You gotta give it up for Charlie Brown; nobody handles disappointment quite like that guy. He doesn’t get the girl; he doesn’t get to kick that football; every Halloween, he comes home with a bag full of rocks, and every time he throws a fastball, it becomes laundry day. He knows full well people like his dog better and his psychiatrist calls him “blockhead” more often than his given name. And still, he gets up, goes to school, and tries again.
Charlie Brown (voice of Noah Schnapp) starts up with a showdown against his nemesis, the Kite-eating tree. Rationalizing that the tree is a dormant malevolent force in the winter, he can finally fly a kite with immunity in the snowy air. Personally, I always sympathized with Charlie Brown on this score; I could never fly a kite, either. To this day, I won’t touch the things. The Peanuts Movie is no different than the comic strip; the kite ends up in the tree with dozens of others it has claimed. Next, Chuck tries to strikeout a snowman and gets taken deep. That would kill my self-confidence (I mean, it’s one thing if you get mocked by a tree, at least it moves, sort of), and yet, once again, Chuckles the Brown shows ridiculous, unwarranted, cautious optimism when the Little Red Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) moves in next door. I swear, you gotta hand it to that kid.
Peanuts fans will recognize, and perhaps even tire of the familiar televised themes in this film– Snoopy and the Red Baron, the Vincent Guaraldi Trio soundtrack, outdoor ice skating, “It was a dark and stormy night”, Mrs. Othmar 
and her bizarre adult voice, Marcie’s “relationship” with Peppermint Patty, Satan worship, white slavery … Peanuts did themselves no favors here. Yeah, I remember the Red Baron stuff. It was the worst part of the Halloween special. The animation has improved, and so has the story, ok, so you’ve moved that particular subplot from the one-star to two-star range, but it doesn’t justify returning after every finished scene.
It wasn’t until the talent show that I grudgingly accepted The Peanuts Movie was worth seeing. Charlie Brown works for almost a full five minutes on a magic act to impress the LRHG, but when it comes to it, he shelves his own desires in order that his sister Sally (Mariel Sheets) not be laughed off stage. Ahhhhhh, NOW we have a movie and not just a tribute to the older, dying pool of Peanuts fans.
There is, indeed, far too much upgraded retread here for me to take The Peanuts Movie seriously as a piece of art. That said, it does have heart, and part of me will always root for Charlie Brown to either kick that football or blow Lucy’s damn head off.
♪Here comes Charlie Brown (here comes Charlie Brown)
With his kite array (with his kite array)
Gonna get a shock (gonna get a shock)
Upon return from play (upon return from play)
There’s a brand new neighbor (there’s a brand new neighbor)
She is quite the bae (she is quite the bae)
Red Haired Girl Dreamin’ (red haired girl dreamin’)
On such a winter’s day♫
Rated G, 88 Minutes
D: Steve Martino
W: Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz and Cornelius Uliano
Genre: Life sucks, even when you’re an animated kid
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Traditional Peanuts fans
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Folks who need a tad more in their animation
♪ Parody inspired by “California Dreamin’”
