As the site’s gone on I’ve become less and less interested in teasers as far as posting them here. You’re not really learning anything because it’s just saying “hey, we’re doing this thing here” and nothing about said thing.
However, I do want to post this one to talk about what I’m hoping for or hoping they don’t do. Blue Sky Studios is giving the series a 3D makeover. So how does it look?
Virtual claymation, apparently. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those “2D only” kind of guys, and my video library reflects it. Peabody And Sherman and Tintin are both examples of a positive visual translation to the third dimension. I’m not sure this works for me, though, at least once I saw Snoopy. They replicated how the eyes are done at different angles but that looks weird in 3D.
However, I’m more interested in the story. The theatrical movies pushed the boundaries of Charlie Brown’s world more than the TV specials (I guess you could make the case for This Is America, Charlie Brown or What Have We Learned but I haven’t seen that last one) because it could. Yet, it still stayed true to Charlie Brown’s universe.
For example Bon Voyage Charlie Brown brought Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock into strange goings on at a chateau in France as they tried the solve the mystery of who was helping them and who was trying to chase them off. A bit more low key is A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which had our hero trying to win a spelling bee, or Snoopy Come Home, which explored more of Snoopy’s history and introduced a former owner, Lila. These stories feel like something worthy of the big screen. Had it been more like You’re In Love, Charlie Brown or something that would be a letdown since that’s better suited for television.
For the record, Snoopy Come Home and Bon Voyage are my two favorite Peanuts movies although I haven’t seen either in years so I couldn’t tell you which has the top spot. If Blue Sky’s Peanuts movie was something like this I’d be happy. Except we know nothing about the plot so anything would be speculation. USA Today has said that the Little Red Haired Girl and a dog named Fifi are involved but anything I would say would be pure speculation. The movie doesn’t come out until 2015 but BW Media Spotlight will keep an eye on this. Charlie Brown was one of my childhood heroes, after all.
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