There are very few properties that transcend generation after generation. Charles Schulz beloved comic strip and cartoons The Peanuts have been loved by kids and adults ever since its creation. I myself grew up with my dad showing my siblings and I all of the holiday specials and just like him, we all fell in love with the characters and their antics. So when I first heard about a new CGI version of Charlie Brown, I was weary. After seeing what happened to Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs (two other franchises I grew up on) I saw little reason to get excited. Even after the first trailer dropped I still wasn't sure what to think. They looked okay and the voices aren't bad but it didn't do anything to sell me on the spirit of the originals we love so much.
A second, more expansive trailer dropped last week and I was kind of avoiding it. I didn't see it until I went to see Pixar's new movie Inside Out yesterday afternoon. The preview opens up with The Who's "Baba O'Rielly" playing and transitions to a shot of all of our favorite characters spying on a new kid moving into town. It leads into a small joke that feels right at home with Charlie Brown and his friends. From there the trailer basically uses a series of small jokes to introduce our main cast and story. Things haven't changed for Charlie and friends, life is still pretty much the same. That is, until a new girl moves into town, changing their entire dynamic.
This trailer did it for me, I'm all in now. Even with The Who playing over this just felt like classic Schultz. This is in huge part due to the fact that they aren't using 3D CG animation but instead have mapped it 2D. On top of that the faces are made to look like they are hand drawn, just like the originals. This all comes together to look like an updated version of the classics, rather than turning them into CGI crap. They also aren't mixing in any live action, which seemed to be a horrible Hollywood fad for too long (see: Garfield, The Smurfs, and Alvin and the Chipmunks) so that alone gives me some hope for this project.
The Peanuts are a property that deserves to live on, but it is also one that deserves the utmost respect and it seems like the people behind this one are making a legitimate attempt at a good movie. Snoopy looks and sounds incredible and I can't wait to see him get back into battle with The Red Baron and we finally got a look at Pig Pen (He looks great). Christmas is the perfect release date for this film and if its good, we can only hope it doesn't get buried by Star Wars. Anyways, What did you guys think of the trailer? Do you have any faith in this movie or do you think its a bust? Regardless, i'll be buying my ticket opening weekend.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
No comments:
Post a Comment