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"The Peanuts Movie" sweetly bridges the divide between its two audiences — giving kids a bright, lively computer-animated adventure while showing fans of Charles M. Schulz's beloved comic strip plenty of respect for the source material.
Blue Sky Studios, the animation house responsible for the "Ice Age" and "Rio" franchises, has transferred Schulz's characters to 3-D animation with most of the strip's pen-and-ink simplicity intact. Just because Charlie Brown is known as "that round-headed kid" doesn't mean director Steve Martino and his crew felt the need to create 360-degree camera shots to circle around him.
The story — in a screenplay credited to Craig Schulz (the cartoonist's son), Bryan Schulz (Craig's son) and Cornelius Uliano — also stays true to the small events in the life of Charlie Brown, the hapless kid who can't seem to get anything right.
The main story centers on Charlie Brown. (Isn't it funny that one always wants to refer to him using both names?) Ol' Chuck notices someone move in across the street, but only catches a glimpse. The next day, there's a new kid in class — and it's she: the little red-haired girl.
Charlie Brown is instantly smitten. But no amount of pep talks from his pal Linus, or encouragement from his faithful beagle Snoopy, can persuade him to work up the courage to talk to her.
Meanwhile, Snoopy envisions a little romance of his own. He starts writing a love story and imagines himself — as the World War I Flying Ace — at the center of it. The Ace must defeat the Red Baron in an aerial battle, but also rescue the pretty poodle aviatrix Fifi.
Throughout, Martino and his writers pepper the film with all the familiar "Peanuts" hallmarks. Linus' security blanket, his sister Lucy's sidewalk "psychiatric help" booth, Schroeder's piano playing Beethoven and Vince Guaraldi's indelible piano-jazz tunes, and Sally's eternal pursuit of her "sweet baboo" Linus are all referenced, but always with a light touch.
Thankfully, Martino doesn't sacrifice "Peanuts' " innocent tone to the demands for bankable stars. The voice cast is almost all made up of kids, playing kids, with a minimum of self-consciousness. The biggest stars in the credits are Kristin Chenoweth (providing Fifi's giggles) and jazzman Trombone Shorty (using his namesake instrument for the indecipherable adult voices).
For Snoopy and his bird pal Woodstock, the movie reaches way back, using archived audio of the late Bill Melendez, who voiced the characters in the old "Peanuts" TV specials.
The one troubling aspect of "The Peanuts Movie" is the ending, which lets Charlie Brown be the undisputed hero — something Schulz almost never did over the strip's 50-year run. Mercifully, in a post-credit scene, Lucy and a football help restore order to Charlie Brown's universe.
It's presumptuous to say Schulz, who died in 2000, would have been pleased with "The Peanuts Movie." But, given the differences between his simple ink drawings and the eye-filling details required in 3-D computer animation, the movie hits as close to the original feel of Schulz's creation as this format will allow.
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'The Peanuts Movie'
Charlie Brown and his friends maintain their simple charms in this 3-D rendering of the classic comic strip.
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Friday.
Rating • G.
Running time • 92 minutes.