So let me just point out that I went into this movie with zero attachment to the Peanuts or Charlie Brown. The only Peanuts exposure I had as a kid was when I watched the Great Pumpkin in school. So, I went in not expecting much and was actually quite surprised with it all. The movie stars Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown, Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock, and Hadley Belle Miller as Lucy. It is directed by Steve Martino, known for Horton Hears a Who and Ice Age: Continental Drift, and it is written by Charles Schultz (The creator of the Peanuts).
The Peanuts Movie is about Charlie Brown who falls for the new girl but doesn't want her thinking of him as a loser like everyone else does. He sees her as an opportunity to start fresh and new. So he goes through great lengths to impress this girl which always ends up going good for him in a bad way but he will take that attention away from himself by instead doing the right thing.
There is a really powerful message in the movie about not taking credit for something that isn't yours and always do the right thing and good things will come of it even if you lose the attention. While I didn't find it as funny as some of the younger viewers in the theater I did enjoy the writing and voice acting. The style of the Peanuts from the adult voices and the funny noises between Snoopy and Woodstock, is something that I'm not used to so it weirded me out at first but I got used to it as did the animation style weird at first but watchable.
Another thing I enjoyed was the Snoopy side plot about him writing a book about himself but saving a female dog from the red baron in an epic WWII style plane shootout. The sub plot put Snoopy into some pretty funny situations that actually did make me laugh, from Snoopy getting way into the story to the point where he thought he was living it and he would get into some predicaments where the kids would notice. The ending to this movie was such a satisfying ending to such a simple plot that I couldn't help but to just sit there for a second and smile. So its official this movie won me over on The Peanuts and I will give it an 8/10.
