The Peanuts - The Movie - Blu-ray

Movie: Charlie Brown and his friends get their own movie: over 65 years after their comic book debut, the Peanuts have made it to the big screen. And it's all the same here, too: Charlie Brown is still the klutz who puts his foot in his mouth. Even the attempt to fly a kite ends in chaos for him. For everyone Charlie Brown is just the loser, the big laughing stock. But then a new girl moves into the house across the street and joins his class. For Charlie Brown, this is the perfect chance to finally show someone a whole new, confident side of him. But no matter how hard he tries, he just can't muster up the courage to approach the girl. Even the support of his faithful dog Snoopy doesn't help. But then suddenly a misunderstanding turns Charlie Brown into the school's hero. Could this win him the heart of his new classmate?

The Peanuts - The Movie attempts something extremely risky. Director Steve Martino and his team set themselves the task of transferring the spirit of the old comic strips and TV cartoons to the big screen. At the same time, the original charm of the Peanuts was to be preserved despite state-of-the-art computer animation and 3D optics. This was no easy task, because after all, the zeitgeist and viewing habits have changed considerably in recent decades. The rather sedate pace of the animated specials, the very simplistic drawing style and the somewhat subversive humour of the comics, all these do not necessarily correspond to the ingredients from which today's family blockbusters are made. And so it was to be feared that Peanuts would also fall victim to excessive modernization and that it would be trimmed to be cool at all costs.

But thankfully that's not the case. Aside from the sadly unavoidable dance sequence at the end of the film, which you'll be treated to in just about every animated film, and some gladly used 3D rollercoaster effects, the 2015 Peanuts are exactly who you've come to know and love in the comics and previous animated episodes. Charlie Brown is still your typical underdog, who even now Lucy constantly pulls the ball away from when he wants to step up. Linus still has his cuddle blanket, Pig Pen is still surrounded by a cloud of dirt, Schroeder loves Beethoven as much as ever, and Marcie still calls Peppermint Patty sir. And then, of course, there's Snoopy, who likes to lie on top of his doghouse rather than in it, is friends with the little yellow bird Woodstock, and in his imagination is always fighting the Red Baron in WWI.

Adults don't appear in the 2015 version of Peanuts, either. If they do, you only see their legs and hear the familiar wah-wah instead of their voices. It's pleasant that the creators have stuck to these familiar motifs in all consistency, even if it means they run the risk that younger children in particular won't understand all the gags and innuendos. It was apparently very important to them to honor the legacy of Charles M. Schulz in exactly the way that Snoopy and his friends deserve. At times, this can seem a bit tedious for very young moviegoers. But all in all, The Peanuts - The Movie is perfect family entertainment that kids and adults alike can enjoy.

All in all, The Peanuts - The Movie is an entertaining animated treat with lots of charm, wit and a very nice story whose morals are thankfully not sledgehammered at the audience. An all-round successful cinema debut of the cult characters and therefore also: absolutely worth seeing!!!

Picture + Sound: The Blu-ray's picture exhibits a pleasing depth and very high overall sharpness, even in the 2D version. Even the smallest of details come out brilliantly. Colors are mixed very powerfully and contrasts are also superbly matched. Like the picture, the sound, which is available in DTS 5.1, leaves an all-around positive overall impression. A successful spatiality, many coherently mixed sound effects and the clearly understandable voices of Charlie Brown and Co. provide a first-class sound carpet. Very good!

Extras: The Blu-ray offers some very nice extras in addition to the film. There are seven Snoopy mini-clips to watch (approx. 2:45 min.), a featurette on Snoopy's family featured in a short scene at the end of the film (approx. 1:55 min.), instructions on how to draw Snoopy (approx. 4:13 min.), Woodstock (approx. 3:04 min.) and Charlie Brown (approx. 4:02 min.), as well as music videos, a look behind Meghan Trainor's music video (approx. 2:53 min.), Snoopy's jukebox, trailers and an image gallery. But the centerpiece of the bonus material is a three-part, very nice making of documentary (approx. 30:17 min.) that not only traces the making of the film, but also delves a bit into the origins of Peanuts and its importance to pop culture. Absolutely worth watching!

Conclusion: The Peanuts - The Movie an entertaining animated treat with lots of charm, wit and a very nice story. Director Steve Martino and his team have done a very good job of capturing the original spirit of the beloved original while still directing a film that can appeal to today's audiences. The 2D Blu-ray presents the film in very good picture and sound quality and has an extremely worthwhile making of to offer in the extras. For this there is a clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp