The Peanuts Movie

Think back. Back to your very first memory of fictional media.

Was it a big yellow bird teaching ABCs & 123s? How about a silly ol' bear who got stuck in his friend's front door? Or if you're like me, it was four panels, featuring the non-adventures of a bald kid, his friends, and his super-competent beagle.

"The Peanuts Movie" is something simple, yet artistic, moralistic yet not preachy, imaginative but not completely off-the-wall-bonkers, and, speaking as a long-term fan, everything you've ever wanted in a movie featuring Charlie Brown and friends.

Unlucky everyman Charlie Brown tries his darnedest to be a competent human being but life seems to be conspiring against him as almost every endeavor he tries becomes a colossal failure. As stated before, everything Charlie Brown isn't, Snoopy the Beagle is. The cool, smart, and resourceful dog is on fire as the hyper-competent friend who doesn't say a word, but is the most supportive of good ol' Charlie Brown, which is ironic because he has frequent fantasy segues into the wonderfully imagined of France during World War I where he fails constantly against the Red Baron in "dogfights." With these two together, Charlie Brown is on a mission to improve his image not just to his peers but to the new girl in town who he has the most massive of crushes on.

The beauty of the animation style is a seamless blending of the typical Charles M. Schultz style, 3D animation, and almost photo-realistic textures and backgrounds. The voice acting cast does wonders to invoke the classic voices of the kids you hear almost every Christmas, as well as the mumbles, odd bird noises, and characteristic "adult" trombone noises from the toons. Best of all, the characters are on-point, faithful to who they are without any alteration, especially giving Charlie Brown his moments to shine and display his good heart, and their setting is as the original artist intended without ever seeming dated. And despite its source material being a Sunday newspaper strip, it does not fall into the pitfalls of several of its funnies-awkwardly-adapted-to-different-format brethren, and its story is very well formulated and coherent. Plus all the Easter Eggs (courtesy of Easter Beagle?) sprinkled throughout the movie will surely tickle that nostalgia center.

Overall, an amazing film for all ages and my childhood being fully realized on the big screen is a treat to behold. 

All characterization was consistent with my background knowledge except for a weird attraction between these two; in all my years of reading and watching Peanuts, who knew this would be the surprise ship of the franchise?