https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XmV3zGifOE#t=60
Though I try hard not to, I do get a little too precious about the things that mattered most to me when I was younger. Like millions of other people, Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang fall into that category for me. Because of that I’ve been a little cool to the idea of this Paul Feig-produced 3D CG animated film, but this trailer looks pretty impressive, specifically with regard to the animation. When I heard CG, I feared that we would get a glossy interpretation of the world that Charles Schulz created, but this feels more grounded and respectful of that world. It’s not a visual bastardization, at least so far as I can tell.
The look is only a part of it, though. Do they get the soul right? Feig and director Steve Martino are avid Peanuts fans and they seem eager to bring a renewed relevancy to the characters for kids who could use a version of the gang to call their very own.
That was a similar thought when Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoler did The Muppets, and while they didn’t turn in an abomination, it still felt like someone else’s version of the Muppets. Hopefully this version of Peanuts can avoid that same fate, but in a way, it doesn’t matter. Do kids get it? Does that simple and timeless quality continue on to make new fans who will care in 15 or 20 years when someone wants to reboot it all over again to appeal to their kids? I hate to admit it, because it condones things like odd-looking Pound Puppies and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, but captivating that new audience is what matters most.
(Source: YouTube)
