Peanuts Goes 3D In Debut Movie Teaser

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Peanuts Goes 3D In Debut Movie Teaser

The first trailer for the 3D, CG-rendered Peanuts film is here, and it's actually better than you might think.

My introduction to Peanuts came a long time ago, not from newspaper strips but from large anthologies at my local library, which I read over and over when I was very young. That rooted me in the early days of the comic, the 1950s and 60s, when it was still relatively new and fresh and even daring; and while I certainly can't claim that I was a big fan by any measure, I like to think there was a certain depth to my appreciation of the work.

That may be why the prospect of a 3D, CG-rendered Peanuts film leaves me feeling a little uneasy. Are we going to see a hip, edgy Peanuts gang? Is Snoopy going to be transformed into an unironic Poochie? And above all else, why is it being made? Is there a purpose to this besides, "Hey, look, it's Peanuts in 3D?"

Today's trailer doesn't answer the last of those questions, but that's (mostly) okay, because it does seem to indicate that the first two aren't something we need to worry about. CG notwithstanding, it looks like Peanuts and it sounds like Peanuts, and according to Schulz's son Craig, the filmmakers are taking a very cautious approach to the project.

"I'm way more protective than my father would have been," he told USA Today [http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/03/17/peanuts-snoopy-charlie-brown-first-look/6273911/]. "Our No. 1 goal was always to be authentic to his work and legacy."

Producer Paul Feig added that the team is working to ensure the "sweet optimism" of the strip is front and center in the film. "Snoopy will not be rapping, no one will be twerking, we're in good hands," he said.

That's good to hear, although I'm not sure that "sweet optimism" really nails what Peanuts was all about. At its finest, it was really rather dark, as the characters - especially Charlie Brown - struggled with existential issues about life, love and hopelessness in a a fundamentally cold and uncaring world. There were sweet elements to it, like Snoopy's happy dance, but the strip was far more firmly rooted in Charlie Brown's lonely, sleepless nights.

In any event, here's hoping it works out! Peanuts is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2015.


Permalink
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
Legacy
Jul 18, 2009
19,568
4,371
118
This actually looks not bad at all.

The fact that the animation isn't completely fluid helps a lot to maintain the old cartoon feel. I'll applaud them for that.

However... as you noted, will there be room for the dour atmosphere we know and love about this series? Given the current climate of animated kids movies, I doubt it. Maybe they should've given this movie to Sylvain Chomet.
 

FPLOON

Your #1 Source for the Dino Porn
Jul 10, 2013
12,531
0
0
November 2015, you say? Sounds like an early future birthday present for me...

Besides, Peanuts have never failed to entertain me before... and I doubt that this movie would tarnish the Peanut brand in any way, shape, or form... (Is my biased side showing?)

Also, I wouldn't mind a Joe Cool cameo in this movie...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cIEJkD82e60/TDlAs-CLU0I/AAAAAAAADLQ/gppm3XnYjQs/s1600/joe-cool.jpg
It's not "twerking", mind you... but, it will have to do...
 

VanQ

Casual Plebeian
Oct 23, 2009
2,729
0
0
Okay so the animation looks faithful.
The voices are spot on.
And there's no dubstep in the trailer to appeal to a "wider audience".

Everything went better than expected.
 

WhiteTigerShiro

New member
Sep 26, 2008
2,366
0
0
Mcoffey said:
I love you Neil, but what are you doing?
He's earning a paycheck. As David Cross put it when people ragged on him for doing The Chipmunks, "I can't walk into Walmart and buy a shirt with street cred." Also, it's a movie FOR 5-year-olds that 5-year-olds LIKE. Just because the movie isn't for teenagers and up doesn't make the movie terrible; it just makes it for kids.

And no, I don't feel like getting into the whole "but Disney/Pixar does it" thing that people tend to want to start-up whenever that gets said. If it's for 5-year-olds, then it's for 5-year-olds. Anyone else liking it beyond that is just icing.
 

Roxas1359

Burn, Burn it All!
Aug 8, 2009
33,758
1
0
I have to admit, looks quite nice and the animation. That being said though, I will always prefer hand-drawn animation over anything CG, which makes me sad that many shows and cartoons nowadays are just going straight CGI with only some shows staying with hand-drawn animations.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
15,489
0
0
This will only be worth it if we get the World War Flying Ace involved. Them's the best of Peanuts in my opinion.
 

josemlopes

New member
Jun 9, 2008
3,950
0
0
Looks good and much more then "Product X in 3D", just kind of like Lego they seemed to adapt the 3D animation to a style that works very well with the original product.

And by the trailer itself it looks like it doesnt try to be something it isnt so I guess this will be a joy for the fans.
 

Dimitriov

The end is nigh.
May 24, 2010
1,215
0
0
The modern insistence and refusal to even consider bringing back hand drawn animation and instead shitting over the style of the originals in the inevitable remakes fills me with a greater level of irritation than I can actually express in words.

Inarticulate screaming is the closest I can come to vocalizing it.

Yes they have done a fairly good job at capturing the feel of the source in 3D... but for what purpose?! The 3D aspect adds literally nothing of value to the movie.
 

BeeGeenie

New member
May 30, 2012
726
0
0
I am dubious. Let's call it healthy skepticism. Whether it's in (pointless) 3D or not is irrelevant.

Peanuts works well enough as a comic strip (Set-up, Punchline, End-scene), but I've always had mixed feelings about the animated stuff. I'm not sold on the idea that they could come up with enough material for (yet another) feature length film. I mean, Peanuts has been telling the same story over and over for the last 60 years.

You're just not that interesting, Charlie Brown.

That's why we (sadly) will never see a Calvin and Hobbes movie. You don't want to drive the franchise into the ground once you've run out of ideas. Watterson understood that; Hollywood doesn't.
 

K12

New member
Dec 28, 2012
943
0
0
I'm quite encouraged by this.

The omnipresent danger with all the "old beloved animated shows fully realised in swanky 3d" is that they lose the charm of the original aesthetic. (The Magic Roundabout being my most hated example).

This definitely looks like it has charm, as much as you can tell from 40 seconds of video.
 

V8 Ninja

New member
May 15, 2010
1,903
0
0
Wow, that animation is spot-on. Of course, it would have been nice to see at least an attempt to recapture the dirty, 2D art style of the comic strip with actual 2D animation, but I'm not entirely opposed to this new look.

However, what concerns me is that Blue Sky Studios [http://blueskystudios.com/] is handling the movie. A quick look on the internet shows that none of their movies have ever been more than time wasters for kids, with myself hearing terrible things about Epic, the company's most recent film. Assuming Craig Schulz really is protective of the Peanuts IP and has an actual say in what goes into the film, I'm sure the movie won't be awful/obnoxious, at least in the ways that everybody has come to expect from modern kids movies. That said, I haven't put all of my faith in this adaptation.
 

Liquidprid3

New member
Jan 24, 2014
237
0
0
I've always hated it when old animated shows are turned into shit kids movies (COUGHSmurfsCOUGH) but I, like others have said, really dig the style. It really captures the look and feel of the comics and other classic animations, which I love so very much. I'm just curious where they could take the story of this film. My prediction, and hopes, is that it tells an original story, while including all the running gags from the previous adventures. I have really high hopes for this.
 

Gilhelmi

The One Who Protects
Oct 22, 2009
1,480
0
0
I disagree that "Sweet Optimism" can not be dark as well.

Even on our darkest day, a positive outlook (and the warm love of the Lord our God) may be all you have. I am reminded of a few of the Charlie Brown specials in that regard. Heck, "Snoopy, Come home" has been called by many one of the most dark and depressing cartoons of all time, but it also had a positive and optimistic view.

I really hope that this movie is not that dark though. I agree with MovieBob, I am also tired of the darkness in movies.