The “Peanuts” franchise has been beloved for decades. Everyone has grown up with the Charles Schultz cartoon strip, or looked forward to seeing the holiday specials on television. Now, “The Peanuts Movie” has been released to introduce a whole new generation to Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the “Peanuts” gang, while generating feelings of nostalgia in those who have fond childhood memories of the cartoon.

Enter into the world of Charlie Brown, an underdog trying shed his reputation as a failure. When a new student moves into town, Charlie Brown sees this as an opportunity at a fresh start, with hopes that maybe this new student won’t also see him as a failure. As school begins, all of the students are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new classmate. The mystery student walks in, and she is none other than…the little red-haired girl.

Any “Peanuts” fan knows about Charlie Brown’s crush on the little red-haired girl, and his inability to muster up the courage to talk to her. “Peanuts” fans will be thrilled to know that the tradition continues in this film. The movie follows Charlie Brown as he tries to catch the eye of the little red-haired girl through multiple attempts to appear as a “hero.”  

I was delighted to see that all of the original characters were included in the film, with their original personalities. The film shows the bitter relationship between Charlie Brown and Lucy, features the crush that Sally has on Linus, the tomboyish Peppermint Patty and her nerdy best friend/ assistant Marcie, just to name a few. All of the relationships that long-time “Peanuts” fans remember are maintained in the film.

The film was written by Craig and Bryan Schultz, the son and grandson of Charles Schultz. It is clear that they know and understand the characters of the original cartoon extremely well. Every line that each character spoke seemed extremely well thought-out, and sounded like something the original cartoonist would have written.  

One of the most charming aspects of the movie is how many references it includes to the original cartoon. “Peanuts” fans will be pleased to see Charlie Brown fail to fly a kite, and Lucy offer psychiatric advice for 5 cents. And, of course, the movie would not be complete without the scene of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown at the last second, causing him to fall down. However, for young viewers and those who don’t know the “Peanuts” world well, the movie might lose some of its charm.

The film is rated G, and a great film for people of all ages. While younger children may not understand all of the references in the film, they will love seeing the hilarious yet relatable failures of Charlie Brown and the action-packed, imaginative scenes of Snoopy flying across the sky, fighting against his long-time nemesis, the Red Baron.

The animation of the film was impressive. It was able to capture the charming essence of the original cartoons, while using a more updated, three-dimentional style. The movie can be viewed in 3D, although it is not necessary to fully enjoy the film’s elements.

In the end, the story has a great lesson to impart to Charlie Brown, and all of us, about who and what a true winner really is.

I would definitely recommend this film to all “Peanuts” fans, as it does an amazing job paying tribute to the brilliant works of Charles Schultz.