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2014-11-18

Photos - Peanuts Movie (2015)


Blue Sky Studios (Ice Age) has released five new screenshots from their upcoming Peanuts Movie, which is scheduled for a November 6, 2015 release.

I'm a huge fan of Peanuts - who doesn't love Charlie Brown and Snoopy? - and I'm greatly looking forward to this newest attempt to revive the classic comic strip and cartoon characters.  Also, like many of you who are traditional animation fans, I feel a slight unease at the thought of Sparky Shultz' characters rendered in CGI.  Just look at the train wreckage from similar attempts with Rocky & Bullwinkle, Mr. Peabody, The Chipmunks, Astro Boy...don't get me started on those damned Smurfs.  Ugh, my eyes! The goggles do nothing!

That said, I am greatly impressed the work Blue Sky has shown so far.  They have managed to capture the classic hand-drawn look, with the additional detail and color that only CGI provides.  This feels like a very reverent interpretation of Peanuts, a respectful one.  This doesn't appear at all like a cheap, cynical cash-in.  For that, I am very thankful.

I do hope this movie will be a good one.  Western animation, despite its tremendous commercial success, is stuck creatively in the mud.  Ice Age was a good movie, owing a lot to classic cartoons without becoming crass, commercialized or cynical. Is Blue Sky the right choice to helm a new Charlie Brown cartoon?  Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.



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