Today’s article is written by Monique Henry-Hudson. We will be showcasing several new bloggers over the next few months!
ARGH!
When I first learned that the Peanuts gang was coming to the big screen AND in 3D, I can admit that I was a little nervous. We have seen MANY beloved comic and cartoon characters brought into the 3D and/or live action realm, in what I consider to be somewhat of a letdown in execution. However, Blue Sky’s treatment of Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!” was nothing short of impressive, so I felt very confident in the new Peanuts movie.
Visually the creative teams did a wonderful job in using 3D as a medium and manipulating it in a way that retained the cartoon style we all love, from the comic strips to the animated specials. The lighting, texturing and rendering didn’t look as “3D” as CG animated films can look like at times.
The animated style was also just as charming as the older animated specials. They incorporated a lot of 2D accents which brought each scene home time and time again. I truly appreciated the animation direction in keeping the planes 2 dimensional so that we never get a 3 quarter view of anything or anyone. I’m sure there was a lot of animated “cheating” to achieve and maintain this style but it all worked out.
ALL of our favorite characters are back! They are exactly as we remember them to be so there was no real need to “get to know” them. I really enjoyed having an overall story of Charlie Brown’s discovery of self-confidence and accepting of “self” intertwined with Snoopy’s own imaginary adventure. The pacing and cuts from one world to another were very smooth and left very little room for confusion.
To keep this review spoiler free I will continue on and say the Peanuts Movie met and exceeded my personal expectations. The Peanuts and Snoopy are some of my favorite characters and I appreciated the way Blue Sky kept the artistic and creative integrity of it all. This is definitely worth checking out for an easy going yet pleasurable movie going experience.
In theatres now.