Much in the same way that Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller breathed new life into The Muppets in 2011, Paul Feig has been tabbed by 20th Century Fox to usher the Peanuts gang into a brand new era as well. The man behind the cameras on Bridesmaids and The Heat won’t actually be handling the directorial duties, though, as he’ll just be producing, while Steve Martino (Horton Hears a Who!) is still set to direct.
Either way, Feig and the family of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz are super pumped about a 2015 version of Charlie Brown.
“Growing up, Peanuts was my Star Wars,” he said. “Charles Schulz’s characters influenced everything in my career, especially Freaks And Geeks. I’m thrilled I finally get to be pals with Charlie Brown and Snoopy.” Craig Schulz, the son of the Peanuts creator, added: “As we continue on our creative journey to bring my father’s characters to life, collaborating with a talent like Paul is a great step forward. Knowing how Peanuts, especially Charlie Brown’s never-give-up-attitude, has influenced him throughout his life makes this partnership even more meaningful.” (Via Deadline)
So here’s the fun question – what kind of animation are we going to get out of this? Honestly, I’ll be shocked if this isn’t following in the footsteps of Garfield, The Smurfs and Alvin & The Chipmunks with some atrocious and borderline terrifying CGI combined with human actors. Or with Martino’s background, will this be a modernized CGI-style film, or will it simply look like those classic Peanuts holiday cartoons that put us to sleep as kids? I only ask because you don’t f*ck with Snoopy. You do this Charlie Brown sh*t, you do it right.
Oh by the way, have I ever mentioned that Paul Feig starred in Ski Patrol and was responsible for this amazing dance scene?