This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 10, 2015.

Director: Steve Martino 

Cast: Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Alex Garfin, Kristin Chenoweth

Rating: 3 out of 5

Length: 93 minutes

Opening: Now playing

The iconic world of Charlie Brown and Snoopy has graced the pages of newspapers and magazines throughout the world for 50 years. All this time, 2,600 newspapers with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries, in 21 languages featured the sad, unlucky little boy and his loyal beagle. When Charles M Schulz, the creator of the world of Peanuts, passed away from cancer in 2000, nobody knew if the world would ever have another chance to bask in the glory of the world of childhood and innocence that Schulz had created all those years ago. 

Charlie Brown is the eternal underdog whose sheer bad luck haunts him at every turn, and Snoopy the beagle is the dreamer who spends his time living in a distant adventure land somewhere inside his head. Flanked by a cast of characters like Linus, Lucy, Woodstock and Shroeder that fans around the world have grown to love over the decades, The Peanuts Movie attempts to recreate the magic and nostalgia that made everyone fall in love with the comic.  

The movie was written by Schulz’s son Craig and grandson Bryan, along with Cornelius Uliano. The team at Blue Sky Studios set about trying to capture the unique essence that made Schulz’s original comic strip such a success. Not only did they spend thousands of hours detailing Schulz’s drawings, they made sure to stay true to all the characters. 

The Peanuts Movie revolves around the Little Red-Haired Girl, whom is frequently mentioned but rarely seen in the comic strip. A newcomer to the neighbourhood, Charlie Brown soon develops a crush on her, but is too timid and shy to talk to her. Instead, he attempts to catch her attention by participating in the school’s talent show, learning how to dance in order to attend the school dance, and writing a report on War and Peace. Along the way, he is helped by friends and family, but all seems lost when the Little Red-Haired Girl seemingly fails to notice him. 

Snoopy, on the other hand, is on his own adventure of sorts. He discovers a typewriter in the trash, and starts writing a novel about his alter ego, the World War I Flying Ace, trying to save his lover Fifi the Poodle from the Red Baron. 

The movie centres on a very simple plot — Charlie Brown’s misadventures due to his unluckiness and his underdog status that makes him an eternal favourite. Schulz once noted that we are all more familiar with disappointment than success, and Charlie Brown is an embodiment of this that we can all relate to. 

Those who grew up reading Peanuts comics and watching the cartoons on TV will love The Peanuts Movie. It’s a rare treat to be able to watch some of the most beloved cartoon characters come back to life, and this immensely faithful adaptation is sure to bring back lots of treasured memories. Those who have never read or watched Peanuts comics or cartoons, however, are bound to feel somewhat lost and bored as it’s a bit difficult to follow the underdog nature of Charlie Brown, and his numerous failed adventures.