an out-of-control, model triplane, based on the real Red Baron, that gets away from Linus early on being the impetus for the whole thing. 

Furthermore, Charlie Brown's infatuation with the Little Red-Haired Girl prompts Snoopy to concoct the Flying Ace's love interest, Fifi (voiced by Kristin Chenoweth), a competent and self-reliant poodle pilot; things becoming dire in Charlie Brown's personal life lead to Fifi being kidnapped by the Red Baron and the Flying Ace being shot down over enemy territory; and Charlie Brown encouraging the kid who's trying to fly a kite prompts Snoopy to end his story happily. However, while I know it's a big part of Peanuts lore and Snoopy's character, and the 

animation in these sequences is breathtaking, I think the movie spends a little too much time on the elaborate fantasies he comes up with while writing his story. That said, though, I do like the section where the Flying Ace gets shot down and has to make his way through enemy territory, with Snoopy, whose imagination has now really run away with itself, sneaking around through the neighborhood, either annoying or mystifying everyone he comes across.

Though his role in the movie, overall, isn't much, Woodstock is the first character you see at the beginning, as he's flitting around through the snowfall, only for a large clump to fall on his head and cause him to land atop Snoopy, who's also covered in snow while lying atop his doghouse. Woodstock spends most of his screentime with Snoopy, notably in that he helps him write his story, or tries to, anyway. However, Snoopy is not very appreciative of the feedback and criticism Woodstock gives him, which includes him not caring for the love story involving Fifi, and they argue about it. Woodstock also appears in Snoopy's fantasies about the World War I Flying Ace, with a handful of his smaller bird friends acting as the pilot's mechanics. As for Woodstock himself, he acts as the Flying Ace's friend and, during the battle to save Fifi, his trusted co-pilot. (Before we move on, I want to say that I thought it was really cool how they used recordings of Bill Melendez's vocalizations for both Snoopy and Woodstock in this film; in the Apple TV+ shows and specials, they would come up with new ones.)

Sally (voiced by Mariel Sheets) has a couple of significant moments here. The first is when, during the talent show, her rodeo act is not going over well and she's about to cry out of humiliation. Seeing this, and despite knowing that they only have enough time left for one more act, Charlie Brown opts to help her out, dressing up as a bull for her to lasso. He ends up being badly embarrassed for it, and worries that this will make the Little Red-Haired Girl think he's even more of a joke, but Sally is spared and grateful to him. Later, when he seems to get a perfect score on the standardized test and becomes really popular, Sally decides to cash in on it. She conducts tours through their house, pointing out different spots where Charlie Brown, supposedly, did a lot of major thinking and experimenting, sells merchandise (soon, just about everyone in the school is wearing a shirt like his), and even tries to get an "exclusive interview" with him at one point. When he later admits that he's actually not a genius, Sally grumbles, "Can a brother and a sister get a divorce?" A couple of other memorable moments with her include when, as he's practicing his dancing, Charlie Brown comes up behind her as she's watching TV, saying, "I could really use a dance partner," and she responds, "Good luck with that!" And near the end, on the last day of school, Sally is excited, thinking it means she no longer has to worry about school for the rest of her life. But then, Charlie Brown breaks it to her, "You've eight more years of grammar school, four more years of high school, plus four more years of college," and Sally, after figuring all that up, exclaims, "That gives us 36 more years of school! I'll be bald and wrinkly by then!" And like everyone else, she's happy for Charlie Brown at the end, telling him that she's proud he's her brother and giving him a balloon with his face on it.

As has been the case in the past, Linus' (voiced by Alex Garfin) role is mainly just to help and encourage Charlie Brown whenever he's feeling down and insecure over the Little Red-Haired Girl. He tries to get him to go up and talk to her a couple of times, and while everyone else shuns him again when he has to admit he's not the one who got the perfect score, Linus commends him on his honesty. Furthermore, when he reads his book report on War and Peace, he's very impressed, telling him, "The insight you bring to such a complex novel is beyond reproach!" And when the Little Red-Haired Girl walks up to them, having just heard about the book report they were supposed to do, Linus tells her both what Charlie Brown did for her and how well-done it is. Unfortunately, right then is when the report is shredded by the model triplane that's been buzzing around, which Linus himself brought to school for show and tell, only for it to get away from him after Charlie Brown wound it up. And at the end of the movie, when Charlie Brown is confused as to why the girl would agree to be his partner for the Summer Pen-Pals assignment, Linus tells him, "It might be time to consider the 'wild' possibility that you're a good person, and that people like you." That's when Charlie Brown finally gets the courage to go talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl, and at the end of the movie, whenever is looking up for him, Linus notes, "It must feel pretty great being Charlie Brown right about now."

Of course, Lucy (voiced by Hadley Belle Miller) does little more than belittle and try to demoralize Charlie Brown every chance she gets. It starts right at the beginning, when he accidentally messes up her attempts to show off her skating skills, and she storms up to him and tells him, "Don't you ever know when to give up? You will never get that kite to fly. Why? Because you're Charlie Brown!" Also, as per usual, despite all her verbal and mental abuse, he then goes over to her psychiatric booth for advice on how to approach the Little Red-Haired Girl. After getting offended when he says that "pretty faces" make him nervous, yet he's never nervous around her, Lucy tells him, "Girls want someone with proven success," and proceeds to ask, "Have you won any awards? Like a Congressional Medal of Honor? Or a Nobel Peace Prize?... What are your real estate holdings? Do you have a diversified portfolio?" She then gives him a book, 10 Ways To Become A Winner, though she doubts he'll actually be able to make something of himself. Moreover, she actively tries to demoralize him at the talent show, though Snoopy's intervention stops her. And when Charlie Brown seems to get a perfect score, she's completely incredulous and sure that there's been some kind of mistake. While everyone else is either fawning over him or rushing to be his friend, Lucy is off to the side, ever the skeptic. Come the morning when he's to receive his medal, she tells him, "I hate to admit it, you blockhead, but public opinion leads me to believe that, after all these years, I may have been wrong about you. " She proceeds to grab and shake him, then pull her hair, exclaiming, "This is not been easy for me! My whole world has turned upside down!" Thus, she feels vindicated when he admits he's not the one with the perfect score, not that it kept her from buying and wearing one of his merchandised shirts beforehand. But, like everyone else, Lucy can't help but feel happy for him at the end, when he manages to talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl, even shedding a tear when the girl tells him why she likes him... and quickly wiping it away before anyone notices. She even goes as far as to personally congratulate him. However, that doesn't stop her from, once again, pulling the football trick on him in a mid-credits scene.

Lucy's other notable moments in the movie involve her, as usual, annoying Schroeder with her unwanted affections (she cheats in order to be his partner for the book report), and running afoul of Snoopy. Not only does she get mocked and licked by him backstage at the talent show, much to her usual disgust, but throughout the movie, she narrates his story about the World War I Flying Ace. Turns out, it's because she's reading the story once it's been completed, and after completing it, she sneers, "A dog that flies?! This is 

the dumbest thing I've ever read!" Not caring for that, Snoopy throws his typewriter at her, whacking her in the head with it. She then stomps back over, ready to pummel both him and Woodstock as they laugh at her, only for Snoopy to kiss her on the nose again, sending her running off in disgust, yelling about "dog germs." Notably, when Charlie Brown shows up at the classroom, and everyone else groans because they thought it was the new kid, Lucy actually waves at him and says, "Hey, Charlie Brown." And during the climax, Lucy, seeing that he's managing to fly the kite, gets excited and is the first to run after him, along with Pig-Pen.

Besides inexplicably getting the perfect score on the test (this was purely a fluke, as, like Charlie Brown, she quickly filled in the answers when she woke up with just one minute left), Peppermint Patty's (voiced by Venus Omega Schultheis) most significant moment in the story comes when Charlie Brown shows up where she's practicing her hockey skills, looking for Marcie (voiced by Rebecca Bloom). Wanting to know what the greatest book of all time is so he can do his book report on it, Peppermint Patty tells him about the long line of literary classics that Marcie was rattling off as possible choices for their own report. Unfortunately, she wasn't listening to half of what Marcie was saying, remembering some of the titles as Huckleberry Something and Catcher With a Pie, and according to Marcie herself, she thought Moby Dick was a hockey player. She tells Charlie Brown, "She said the greatest book of all time is Leo's Toy Store, by some old guy called Warren, uh Peace." He then goes to the library, where he runs into Marcie, and tells her what he's looking for. She knows immediately what's going on, and leads him over to a shelf where a copy of War and Peace is jutting out from the top. She also tries to get him to err on the side of caution about doing on a report on that book specifically, since he only has the weekend to both read it and write the report, but he, naturally, goes through with it.

A good number of supporting characters from the comic strip are here as well, like Violet (voiced by Madisyn Shipman) and Patty (voiced by Anastasia Bredikhina), who are almost always together, and are among those who immediately attach themselves to Charlie Brown when they think he's a genius. I don't know if this has been the case in the strip or any other adaptations, but Patty (who's a full-on blonde here, rather than a light brunette) actually has something of a crush on Pig-Pen (voiced by AJ Tecce). The two of

them even dance together at the Winter Dance, but when the fire sprinklers go off, washing away all of his dust and dirt, she asks, "Do I know you?" Frieda (voiced by Francesca Angelucci Capaldi) pops up here and there, often concerned with her curly hair, and right after Charlie Brown's supposed test score is unveiled, she asks if he's so intelligent that he's able to read her mind. Schroeder (voiced by Noah Johnston), as per usual, finds himself either aggravated by Lucy or focusing on playing his piano, including at the very beginning, where he plays the 

20th Century Fox fanfare beside the logo. Franklin (voiced by Marelik "Mar Mar" Walker) doesn't have much of a role, either, although he does get to show off his footwork at the dance, and is among the many who beg Charlie Brown for help when they think he's a genius. (Snoopy also randomly pops up in his bathtub while imagining he's the World War I Flying Ace in enemy territory.) Shermy (voiced by William "Alex" Wunsch) also makes very sporadic appearances, kind of like he does in the franchise overall.

One character, billed simply as "Little Kid" (voiced by Micah Revelli), initially seems like he's going to be completely ancillary. Shortly after Charlie Brown has first seen the Little Red-Haired Girl, and tried to talk to her, with disastrous results, he runs to the nurse's office. The Little Kid is in the waiting room, and when he nervously asks Charlie Brown, "What are you in for?", he goes into this very dramatic, overdone explanation of being in love, which freaks the kid out, gets him knocked offscreen, and prompts him to grab his backpack and run out. He shows up again in the middle of the movie, being among those following Charlie Brown when everyone thinks he's a genius. He's actually trying to walk in the footprints Charlie Brown left in the snow, literally, "Following in the footsteps of greatness." Much later, when Charlie Brown is at his lowest point, the kid is trying to fly a kite now that it's springtime, but isn't getting anywhere. He then asks Charlie Brown for assistance, and he gives the kid some advice that, much to his and Snoopy's surprise, not only works but works really well. Of course, when the kid offers to let Charlie Brown fly the kite himself, it gets away from him and the kid runs after it. But, as he goes, Charlie Brown yells for him not to give up, which inspires Snoopy to write the last chapter of his story. And the kids is among those following and cheering Charlie Brown on during the climax.

A number of Charles Schulz purists may not like that the Little Red-Haired Girl (voiced by Francesca Angelucci Capaldi) not only appears onscreen but actually speaks, talking directly to Charlie Brown a few times. However, she did appear onscreen in a couple of past specials (most notably in It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, where she was even given an actual name: Heather), and here, we don't get a clear look at her face until the final scene; beforehand, we only get fleeting, often obscured, glimpses, so Schulz's initial concept of her being an "unseen" symbol of unrequited love is upheld to some degree. In any case, while she doesn't have much character up until the third act, she is obviously aware of Charlie Brown's existence, despite what he thinks. Though he embarrasses himself while trying to tell her his name after she first comes to his class, she also witnesses every impressive and commendable thing he does: helping Sally at the talent show, strutting his stuff at the dance, and admitting that he isn't the one who got the perfect score. She also hears firsthand that he did a book report assignment for the both of them, and when said report gets destroyed, she softly says, "Good grief," before suggesting, "Maybe we can fix it," seeing how devastated he is. After all of his bad luck, Charlie Brown is sure she thinks of him as a failure and a loser, like just about everyone else. But then, she volunteers to be his partner in the Summer Pen-Pal assignment, much to his confusion. Upon finally getting the nerve to talk to her before she leaves for summer camp, he learns that she not only knows who he is, but that she's liked him from the beginning because of the type of person he is. She tells him, "I like the compassion you showed for your sister at the talent show. The honesty you had at the assembly. And at the dance, you were brave... and funny. And what you did for me, doing the book report while I was away, was so sweet of you. So when I look at you, I don't see a failure at all. You have all the qualities that I admire." Before she leaves, he finally manages to return her pencil and she, in turn, promises to write to him.

When I first saw The Peanuts Movie, I wasn't sure if it was done via CGI or stop-motion animation, as it has that sort of jittery, imperfect feel of the latter. It turns out that I was kind of right on both counts; while it was computer-generated, the actual animation was done in a fashion akin to stop-motion, as it felt better suited to translating Schulz's drawing style and character designs into 3-D, which was the filmmakers' biggest goal. And for my money, I think it came out as well as it possibly could, as when you watch this movie, it really feels as though they simply took the

art style from the comic strip and the animation from the past cartoons and brought them into the modern, 3-D world. With a few notable changes here and there, like Patty now being a blonde, and both Linus and Shermy's hair having more of a thickness to it, the characters look exactly the way they have in the past, and their animation quirks, like their mouth movements and how Snoopy and Woodstock's facial features, as well as Fifi's, are typically on the side of their heads, are faithfully retained. There are also

notable moments where characters' eyes go from tiny, dark pinpoints to wider and more detailed, often whenever something dramatic happens or when all you can see of their face are their eyes, like when their heads get covered in something. As for the animation itself, it isn't the absolute smoothest, and sometimes looks a tad bit herky-jerky, but it never feels cheap and, like I said, fits well with Schulz's style. It gets downright epic in the fantasy sequences with the World War I Flying Ace, particularly in the

final chapter, where he and an airplane squadron try to save Fifi. This leads into a huge battle up in the sky, with lots of triplanes, a huge, old-fashioned airship like the Hindenburg, a detailed backdrop of the clouds, mountains in the distance, and the ground down below, and amazing shots of Snoopy and Woodstock zooming through the clouds, engaging in aerial dogfights, Fifi attempting to escape the airship, only to nearly fall to her death several times, and so on. It honestly looks like something you'd expect to see in a Studio Ghibli film rather than anything associated with the Peanuts (which some reviewers have seen as a problem, which I'll address in a little bit).

The movie is just beautiful to look at all-around, with a bright and colorful visual style that makes even the most mundane settings, like the interiors of the homes and the kids' classroom, come off as very appealing. Since it's mostly set during the winter, there are a lot of blues and whites in the color palette, the former alternating between nice and light to very deep, and when it switches to springtime during the third act, there are a lot of bright greens as well. The scene at the school dance makes use of some pinkish-purple lights from the overhead spotlights, there's a similar

light for when Snoopy first gives Charlie Brown an idea of how to dance, a very lovely use of sunset backlighting for Fifi's introduction in Snoopy's story, and more uses of pink to visualize the Flying Ace's infatuation with her. And when Charlie Brown's report is destroyed, it becomes gray and overcast, signifying how he's just been dragged to the lowest depths as a result. The lighting effects in the movie are also awesome, nicely simulating the feeling of late afternoon on a cold winter's day, being in a dim room with the shades drawn, or late at night, where the only source of light is the lamp by your bedside.

The settings themselves are also absolutely immaculate and wonderfully-detailed, from the lovely wide shots of the town when it's covered in a blanket of snow (you get plenty of lovely, nighttime shots of the neighborhood when Snoopy is sneaking around), the frozen lake and the surrounding countryside, and its equally nice, bright green visage in the springtime, to the crowded summer fair during the climax, full of various colorful tents, game booths, a bouncing castle, and a train ride. As I said up above, the interiors of the kids' homes (the most of which we see

are the inside of Charlie Brown and Sally's house), the school classroom, the auditorium, the gym where they hold the dance, and such are all very pleasing to the eye, thanks to the movie's colorful aesthetic. One noteworthy setting is the public library, where the kids' reading section is brightly lit, while the larger, much more intimidating adult section, is more dimly lit. You also have the airfield and the breathtaking countrysides in Snoopy's story, as well as a beautiful recreation of Paris, including a sequence involving

the Eiffel Tower, and the war-torn territory during the sequence where the World War I Flying Ace finds himself stranded behind enemy lines, consisting of blockades on the battlefield, taverns, a freezing cold lake, and a suspension bridge whose underside he climbs along. And going back to Paris, you even see a French cafe during one of the mid-credits scenes. As I alluded to earlier, I've read some reviews where the sheer richness of the animation, settings, and backgrounds has been criticized, that it goes against Schulz's trademark simplicity. Honestly, even if that's true, I couldn't care less, as this movie is as much of a visual feast as it is entertaining and heartfelt.

Speaking of visuals, the movie sometimes becomes all the more stylized than it already is. There are moments where Charlie Brown thinks back to his past or imagines certain scenarios, and they're done in a black-and-white, hand-drawn style, which definitely evokes the spirit of Schulz's work. In fact, the movie begins with a blank, white screen, where a comic strip panel is drawn and filled in, before it transitions to the computer animation. And it ends with the last image transitioning back to a black-and-white drawing, along with the nice addition of Charles Schulz's 

signature. A way in which the strip's spirit is sometimes evoked is when Snoopy is working on his story, with the first few words appearing in text above him, as it often did there, and when he hurts himself while first messing with the typewriter, the background flashing multiple colors for a fraction of a second. Charlie Brown's explanation of love to the little kid is done with him floating up amid a bunch of hand-drawn hearts in the background, and similarly, when Snoopy introduces Fifi in his story, the transition is done through a series of hearts. In fact, 

the segues into that story tend to be quite stylish and colorful, particularly for the last chapter, where it goes from Snoopy to a very colorful image of the World War I Flying Ace, with starts and stripes coming right at the camera. Even the movie's opening and the ending credits are made interesting, with Schroeder playing along with the 20th Century Fox fanfare on his piano at the foot of the logo, and various animations of the characters accompanying the latter, not to mention the scenes that pop up in-

between the credits themselves. But I think my favorite is how, as the ending credits roll, you see various panels from the comic strip, both scrolling up along with the credits and in the background, and when combined with the feel-good Meghan Trainor song that plays over it, it comes off as a nice tribute to Schulz's life and legacy.

Like with most of the Peanuts specials and movies of the past, The Peanuts Movie is kept very timeless, as there are no hints at any contemporary technology or pop-culture references. There are no computers, cellphones, modern TV sets, or video games to be found here; rather, Snoopy, like before, messes around with a typewriter, Charlie Brown does his schoolwork with paper and pencil, their house phones are old rotaries, and Lucy only charges five cents at her psychiatric booth. Really, the only modern influences are the use of a couple of Meghan Trainor

songs and the like on the soundtrack, and I have heard some criticisms about that. However, not only will I say right here that I do like those songs, but I also don't think they're as egregious or instantly dating like the contemporary musical touches on some past Peanuts specials, like It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown and It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown. And like everyone else, I think the lack of any modern touches on the story and setting helps with that timelessness, which is when I think the Peanuts works the best.

There are many references to the Peanuts' history to be found throughout the movie. Not only is the main plot about Charlie Brown's infatuation with the Little Red-Haired Girl something we've seen before, but him doing a book report on Wat and Peace (Charles Schulz's favorite book) was part of the story for Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, and also originated from a comic story. Snoopy's fantasies about the World War I Flying Ace certainly aren't new, either, and when he's scrambling around through "enemy territory," it's akin to a similar section of It's

the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, with some similar beats and imagery (there's a shot with a huge full moon in the background that is very similar to that cartoon). Speaking of which, Linus, at one point, says that he hopes the new kid in the neighborhood will, "Have an open mind about the Great Pumpkin." There are also allusions to A Charlie Brown Christmas, like the kids skating around on the frozen lake at the beginning, the animation of Charlie Brown's skinny little Christmas tree drooping over from one ornament, many of the kids dancing in the same way 

they were at the play rehearsal in that special, a choir of kids singing Christmas Time Is Here in one scene (they use the actual recording from that special), and some lines of dialogue that are taken from it either verbatim or modified. Backstage at the talent show, Snoopy annoys Lucy by mocking her, she threatens to slug him, he licks her, and she runs around in a panic, yelling, "Ugh! I've been kissed by a dog! I have dog germs! Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!" And when Charlie Brown is fretting 

about having the Little Red-Haired Girl as his book report partner, Linus tells him, "Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can turn a book report into a lifelong commitment," similar to something he tells him at the beginning of that special. We also see Snoopy as Joe Cool at the scene at the dance, his attempting to go to school has been seen before; you see his family in the mid-credits scene at the French cafe; Charlie Brown gets knocked out of his clothes

on the pitcher's mound while trying to catch a returning ball; he, rather stupidly, goes to Lucy for psychiatric consultation; he and Linus stand at the brick wall, talking to each other, near the end; no adults appear onscreen, and their off-camera "speech" is that familiar "wa, wa, wa" trombone sound; and one of the mid-credits scenes is the football gag with Charlie Brown and Lucy. I'm sure there are many others I'm forgetting, including some Easter eggs that only the most diehard fans would pick up on.

I think some may see all this as another strike against the movie: it's way too familiar and doesn't do much new. I won't deny that there is, indeed, very little here that isn't old territory, not just in terms of all those references but, again, in the overall story, with the only differences being the specifics. But, let's face it, we've seen many of the past specials and movies recycle gags, plot-points, and overall story-lines over and over again, so it's not like this movie is unprecedented in that regard. All I care about is if it recycles everything in a well-done, entertaining

manner, and I think it does it in spades. But, there are two criticisms that were leveled at the movie at the time of its release that I specifically want to address. One was by Joe McGovern of Entertainment Weekly, who wrote that it, "Shrivel[s] the great melancholy that's so key to the comic's endurance," and the other by Vadim Rizov of Filmmaker Magazine, who flat-out said that it, "Completely trashes the spirit of the strip." Basically what they mean is that, as opposed to the much more mellow and somewhat depressing tone of the strip and many of the past cartoons, The

Peanuts Movie is bright, colorful, and fast-paced, and its depiction of Charlie Brown is not nearly as down-trodden and unlucky as we've seen before. It is true that, if this were a more faithful adaptation, many of the kids would be crueler to Charlie Brown, things would blow up in his face more severely, and the ending would, at the most, be bitter-sweet. But I'm not only perfectly fine with the direction the movie took, but glad for it. If you've read my various reviews of the Peanuts cartoons, you'll know that, as

much as I enjoy this franchise and respect Charles Schulz's work and legacy, sometimes things get so mean-spirited, unfair, and hopeless as far as Charlie Brown is concerned (You're in Love, Charlie Brown, Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, and especially It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown come to mind) that it's rather hard to watch. And as I've mentioned, some of the characters, including Snoopy, may have been much less likable in the past, to the point of being borderline loathsome. Here, while

Charlie Brown does still go through a lot of hurdles and hits a pretty low point during the third act, it doesn't get to where you're half-expecting the poor kid to hang himself; rather, this depiction of his determination and "keep on trying" attitude, despite so many obstacles, is not only inspiring but just makes for a more enjoyable, uplifting watch. And while it's nice that the franchise is still under the control of the Schulz family, I have no problem with them easing back on the melancholia and making this much more of a feel-good movie, which they've continued doing with the Apple TV+ shows and specials.

If I did have one concern about The Peanuts Movie, it was how they were going to handle the humor. Having seen enough clips from past Blue Sky movies to know that they tended to go for that annoying modern approach to humor in family movies, where they would try really hard to come of as witty and contemporary with the jokes and gags in order to appeal to adults as well, I was a bit worried. But when I saw it in the theater, I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. Not only were there no obnoxious modern references or those aforementioned, cringe

attempts at wit, but the movie also never resorted to juvenile fart and crap jokes, or any kind of gross-out humor; rather, it stayed with the type of humor that's always worked best with these characters. For instance, we have laughs that come about from how socially awkward and clumsy Charlie Brown is, like his fumbling around while getting dressed at the beginning; failing to fly a kite, despite there technically being no Kite-Eating Tree to trip him up; losing at his attempts at pitching practice, even though his "opponents" are just snowmen; knocking

over the fence around the baseball field when he and the others are watching the Little Red-Haired Girl move in (this after he just got through saying that he hopes she could make for a clean slate as far as his reputation goes); accidentally calling himself "Brown Charlie" and "Barney Clown" while trying to introduce himself to her; just how shy and wishy-washy he is when trying to talk to her in general; his clumsily dancing with a broom and then doing the Chicken Dance when Snoopy first tries to show him

him how to dance; humiliating himself in class when his imagination gets away from him when he fantasizes about him and the Little Red-Haired Girl getting a good grade on their book report; and his befuddled reactions to the surge in his popularity when he appears to get a perfect score. 

By extension, a lot of humor is derived from the characters' personality quirks, exemplified right at the beginning in how each of them reacts to being woken up: Marcie gently turns her alarm clock off, Peppermint Patty smashes hers with a hockey stick, Schroeder goes to turn his off but, since it's playing Beethoven, he instead sits back and happily listens to it, and Lucy wakes Linus up herself, yanking his blanket out of his hands and flipping him in the air. Over the course of the movie, the character who gets the most traction in this manner is Lucy, who 

becomes angry when Charlie Brown suggests she's not pretty enough to make him nervous, later becomes jealous and incredulous over his surge in popularity, faces a potential existential crisis when she considers that she may have been wrong about him, and feels vindicated when he admits he didn't get the perfect score, only to shrink down in embarrassment upon remembering that she's wearing one of the shirts based on his. Other examples include Peppermint Patty falling asleep in class and Marcie having to wake her up, the latter quickly filling in her test when 

she's down to just one minute left by bubbling in a smiley face pattern on it (which, by some fluke, gives her the perfect score), and mishearing Marcie's suggestions for classic books, leading Charlie Brown to check out War and Peace; Marcie's intelligence clashing with Peppermint Patty's laziness and disinterest, her foreknowledge of what an undertaking it would be for Charlie Brown to read and do a report on War and Peace, and a moment where Snoopy mistakes her glasses for binoculars; Linus trying to 

stave off the standardized test by making an impassioned speech about its supposed merits to the teacher,  to be cut off before he can even really get started (Schroeder adds appropriate musical accompaniment to both parts of this moment); Pig-Pen's dirtiness, to the point where Patty doesn't recognize him when the fire sprinklers wash away his dirt and dust at the dance; Frieda's concern over her curly hair being frizzed; and Sally not only being 

precocious but literally cashing in on her brother's sudden popularity. Going back to Charlie Brown, there's definitely humor to be found in his sheer determination to read War and Peace over the course of a weekend, to where he spends literally every waking hour doing so, no matter whether he's eating, bathing, or brushing his teeth, as well as the extreme detail and lengths he goes to in writing his report.

Naturally, there's a lot of humor to be had from Snoopy's shenanigans, like when he's helping Charlie Brown with his pitching, strikes him out while playing as part of the "opposing team," then when he's caught, goes back to acting as Charlie Brown's batter and being angry that they just lost. Also, he tries to get into the school, first by disguising himself as a kid, then trying to get into the window, and finally sneaking in through the ceiling Mission: Impossible style, only to get his finger caught in a binder and be literally thrown out into the dumpster 

by Lucy. That's where he finds the  typewriter he uses to write his story, which leads to moments like where he gets his finger caught in it, the same happening to Woodstock, and the two of them arguing about the direction of Snoopy's story. Others include when Snoopy joins Charlie Brown in following the instructions in 10 Ways To Become A Winner, which leads to a sudden staring contest between them; his part in Charlie Brown's intended magic act in the talent show; the moment where he does this impressive salsa dance bit as Bamboleo plays on the

soundtrack; a random one where, after Charlie Brown has been in the refrigerator while reading War and Peace, Snoopy squirts some mustard into his mouth; and when he's roaming around the neighborhood, imagining he's the World War I Flying Ace stranded behind enemy lines. After he imagines braving every possible type of harsh terrain (freezing cold, harsh winds, hailstorms, pouring rain, and even a sweltering desert), the other kids get caught up in his fantasy: he uses Marcie's glasses as binoculars, walks into a

"tavern" that turns out to be Schroeder's house, finds himself in Franklin's bathtub after falling into a "pond," and crawls across the Christmas lights outside of Peppermint Patty's home while imagining he's doing so on the underside of a bridge. The funniest part is when he tries to hide among the "populace" by knocking one kid out and taking his place among a choir singing Christmas Time Is Here, before belting out his own, horrendous version of it and then slinking off. (That part, no joke, made me burst out laughing in the theater.)

And when all else fails, you can't go wrong with full-on slapstick or overtly cartoonish humor. As I've already said, Charlie Brown has more than his fair share of clumsy moments, including when he slips on a puddle of spilled punch at the dance, everything slows down, and his shoe flies up and hits the fire sprinkler on the ceiling, sending everyone running out of the building. When he, Snoop, and Woodstock prepare for his magician's act at the talent show, there are moments where Snoopy accidentally paints Woodstock up against the side of a cardboard box;

Charlie Brown attempts the tablecloth trick, which, of course, doesn't work; he comes close to accidentally skewering Snoopy while shoving swords into a box the latter is standing in; the two of them practice the levitating body trick, only for Snoopy to reveal how it was done when he walks away; Charlie Brown tries the tablecloth trick again, only to yank the table itself out from under the kitchenware this time; and him and Snoopy practice the mixed up cabinet trick, which, as you can see, Snoopy takes to cartoonish 

extremes. Similarly, things really get out of hand when Charlie Brown opts to help Sally out at the talent show, which I'll expound upon shortly. And when Linus' model triplane gets away from him in the classroom, it wreaks havoc as it flies around, messing up Frieda's, splattering Lucy with paint, and knocking Snoopy off the exterior windowsill when Marcie opens the window to let the plane fly out. From then on, the plane becomes a running gag, showing up here and there, kind of like a gag I saw in one particular Road Runner cartoon (at the end of the credits, it finally peters out and drops into a pond).

The movie also has more than its fair share of fast-paced, energetic sequences, including at the very beginning, when Charlie Brown attempts to fly his kite. He manages to get it up into the air, but when he heads towards the frozen lake, his legs get tangled up in the string, he tumbles down the hill, and slides across the ice, momentarily stopping in front of Linus. The kite continues on, dragging Charlie Brown across the lake and sending other kids running for cover. He slams into the back of a hockey net, carries 

it with him, and it acts like a plow, scooping up Schroeder and some other kids along the way, before it gets flung off to the side. Charlie Brown gets dragged further, knocking Lucy off her feet while she's showing off her skating skills, and the kite, ironically, gets snagged up in the snow-covered Kite-Eating Tree, leaving Charlie Brown hanging upside down from it. After he's harshly admonished by Lucy, Linus encourages him not to give up, when Snoopy grabs his blanket and runs off, dragging him with it. Like Charlie Brown and the hockey net, Snoopy and 

Linus start picking up other kids, starting with Sally, whom Linus promptly flings into a snowbank, along with the Valentine hearts that appear in midair around her, when she nuzzles against him, calling him her "sweet baboo." Before long, he's dragging Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Franklin, Frieda, Schroeder, Lucy, and Pig-Pen (who literally got yanked out of his dirt and dust), in that order. They jump over Woodstock while he's driving a miniature Zamboni on the ice, but he ends up holding Snoopy's hand and joins the ride. Snoopy then spins them all in a circle and sends them flying.

The first fantasy sequence about the World War I Flying Ace has him chasing the Red Baron through a sky filled with storm clouds, pelting rain, and lightning. As I mentioned earlier, these sequences are quite amazing in animation and scope, with the Red Baron here doing a flip in the air and flying back over the Flying Ace; the chase continuing over, down the side of, and under a large, suspended bridge; the two of them skimming across the surface of a small river; the Red Baron managing to get behind the Flying Ace

and fire on him; and the Flying Ace skidding across the river and getting water flung up into his mouth. When he falls off his "plane," i.e. Snoopy's doghouse, he gets knocked back into reality. Woodstock laughs at Snoopy, only for a flash of lightning held over from the fantasy to send him running for cover. Shortly afterward is when Snoopy comes up with the idea of the Flying Ace meeting Fifi, whom he instantly falls for. When she sees that her plane is slightly damaged, he offers to fix it, pointing at his own plane, which is 

revealed to be a pile of junk at the moment. Horrified, he glares at Woodstock, who, in turn, yells at his, subordinates, who are sitting around, playing cards, to get to work fixing it. They move in with their tools (though one of them has trouble carrying the heavy things) and repairs the Flying Ace's plane, but when he then walks towards it from behind, it backfires exhaust right at him, leaving him black with soot. Woodstock wipes down his goggles, while Fifi, in turn, shows that she's more than capable of fixing her plane herself, and walks away confidently. 

Woodstock angrily admonishes his subordinates, with the one bird at the back of the line getting the brunt of it. Fifi flies off, with the Flying Ace failing to give her a makeshift bouquet of flowers he picked, much to his chagrin. That's when Woodstock makes his displeasure about this romance angle known, as he yells, "Yuck!", and kicks away the heart-shaped clouds that Fifi left in her wake. Back in reality, Snoopy, who actually has picked some flowers, shoves them in Woodstock's face in response to his criticisms.

Come the night of the talent show, all of the kids are amazed when Charlie Brown and Snoopy show up, preparing for their magic act. One kid who's doing a mime act breaks character by going "ooh," then immediately mimes zipping his lip. As Charlie Brown waits for his turn, we get a look at some of the other acts as they return backstage: one poor kid was tied to a large bullseye while another shot arrows at him, and Peppermint Patty performed her karate with Marcie's assistance, the latter returning backstage not looking

too good (she tells Charlie Brown, "Treat your assistant kindly, Charles,"). After that, it's Sally's turn, but her attempt at a rodeo very quickly begins to literally fall apart. When he learns of this, Charlie Brown decides to sacrifice his act to help her, and tells Snoopy of it. He goes out there, dressed as a bull, and whispers for Sally to lasso him. Getting the idea, she then jumps on Snoopy in order to ride him like a horse (nearly breaking his back in the process) and chases her brother all over the stage. They run

backstage, causing one kid to accidentally pull the curtain up, revealing what everyone else is doing back there. Naturally, they get caught up in the mayhem: Peppermint Patty is still practicing her karate, only for Marcie to throw her over her shoulder to keep her from getting trampled, Schroeder yanks his beloved piano out from under Lucy for the same reason, and there's  lots of other chaos, including a big house of cards getting knocked over, a girl on a high-wire getting knocked up into a light, which zaps her hairdo in a huge, frizzy mess, and Pig-Pen getting knocked

off his feet. Also, the mime kid decides to drop the act, mimes unzipping his mouth, and yells in terror. In the end, Charlie Brown is lassoed and suspended from a rope, and while he does feel good about having helped Sally, who gets cheers and a bunch of flowers thrown at her feet, he falls out of his disguise just as a kid with a camera in the audience snaps his picture. Much to his humiliation, it ends up on the front page of the school paper, with the embarrassing headline, "MOOOOO!"

When Charlie Brown opts to learn how to dance, it starts out simple, with him practicing at home and at school, then he moves on to the more advanced stuff, with Snoopy's help. As he gets better at it, he has one of his fantasies, where he imagines doing well at the Winter Dance and getting to dance with the Little Red-Haired Girl... who turns into Snoopy when he dips her down. Going back to reality, it turns out that he really did dance and dip Snoopy, who's wearing a mop on his head. He gets him out of the room by 

telling him that he left some cookies in his food bowl, and continues practicing by himself. Come the night of the dance, no one is actually dancing at first, until Sally decides to get the ball rolling by dragging Linus onto the floor by his blanket, which he gets wrapped up and flung around in. However, it's enough to break the ice, and all the other kids promptly start dancing. When Charlie Brown and Snoopy arrive, they're followed by Peppermint Patty and Marcie, who carry in a big bowl of punch. Excited at the sight of 

everyone, the former runs off, leaving Marcie struggling with the bowl. Charlie Brown is good enough to help her with it, taking it for her, but when she walks away, leaving him holding it, he finds that his shirt got snagged in the door. That's when the dance contest starts, with all of the girls showing off their moves, though the Little Red-Haired Girl is the one who comes out on top, with some twirling, ballet-like jumps and spins. Next, it's the guys' turn, and Charlie Brown struggles to pull himself free from the door without spilling the punch. Snoopy, dressed as 

Joe Cool, opens the door behind him and knocks him loose, sending him offscreen. He didn't seem to spill any punch or break anything, and after several of the guys, including Snoopy, show off their moves, he's the next one up. Again, while he does quite well, thanks to the dance lessons, disaster strikes when he accidentally causes one of the fire sprinklers to go off, prompting everyone to evacuate.

There's another World War I Flying Ace segment here, as he comes across Fifi while she's flying through a valley, and tries to impress her with his moves. As they're flying parallel to each other just above a small village, Fifi decides to take his picture, motioning for him to smile. He does, but makes a bunch of goofy faces each time she takes a shot. And because he's not watching where he's going, he flies right through a barn, accompanied by clanging and various animal sounds. Fifi cringes at this, but when

he comes out the other side, she sees that he simply has some hay on his head, making her giggle. They fly back up into the sky, where Fifi takes a piece of cloud and blows it at him in the shape of a heart. The Flying Ace, in turn, again tries to present her with a makeshift bouquet, only for the Red Baron to come flying in, shoot the flowers out of his hand, and zoom between him and Fifi. The Flying Ace promptly turns around to give chase, only for the Red Baron to head down, then turn back around and fly at Fifi. He 

shoots at the Red Baron (or, at least, Snoopy mimes like he's firing his guns), but the Red Baron, in turn, destroys one of Fifi's wings, forcing her to bail out. After she pops her chute, the Flying Ace goes to pick her up, only for the Red Baron to come back around and head towards her again. He grabs and flies off with her right as she and the Flying Ace reach for each other. Enraged, the Flying Ace turns around and gives chase, as the Red Baron flies towards a huge suspension bridge while a train is crossing it. The Flying Ace gets really close to the Red Baron's tail, 

where Fifi is, and reaches out for her, only for the plane to make a steep dive, getting in front of the train and heading through a tunnel going into the mountain. The Flying Ace, on the other hand, has no room to follow and is about to crash into the side of the mountain just above the tunnel, when Snoopy snaps out of his fantasy due to the vivid terror of that image (and also because Woodstock yanks the paper out of his typewriter).

After being mistaken for a genius, Charlie Brown ends up giving a lot of advice that, in one way or another, seems to confirm that he's a genius. When Violet and Patty come to him for advice about what to do for their book report, he suggests an old comic book called Spark Plug; in art class, while trying to make something out of a wire, he makes a vague squiggle, which the other kids take for a brilliant example of modern art (except Lucy, who asks, "Have you all lost your minds?"); Peppermint Patty can't get

through a door but Charlie Brown goes through it no problem, because he opens it the correct way; he manages to get a hockey puck into a goal net by sheer dumb luck; and he fixes some seemingly dead Christmas lights by simply tightening up one bulb that was a little loose. He then finds Sally cashing in on his success, Snoopy and Woodstock acting as his "agents" when a bunch of kids ask for his autograph, Sally brings him to school for show and tell, and everyone starts wearing clothes with his shirt's color

patterns, which really annoys Lucy. Later, after checking War and Peace out from the library, the enormous book's weight on his sled drags Charlie Brown down the steps, sends him skidding down a snowy hill (where Snoopy, who seems to be sledding in his dog dish while reading a book at the same time, pushes the book back towards him when it gets away), and then along a frozen creek. He and the book fly up into the air when they hit a snowdrift, and while he catches it in midair, he crashes through a house where a kid's birthday party is being held (he

yells, "Happy birthday!", and some kid says in response, "Who invited him?"), and finally winds up at his house. He finds that he ended up with a present on the sleigh in front of him, but when he looks back, the book comes flying in and flings him into the house, where he lands on a chair in the living room, while the book ends up on the table in front of the chair.

The toy triplane destroying Charlie Brown's book report leads into another World War I Flying Ace segment, where the alarm at his airstrip is sounded when the Red Baron's plane appears overhead. Spotting him when he then disappears over the horizon, the Flying Ace gives chase. Another squadron of planes attempts to join him, but Woodstock's subordinates mess up yet again. They're about to untie the last plane from a stake in the ground, but the bird who removes it unknowingly throws the rope's loop over another stake. That plane

tries to lift off, only for the rope to hold taut, causing it to swing around on the ground and hit the others in front of it, resulting in a big pileup. Woodstock is aghast at this, and when he glares at the other birds, they all single out the one who did it (he had it coming, too, because he insisted they let him do it). Meanwhile, the Flying Ace chases the Red Baron above and through the Paris skyline, the two of them going straight up the side of the Eiffel Tower. The Red Baron rains oil down on the Flying Ace, and after he cleans off his goggles, he sees the Red Baron head

back down across from him. Even worse, the Flying Ace's plane starts to give out and he momentarily finds himself stranded atop the very tip of the tower, prompting him to yell, "Yipe!" He manages to get himself unstuck, only to go tumbling back down the side and pulling up away from the ground below at the last minute. He flies back into the clouds, as it begins to get dark, and he soon realizes when he sees a bunch of German airships around him that he's in enemy territory. He manages to catch up to the Red

Baron, but the air raid alarm is sounded, enemy planes take to the air, and a spotlight is put on him. This leads into a funny bit of business where he tries to evade it in various cartoony ways, like doing a flip inside it, swerving to get out of it, pulling the shade down on it like a window, and disguising himself and pointing it another direction, before it realizes it's been tricked and spots him trying to tiptoe away down below. In his mad dash to escape, he spots where Fifi is being held prisoner, but before he can do anything,

he has to avoid the Red Baron again. He manages to do a flip over and apparently lose him, only for the Red Baron to come back in and shoot his plane. The Flying Ace seems to accept his fate and goes down with a salute, but in the next scene, he peeks out from behind his plane's wreckage on the ground. He sees Fifi being forced onto a huge blimp airship, and though he tries to get his plane up and running again, it falls apart. He then has to strike out on foot in order to avoid being spotted.

The final of these segments has the Flying Ace leading a squadron of other planes to rescue Fifi. It turns into a full-on air battle in the clouds, with the Red Baron shooting down several of the good guys, while the Flying Ace spots Fifi being held in a small aircraft attached to the main blimp's underside. After Woodstock, acting as his copilot, fixes some kinks in the plane, the Flying Ace finds himself chased by a bogey. Fifi takes that plane down herself by throwing her chair out the window, after which it hits the plane's wings, sending it spinning wildly through the

air. It ends up taking out some of this other aircraft's support cables, and the Flying Ace comes in to try to get Fifi off it. Before she can climb onto his plane with him, the Red Baron comes flying in, shooting his machine guns and forcing the Flying Ace to retreat. After he climbs higher, another plane, this one flown by Woodstock's subordinates, appear alongside him. The Flying Ace gives a series of complicated signals, and though they all initially seem confused as to what he means, one of them seems to get it. They then fly off to the side, and when the Flying Ace and 

Woodstock see the Red Baron, they bait him into chasing them. When he does and gets into position not to far behind him, the birds' plane goes up above him, hangs upside down ahead of him, and they then throw a bunch of junk in his way. Woodstock himself takes to the air, flies through the junk towards the Red Baron's plane, and jams a screwdriver into one of his flaps. At the same time, the one bird who often makes things worse gets carried away with throwing things and tears out the plane's gearshift. The others gasp at 

this and proceed to whack him with their caps, as their plane plummets downward. They crash through a cake shop's storefront window, and then find themselves as decorations on a wedding cake. (One of them ends up in place of the groom doll, but then realizes that the bride has Lucy's face!) Up in the sky, Woodstock continues sabotaging the Red Baron's plane by loosening screws, ripping through the wings, and such. However, he ends up falling with a piece of it, much to the Flying Ace's horror, but Woodstock then remembers that he himself can fly and flutters back up. 

The Red Baron's plane sputters and heads down, with the Flying Ace in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Fifi manages to climb out on top of the smaller aircraft, but when it buckles and slumps over, she slips and falls down along the angled wing. She catches a rope and is flung over towards a spinning propeller, which she attempts to climb away from. The Flying Ace has the Red Baron in his sights, when he hears and then sees the craft breaking loose from underneath the blimp. The wing breaks loose and Fifi then drops towards the ground miles below. The Flying Ace

quickly whirls around and dives after her, managing to catch her right before she splashes down into a small lake, which the blimp itself does. They pull back up into the air and pick up Woodstock, whose little wings are really tired. They then look down to see the Red Baron retreating and head back to their base, along with the rest of their squadron. Even the other birds return, their plane covered with chunks of wedding cake and frosting, and they all celebrate,

which is where this section of the movie finally ends. As well done as it is, I think all this detail shows that the movie does spend a little too much time on it. To be honest, this could've easily been its own movie, and might've worked better as such.

During the climax, when Charlie Brown attempts to find and talk with the Little Red-Haired Girl before she leaves for summer camp, he runs into one obstacle after another when he cuts through the summer fair. He gets snagged up in a pair of jump-ropes that Violet, Patty, and Frieda are using; he runs through some booths where people are tossing balls in order to win prizes, getting hit in the arm by a baseball that Sally throws, and then gets water squirted in his mouth while running through a booth where kids are using water-guns to fill up balloons; 

he gets flung around inside a bouncing castle, and is bounced into a high striker game, unwillingly managing to win the big prize for the kid who was about to try it; and he jumps into what initially appears to be a fast-moving train ride, only for the thing to barely move. Yelling in aggravation, he runs through a spinning tunnel, gets flung into a hall of mirrors, and when he gets out of there, he has a clear path to reach the bus stop... when an ice cream truck shows up and a bunch of kids crowd the exit to the park. Discouraged, as it seems like everything is out 

to make him fail, he asks for some help from any kind of higher power, and then hopelessly bonks his head against a tree. He knocks a kite loose and tries to kick it away in frustration, but gets tangled up in its string and yanked along. It carries him up and over the ice cream truck, and he runs down the street with it, trying to get himself loose. As he goes, he draws an ever-increasing crowd of onlookers, including not only Snoopy and Woodstock, but even Lucy, who are amazed that he's actually flying a kite, and cheer him 

on. When they get over the hill, Charlie Brown trips and loses his grip on the kite, but it drifts down to the ground, slides across, and gently pokes the Little Red-Haired Girl, just as she's about to climb onboard the bus. That leads into the really nice, happy ending.

Since none of the Peanuts movies of the past really featured any of the classic Vince Guaraldi music (including the first one, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which Guaraldi did work on, with some of his themes being heavily augmented for theaters), it's nice to hear them on this soundtrack. Not only do you hear the original version of "Linus and Lucy" from A Charlie Brown Christmas, which plays when Snoopy is dragging a bunch of the kids along on the frozen lake, but also the theme called "Skating," which you hear when the movie begin, as well as at one point during the ending credits, and Christmas Time Is Here during that scene with Snoopy. In addition, David Benoit, who'd worked on a number of Peanuts TV specials since the 80's, came up with some new versions of the classic themes, including a nice remake of Linus and Lucy that sounds a bit bigger and more energetic than the original. The score's original music was the work of Christophe Beck, whose work at that point included Big Fat Liar, Cheaper by the Dozen, the Steve Martin Pink Panther movies, the live action Garfield movies, all three of the Hangover movies, and Disney's Frozen. He provided just the right sound, coming up with a touching, soft piano piece for when Charlie Brown is feeling down and his moments with the Little Red-Haired Girl, some inspirational music when he's attempting to do his best no matter what, and full-on high adventure for the World War I Flying Ace segments, as well as a romantic leitmotif for Fifi.

While some of the songs on the soundtrack are sometimes criticized for being too modern, I've always liked their placement here, like Flo Rida's That's What I Like during the montage about Charlie Brown's skyrocketing popularity (I also remember that song being featured in the marketing) and the little bit of Bamboleo for when Snoopy shows him how he should dance. The most notable songs are the two by Meghan Trainor, both of which I really like. Better When I'm Dancin' is a nice, catchy, energetic tune that works well for the montage of Charlie Brown learning to dance, and when he gets to show off at the Winter Dance before things go south, while, as I said, the use of Good to Be Alive during the ending credits, with all those images from the comic strip, genuinely makes me smile, as it feels like the filmmakers are celebrating Charles Schulz and the legacy of what he managed to create.

It may have taken a long time for The Peanuts Movie to get made, but I think the wait was more than worth it, as this is just wonderful. The movie is a visual feast, with bright, gorgeous colors, well done settings and backgrounds, and a type of animation that fits well with Charles Schulz's iconic art style; it's also nicely and memorably stylized at various points; the characters are all very likable, some of them more so than they've been before; the movie manages to be quite funny without becoming juvenile or crude; the music and soundtrack are just as delightful as the movie itself, making use of Vince Guaraldi's iconic pieces while incorporating some new music and songs; and, at the end of the day, it's just a movie that makes you feel really good. Other than it maybe spending too much time on Snoopy's World War I Flying Ace fantasies, I have no qualms with it. Some may argue that it doesn't capture the more melancholic feel of the comic strip and the past specials, as well as that the amazing animation itself clashes with Schulz's simple art style and storytelling, and that there's nothing that original about its story, gags, and plot-points, with numerous references to the franchise's past, but I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best things to have the Peanuts name on it, and I always look back fondly on it.