Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie

This review may contain spoilers!

This is quite a cute, if not simple, way to start 2016. I would give Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie a 6.5/10

One of my biggest worries heading into this film was that the animation would be disappointing, so it was a great delight to be shown how wrong I was. The animation in this film was very unique and a complete homage to the source material, however there is a very notable degree of attention to detail that makes this film look so appealing throughout. The score is another aspect of this film that really fits the Peanuts universe; the tone is set perfectly by this composition. What I enjoy about the story is that it constructs a really great moral message around a protagonist who you connect with and enjoy immensely.

Rebecca Bloom and Venus Schultheis, who voiced Marcie and Peppermint Patty respectively, were perfect to play against one another; Bloom had the timid yet knowledgeable role of Marcie perfect while Schultheis was equally suited to the bold and brash Patty. Francesca Capaldi, who voiced The Liitle Red-Haired Girl, was the perfect person to impart the moral of the film; the speech she gives Charlie Brown is one of the best scenes of the film. Alexander Garfin, who voiced Linus, was some incredibly perfect casting; Garfin nails the wistful philosophical ramblings of Linus. Noah Schnapp, who voiced Charlie Brown, was a great protagonist in this film; he really delivered some great earnest dialogue that I felt embodied the Charlie Brown character completely. Mariel Sheets, who voiced Sally, was such an adorable character in this film; the humour that came from this role was surprising yet fantastic.

However the best performance came from Bill Melendez, who voiced Snoopy and Woodstock. While I wasn't a fan of the Red Baron subplot I think Snoopy was by far the best character of the film and I loved how Woodstock interacted with him as well. Melendez work on Snoopy resulted in the funniest character of the film as well as the most entertaining. I love how much screen presence this role had and I especially liked the relationship he had with Charlie Brown at the core of this film.

While I loved the plot of this film it was very simple and completely predictable, as a result it was easy to get bored as the film progressed and started to drag on. The Red Baron subplot with Snoopy felt like a time filler, ultimately you never really cared about Snoopy's imaginary WWII exploits and even less about his imaginary romance.

Kristin Chenoweth, who voiced Fifi, was the complete opposite of Snoopy in this film; despite performing in a similar way Fifi was nothing but a lazy romance subplot for Snoopy. Noah Johnston, who voiced Schroeder, is a bit of an annoying voice actor to listen to in this film; his classical music jokes fall flat quite often. A.J. Tecce, who voiced Pig-Pen, was such a strange role; he felt completely unnecessary to the film. Marleik Mar Mar Walker, who voiced Franklin, is given the complete background treatment in this film; you don't really remember his character at all.