On October 2nd, 1950, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang made their debut in nine American newspapers. Since then, Charlie and his existential woes have become known the world over, and the collection of Peanuts characters, Snoopy and Charlie in particular, have been taken to the hearts of many.
It’s almost hard to believe that Peanuts has been going for sixty-five years; meaning we are now onto third and even fourth generations of fans. Ahead of Snoopy and Charlie Brown’s full-length movie adventure release in theaters, The Peanuts Movie, Blue Sky Productions and 20th Century Fox have released a trailer celebrating that remarkable milestone. Give that trailer a look, above.
The Peanuts Movie is written by the original Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schulz’s son and grandson (Craig and Bryan Schulz, respectively), along with Cornelius Uliano. The movie is directed by Steve Martino (Horton Hears A Who) and produced by Paul Feig (direct of Bridesmaids and the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot).
The Peanuts Movie features the voice talents of Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock (using archival recordings), as well as introducing a whole host of young newcomers including; Noah Schnapp (Charlie Brown), Hadley Belle Miller (Lucy van Pelt), AJ Tecce (Pig-Pen), Noah Johnston (Schroder), Venus Schultheis (Peppermint Patty), Alexander Garfin (Linus van Pelt), and Francesca Capaldi as the new girl in town and the object of Charlie’s affections, known simply as Little Red-Haired Girl.
The premise for the movie is that Snoopy goes up against his old arch-rival, The Red Baron, while Charlie tries to summon all his courage to talk to the Little-Red-Haired-Girl – but as with all the best Peanuts strips, it’s the friendship between a boy and his dog which is really at the heart here. “Snoopy, what would I do without a friend like you?” Charlie Brown asks, and as always, it’s clear that Snoopy is Charlie Brown’s biggest supporter, closest ally and strongest friend.
This new Peanuts Movie trailer gives the clearest example yet of just how well the Blue Sky animators have done in keeping the original look and feel of Peanuts and the characters, while still making them look clean, bright and modern. As well, it’s worth noting that each and every trailer so far has also hinted at this story being wonderfully simplistic and in keeping with the original Peanuts style.
Charlie Brown is still struggling in almost any social situation and luck never seems to be on his side. He’s someone audiences and readers alike have always rooted for, and they’ll continue to do so when this movie is released. Struggling to talk to people and make new friends is something anyone can relate to, whatever their age, and his relationship with Snoopy is something we can all aspire to have; be it with a pet or another human.
There’s been discussion over whether today’s kids will find the Peanuts gang relatable, but it’s hard to see that they wouldn’t, to be honest. The movie isn’t complex, it doesn’t need a huge amount of background knowledge going in, and it looks to be full of humor that will appeal to kids and adults alike.
The Peanuts Movie hits U.S theaters on November 6th, 2015.
