Charles Schulz beloved band of eccentric children finally got the big-screen treatment they deserved via a computer-animated film directed by Steve Martino last year.
The Peanuts Movie: Limited Edition Gift Set (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Rated G, $39.99, 93 minutes) gets a glorious release to Blu-ray and will deliver smiles over and over again to both young and older fans enamored by the legendary comic strip and its stars.
A simple story finds the bumbling and insecure, but always optimistic, Charlie Brown dealing with daily life struggles such as flying a kite and kicking a football but, most importantly, trying to capture the attention of the mysterious Red-Haired Girl.
He’ll get help from his sister Sally and his pals Linus, Schroder, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Pig Pen, Franklin and the cantankerous, junior psychiatrist Lucy.
A nostalgic side plot equally shines, featuring the legendary pooch Snoopy who, with assistance from his feathered pal Woodstock, types his memoirs as a fighter pilot ace during World War I. Snoopy battles the Red Baron as he fights to save his true love, Fifi. Of course, viewers get some epic onscreen moments of heroism as Snoopy’s imagination runs wild.
The immaculate digital transfer, seen in a full-screen presentation (1.85:1 aspect ratio), offers the clever animation style through a vivid color palette that reveals an homage to the designs of the comic strip and Bill Melendez’ classic television cartoon specials created through more contemporary computer-animation techniques.
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The result is a near three-dimensional quality mixed with a handmade polish that has the Sunday paper stalwarts literally popping out from the screen but with just enough two-dimensionality preserved to reflect Mr. Schulz’ original, illustrated vision.
Also, the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound track delivers those toe-tapping, jazzy music themes made famous by Vince Guaraldi translated via Christophe Beck and David Benoit
The plentiful supply of extras will also keep both adults and children clicking around the Blu-ray disk’s menu.
First, for the youngsters, Mr. Martino stars in a series of instructional videos that has him methodical drawing the characters Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock.
He encourages kids to follow along, pause the video to practice duplicating his pen strokes on paper (find Junior a black, medium-thick, felt marker before viewing) and watch the highlighter following what he has done.
It’s a great activity for young fans. He also reminds them at the end of each of the 4-minute clips to dream big and have fun, a nice touch.
Next, adults will appreciate a 30-minute, three-part look at the legacy of Charles Schulz and the making of the film with plenty of original panels from the cartoonist to view, footage of him drawing and a look at Mr. Melendez’ cartoon specials.
Interviews with Mr. Martino, producer Paul Feig and the wife and son of Mr. Schulz (Jean and Craig) shed light on a 50-year body of work that encompassed over 18,000 comic strips.
The featurette also allows artists from Blue Sky Animation to explain their concepts and the techniques used to bring the Peanuts gang to the next generation of animation fans.
Finally viewers get a quick introduction to Snoopy’s siblings, (raised at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm), six Snoopy snippets not seen in the film and a behind-the-scenes look at Meghan Trainer’s music video “I’m Dancin’.”
Additionally, the Collector’s Edition package include a 6-inch-tall, plush version of the coolest character in the Peanuts line-up, the creative genius known as Snoopy, dressed in pilot garb.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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