The art of being Charlie Brown

Snoopy and Charlie Brown in "The Peanuts Movie." Image courtesy 20th Century Fox.

Of all the wonderful things the “Peanuts” comics brought to life, it was the exploration of childhood as a deep state of being filled to the brim with love, anger, fear, confusion and sadness. The central figure, Good Ol’ Charlie Brown, was prone to contemplating his existence and consider just how lonely he is as a child surrounded by other children who seem to have it all together, even if they didn’t. But he also found happiness where he could, whether it was via a simple game of baseball or attempts to finally fly that kite; those efforts almost always ended in disaster, but the failure never stopped Charlie Brown from trying.

There’s a lot of soul in those comic strips and a few of the TV specials – “A Charlie Brown Christmas” being the best example – which “The Peanuts Movie” doesn’t quite have. Yet the new film has the comic strip’s ability to provide comfort and happiness, a reminder that the little successes are what make childhood tolerable and often memorable. Watching it is a joyful experience, and there’s very much a place in the world for a film that provides joy.

“The Peanuts Movie” kicks off with perhaps one of the best moments of childhood; an unexpected snow day in which the kids across the neighborhood take advantage of the free day by venturing outside for a day of skating, hockey, and other winter activities. At least everyone except Charlie Brown (voiced by Noah Schnapp), who tries to fly his kite while the kite-eating tree is snow covered. The attempt is gloriously unsuccessful and draws the ire of the stentorian Lucy (Hadley Belle Miller) and annoys everyone else, as is the case with anything Charlie Brown does.

The frustration ends shortly thereafter once a new girl moves to the snow-covered neighborhood, the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) who becomes Charlie Brown’s first crush. The rest of the film is, in effect, Charlie Brown's attempts to woo the new girl through the rest of the school year, engaging in acts of silliness with sister Sally (Mariel Sheets), best friend Linus (Alexander Garfin), the musical genius Schroeder (Noah Johnston), the athletic Peppermint Patty and her pal Marcie (Venus Schultheis and Rebecca Bloom, respectively), and the rest of the crew. Their adventures are balanced by the antics of Snoopy and Woodstock, highlighted by the enactment of a short story Snoopy writes in which he battles his nemesis the Red Baron and tries to save the pretty Fifi (real-life Tinkerbell Kristin Chenoweth).

The stakes are small in “The Peanuts Movie” aside from Snoopy’s vivid daydreaming, as the drama comes from the small moments in childhood. Charlie Brown biggest hurdles are overcoming the fear of saying hello to his crush, learning how to dance (although that might have served as an excuse to insert a few of those “Peanuts” dance moves into the movie), and trying to succeed despite his constant failures, and the film does an excellent job capturing how difficult those moments can be. Charlie Brown, the poor soul, tries ever so hard to escape his worse trappings, to be someone else who might be liked by the new girl, yet all of his attempts fall asunder due to bad luck or his eagerness to put the interests of others ahead of his own.

Charlie Brown's failings in “The Peanuts Movie” are much more of his own design than the comic strips or the first few TV specials, in part because the universe isn't beating on Chuck with as much fury this time around. The filmmakers do insert a few little moments of sadness, but they missed the opportunity to dive in a little more into the character, a boy who suffers from ennui and the inherent loneliness of childhood surrounded by people who tolerate him at best and absolutely loathe him at worst. Then again, that's the Charlie Brown I related (and definitely still relate) to, and perhaps it's not the one that the world needs anymore. This version is focused more on bouncing back from his failures, gaining strength and wisdom while allowing his conscience to guide him to the correct response. Even as Charlie Brown points out that the world seems to conspire against him, he finds a way to hop over the barriers placed in front of him.

And, in the end, Charlie Brown finally gets a win he deserves because of his good deeds and inherent decency. The victory is not a major one – that would spoil the whole point of the film and the comics – but it is satisfying enough to evoke a few sniffles and expand the smile that turned up during the first act.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: G

Run time: 93 minutes

Genre: Animated

Ask Away

Target audience: Anyone who grew up either reading “Peanuts” or watching the myriad of specials that have come out since the late '60s.

Take the whole family?: Goodness gracious yes! It is very much acceptable content wise for even the youngest kids.

Theater or Netflix?: The 3D is implemented well enough that a theater trip with the kids is more than acceptable as a nice treat.

Anyone missing from the movie?: Excluding the cat next door that terrorizes poor Snoopy, the film doesn't feature the third van Pelt child, Rerun. Apparently, this movie isn't the first time poor little Rerun has been left by the curb; musical adaptations of the franchise have also excluded the cute, if overbearing, little guy.

Watch this as well?: Watch some of the television specials from back in the day, highlighted by “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” “Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)” is pretty fun as well and has Lucy at her grumpiest. Really, the best bet is to snag one of the “Peanuts” comic collections and read through them with your kids, starting from the earliest days and going from there.