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THE PEANUTS MOVIE Trailer

THE PEANUTS MOVIE Trailer

Peanuts Movie

We have come far since the time of the original Peanuts comic strips. It originates in a time when popular culture wasn’t so obvious with the allusions to sex or violence. It actually drew reference to how a child might interpret the adult world. That interpretation was apparently that of a trombone going “wa wa wa”. It’s a safe environment without serious themes or over the top comedy. Before the coming of the internet or smartphones, it was a time when kids actually went outside and played freely. This is opposed to the current suspicion of any and all strangers and belief that each child is a delicate snowflake. Thus, I present The Peanuts Movie trailer.

This animated adventure comedy is directed by Steve Martino. It stars Francesca Capaldi and Noah Schnapp as Little Red-Haired Girl and the infamous Charlie Brown, respectively. The Peanuts gang is reborn in state of the art 3D as they’ve never been before. Our beloved beagle, Snoopy, pursues his rival, The Red Baron. His best friend, Charlie Brown, has his own mission going on: finding the guts to talk to a red haired little girl who apparently lacks a real name. If you’re one of the few that enjoy their Christmas specials, then this movie is good for a matinee viewing.

Let’s start here with comedic style. One of the most typical comic routines consists of three actions. It starts with something mundane, then something that varies slightly and then a complete turnaround. This technique is often used for comic strips since they have limited space for their panels. For the most part, Peanuts is creative but often minimalist humor. The best example is when Lucy removes the football when Charlie Brown is about to punt. Mean-spirited but typical of childhood behavior in that we know people like that in real life. Additionally, people like to laugh at other people getting hurt. All it takes is just a boy with a big round head flying in the air for a couple of seconds. Brilliant.

This film looks like it generally keeps the comedy on point, though there are mild exaggerations. In the opening seconds of the trailer, Charlie is leaning over the fence and actually falls through. This leads to a chain reaction where the entire fence spanning a typical backyard (from the 70s or farther back) falls apart. What a blockhead! Then there is that small scene where the yellow kite hits him on the back of the head. Honestly, a little excessive. Give the kid a break. He’s been around for more than six decades and it’s only now that he’s taking notice of girls. Puberty is horrible.

Now, there is an elephant in the room but I may the only one who can see it. Can kids really connect to the Peanuts characters in the age of the internet? There is no instant gratification, no Google, no spellcheck, no emoticons, no social media and no other things that make humans weaker as a species. Things are easier in the wrong ways but that’s a topic for another time. If I were to write about today’s problems, it would be on smartphone obsession. My topics would be teenagers taking dangerous selfies or walking into a oncoming SUV because their eyes are glued to the iPhone screen. Either that or the worldwide outbreak of body dysmorphia due to American popular culture. Then again, something as innocent as a crush should be timeless. By today’s standards though, Charlie Brown is a stalker. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not trying to pan the movie. I loved this cartoon as a kid. The thing is I can’t imagine where this type of situation would exist anymore in the American landscape.

Getting back to the film, we have a small musical entry from Dj Khaled’s All I Do Is Win. I can’t even begin to tell you how out of place that is in terms of theme or time period. It’s there to appeal to this generation of kids but the music is definitely out of place for this intellectual property. On the other hand, we have Snoopy and he’s as good as any reason to watch this film. He’s that special friend who can help you do anything. Pretty much a Calvin and Hobbes relationship if you can see Snoopy’s adventures with his flying dog house as the imaginations of a little boy with megalocephaly. Either way, it’s good fun!

The Peanuts Movie comes out November 6th 2015 for U.S. audiences and December 21st 2015 for U.K. audiences. For the full list, click here.

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(top image source: 20th Century Fox)

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