Based on Charles M. Schulz’s successful daily cartoon strip and incorporating elements from the TV specials, The Peanuts Movie captures the simplicity and wonder of childhood anxiety, neurosis, and imagination. Broken into chapters, The Peanuts Movie follows Charlie Brown as he tries to fly a kite, kick Lucy’s football, get through a day without making a blockhead of himself, and, hopefully, someday, say hello to the Little Red-Haired Girl across the street. Along the way, Chuck is accompanied by his friends (Linus, Peppermint Patty, Sally), his foes (the great and powerful Lucy van Pelt), and his every trusty dog, Snoopy—who always manages to steal the show.

Anyone who has read a Peanuts comic strip, watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, or purchased a Red Barron frozen pizza while dreaming of the World War I Flying Ace will recognize every moment in The Peanuts Movie. This is a labor of love, not subversion, from screenwriters Cornelius Uliano and Craig and Brian Schulz (the creator’s son and grandson). There is money to be made with Peanuts material and merchandising, but these writers, along with director Steve Martino, know that the success of Peanuts comes not from exploitation but from the care Schulz gave his characters. For Schulz, life is the threads of pessimism wrapped inside a beating heart of kindness. That sensibility imbues every frame, every image, and every line in the film.

Using computer-generated graphics, The Peanuts Movie uses the familiar flat, almost two-dimensional design for the characters—which looks quite good in 3D—with images from Schulz’s strips incorporated into the character’s thought bubbles. But the scene-stealers belong to Snoopy’s fantasies as the World War I Flying Ace rescuing a captured pilot, Fifi, from the dreaded Red Barron. In these spectacular scenes of chase, the backgrounds are lush with a painterly quality, making the image of a cartoon dog flying a red doghouse all the more enjoyable.

The result is a symphony of pleasantries. The Peanuts Movie eschews conflict, antagonism, and despair, choosing instead to wrap its audience in the warmth of Linus’ security blanket. It’s a welcome feeling, and it’s just the sort of movie that Inside Out’s Joy would love to put on repeat for Riley. Of course, Inside Out was a not-so-gentle reminder that life does not rely on joy alone, but sadness, anger, fear, and disgust as well. However, we don’t need to be sad all the time. We can allow ourselves a little bit of that saccharine joy now and then. For those moments, we have Charlie Brown and his gang, along with the music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio. We have The Peanuts Movie.

The Peanuts Movie (2015)
Directed by Steve Martino
Screenplay by Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, Cornelius Uliano
Based on characters by Charles M. Schulz
Produced by Paul Feig, Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, Michael J. Travers, Cornelius Uliano
Voices: Rebecca Bloom, Bill Melendez, Anastasia Bredikhina, Francesca Capaldi, Kristin Chenoweth, Hadley Belle Miller, Noah Schnapp
20th Century Fox Animation, Rated G, Running time 88 minutes, Released Nov. 6, 2015

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The above review first appeared in the pages of Boulder Weekly, Vol. 23, No. 15, “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”