It’s all about love in this 2015 rendition of Charlie Brown. Young, hapless, seemingly impossible love when The Little Red Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) moves into the neighbourhood stirring up a desperate, nervous longing in Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) that he’s never felt before.
The audience is treated to adventure, comedy and crazy kid romance. As calamity Charlie tries to push equal parts shyness and clumsiness to one side to impress his new classmate, Snoopy (Bill Melendez) aka The Flying Ace, battles the evil Red Barron in The Great War. The brave canine risks life and limb to rescue his love, Fifi, from the clutches of the Barron in an elaborate daydream he concocts spurred on by Charlie’s impossible task to win over The Little Red Haired Girl. Somewhere along the line Charlie gets the boost of confidence he needs to turn his luck around but will he keep on that winning streak?
Loosely based on the story A Charlie Brown Valentine, director Steve Martino and his team of writers draw on inspiration from others from the collection to assemble the story of The Peanuts Movie. Something that works both for and against them.
While it makes for a brilliant watch to reminisce on classic stories with a slight twist, there is a certain craving for something brand spankingly new. However, Martino and co. try very hard to make-up for that with the injection of Snoopy’s World War drama which is truly entertaining. A massive two thumbs up for Melendez who flips from loyal dog to lovesick war hero throughout the entire movie with style.
Schnapp’s does a great job of embodying the try-hard, hopelessness of the Charlie Brown we come to know and love.
Overall Martino does a great job with The Peanuts Movie creating a loveable watch, which may or may not induce tears at some point depending on your level of soppiness.
Just one question remains, will Charlie Brown ever be able to get that blasted kite to fly? Guess you’ll have to wait and see.