Very little had been known about the new Peanuts film, which is to be released on November 6, 2015. Up until this point, all we had known was that our beloved 2D comic strips would be made 3D, and that Paul Feig, producer of many R-rated films such as Bridesmaids, would be producing the story.
I’m not going to lie to you, I was quite nervous.
But now after seeing a sneak peek of the film, I am starting to feel better.
First Trailer
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1FNL_iIp5c]
Okay, this is the part of the article where I explode and stop even trying to remain unbiased.
May I just say, this trailer looks really sweet, and reminds me a lot of the original Peanuts material that we have seen in the past. While I still may not be 100% on board with changing the animation style (it just looks a little Hallmarck-y), I will admit that this is better than I imagined it to be up to this point. I’m not quite sure what to think of the logo-change either…
It’s kind of hard what to say about the movie itself, since these are very brief glimpses into the film, and we don’t have any sort of official storyline. But I am trying to stay optimistic, since these are characters that I hold very dear to my heart. Perhaps what I am most excited about at this moment is the fact that this is a work of three Schulzes (Schulzs? Schulzi? You know what I mean…). Thrice the generation hopefully means thrice the amount of enthusiasm and integrity towards the original work!
I think that I have to at least see an official plot in order for me to make a full judgement as to how this film is going to be, but right now, all of this information that we have just seen has lessened my initial reservations significantly! I am now so excited to see the final film, and I cannot believe that I have to wait over a year to see it in it’s completed form!
What We Know
So from this point on, I will try to be as unbiased as possible, in presenting more new information about the Peanuts film!
Right from the start of our new news, we are seeing that Craig Schulz, son of Charles Schulz and the creator of Peanuts, is taking this movie extremely personally, and he is wanting to keep the integrity of the characters and story, while also use the modern technology we have available today in the animation realm as he helps to produce the film.
“I’m way more protective than my father would have been,” says Schulz. “Our No. 1 goal was always to be authentic to his work and legacy… It’s long overdue. The fans have been asking for a long time, but we held off until the time was right.”
Bryan Schulz (son of Craig Schulz) is a screenwriter, and is penning the screenplay along with Cornelius Uliano. “With my father’s work this is three generation of Shulzes on this film,” says Craig. Steve Martino was decided to be the director of the film, since he was able to translate other stories to film, such as his 2008 adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who!
While we may be finding more and more out about the creators behind this film, the story itself is still being kept secreted away. “It’s about a round-headed kid and his dog, and that’s about as far as I’m willing to go,” says Craig. (Well that’s informative! I say with heavy amounts of sarcasm…)
However, we do know that we will be seeing “the entire cast from the strips” including Peppermint Patty and Pig-Pen. This makes me wonder, since there is quite a lot of characters from the comic strips, which ran for over 50 years. This includes several characters that most people do not know about, such as Charlotte Braun who appeared in only about a dozen strips, along with a whole other host of characters that did not have long story lines, so it seems rather impossible to include them all in one film. I guess time will tell!
It was also stated that we will see the “unveiling of Charlie Brown’s lifelong crush, known only as ‘the Little Red-Haired Girl.'”
Other classic locations from the previous films and strips will also be incorporated, such as the wall from A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie’s house, and the skating pond.
And while I may not be quite certain how I feel about the movie moving away from it’s classic 2D look, the people behind the film are using the new animation now available to further explore the world.
“We’re going to fly with Snoopy in his fantasy world,” says Martino. “We have a bigger canvas. Bill Melendez got Snoopy off the ground in the TV specials. We’re going to take it a step further.”
Craig also believes that Charles Schulz would have been okay with these changes saying,”[My father would have] embraced the technology… It would have been absolutely logical for him to have come onboard… And it brings you closer into the comic strip.”
The animation has also been dubbed as “effortless” by producer Feig, and he is working to ensure the “sweet optimism” of the story. “Snoopy will not be rapping, no one will be twerking, we’re in good hands,” he stated.
Director Martino (reportedly a huge Peanuts fan himself) stated that “Charlie Brown is the guy who picks himself up after every fall and tries again. That’s what is powerful to me,” says Martino. “These characters are known and loved worldwide, and now we have an opportunity to bring them to a new generation.”
Happiness is finally having more information!
Peanuts will be released November 6, 2015. Check out the movie’s official site here.
