Peanuts

[eddievalient]

20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios proudly present Peanuts, a new film based on Charles Schulz's classic comic strip.



Discuss.

[Randall]

I was a little concerned about Blue Sky's ability to pull it off, but I think it looks pretty good. I just hope they don't get too "cutesy" with the animation. The CGI seems pretty decent, adding some dimension without going overly 3D with it. I am cautiously optimistic. They just may pull this off.

[TitusTodd]

I agree with Randall. The CGI is not over-done which is what I was concerned about when I heard about a Peanut's movie. I wonder what the 3D will add to it. My biggest concern at this point is the story.

[Ben]

This passed right under my radar. I think I kinda vaguely remember an announcement, but that was long ago, and this hasn't been hyped as much as some other animated films in the production process. When I thought about a CG Peanuts film I did think "good grief", but as has already been said, it looks pretty darned good and not a little innovative.

How hard must that be to place Snoopy's eyes that way on his head...in CG!? Really cool that they're going for almost a hybrid, shaded look while keeping the technological abilities of CG. My only disappointment was that Schultz wasn't around to see this happen or have any significant input, but I think the Blue Sky guys will continue to surprise us again - and I love how the title treatment reflects the strip creator's name!

[Randall]

This actually looks, animation-wise, to be one of the most innovative features to come out yet from the "big 5" studios. I wish the others would try to get away from the generic "realism" we've been stuck with since Toy Story. They're cartoons, people! Have some fun, and be creative, I say. Not every film needs characters to look like rubber puppets. The Peanuts film looks to be a step in the right direction. Blue Sky surprised me here.

[EricJ]

My only disappointment was that Schultz wasn't around to see this happen or have any significant input, but I think the Blue Sky guys will continue to surprise us again

(Uh, refresh my memory, what did they "surprise" us with in Rio? )

[Ben]

Not every film has to be a surprise, but with Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks being the "big three", I always welcome a new Blue Sky, since they more often then not delight with their original pictures (yes, I know Peanuts isn't an "original", but it's not a sequel to one of their earlier films). If we do expand the playing field to a "big five" to include Blue Sky and Sony, they still prove themselves to be worthy of playing among the big boys.

And, talking of Sony, they did take CG to cartoon extremes with the Cloudy films, which were visually different even if the sequel's novelty soon wore off.

[Randall]

I place Sony ahead of Blue Sky in terms of whose films I look forward too, but Peanuts may change that.

[James]

I've been worried about this too, but another comic strip I read had a clever comment about the issue:

"i’m really worried about this movie… i can only hope it retains all the innocence and charm of the beloved insurance company mascots"

http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2014/03/18/peanuts/

[Randall]

Peanuts was probably the most highly merchandised strip of all time, and other hands worked on licensing artwork and comics, so fans need to chill on this a bit. The strip ended its daily run with Schulz's death, as he wanted, but it's nice to see it around in other forms.

[Dacey]

New images:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movi ... /18975553/

I'm expecting a new Christmas-themed trailer to be arriving soon?

[Randall]

Lookin' good! I quite like what we're seeing.

[LotsoA113]

A new trailer!!

[Ben]

Okay, I'm really liking this. Classic.

[Randall]

Looking very positive right now. And I think this style might actually look pretty good in 3D too.