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Review of The Peanuts Movie (Christophe Beck)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you desire a loyal re-interpretation of the "Peanuts" concept's music from long ago, composer Christophe Beck and his team faithfully reprising and adapting Vince Guaraldi's classic music into a more modern, orchestral environment.

Avoid it... if you expect this music to really push any boundaries, because the very careful handling of the source material keeps it largely segregated from the boisterous new original score and obligatory pop songs.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Peanuts Movie: (Christophe Beck) Despite the enduring popularity of Charles M. Schulz's comic strip, "Peanuts," it had been 35 years since its characters were featured in a new motion picture. The original four "Peanuts" films remain sentimental favorites with a distinct style and tone, and Schulz's son and grandson, when working for the better part of a decade with Blue Sky Studios and Fox on a modern animated interpretation of the concept, insisted upon retaining artistic control over the 2015 movie known internationally as Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie, perhaps to avoid nasty translation issues. Writing and producing much of the project themselves, the Schulz family turned to director Steve Martino specifically to bring a faithful adaptation of the core values of the strip to the film. The plot contains no new characters and essentially follows two parallel storylines that occasionally overlap, one side showing Charlie Brown persevering as he always does to gain the attention of Little Red-Haired Girl with the help of Linus, Lucy, and his dogged determination to do the right thing. The other side of The Peanuts Movie is dedicated to Snoopy's adventures as the Flying Ace, saving fellow pilot Fifi from the forces of the Red Baron. It's an innocuous, self-contained story true to the original characters and not requiring any sequel or deep understanding of the strip to be able to appreciate. In fact, it's a rare circumstance in which a sequel wasn't immediately planned despite critical and fiscal success. The music for the concept is, like the characters themselves, a pivotal part of their existence, and the handling of the soundtrack for The Peanuts Movie was very carefully planned to exude the same nostalgic loyalty to the other films and television productions. Some of the cast voices actually consist of trombone performances rather than traditionally spoken lines, requiring a fair amount of source material to be applied to this film. Long toiling in the children's genre but having struck gold with his work on Disney's Frozen, composer Christophe Beck, himself a big fan of the "Peanuts" concept, was brought in to help guide the soundtrack into the 21st Century. The original themes and their iconic performances by Vince Guaraldi were mandatory inclusions, of course, as were a few mundane pop songs for marketing purposes. Weaving these elements together is an original score by Beck and a few additional writers that does everything it can to avoid stepping on the toes of the Guaraldi material.

The balancing act performed by Beck and the producers for the music of The Peanuts Movie is about as well handled as one could hope. Original performances of several of Guaraldi's themes (performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio) are dropped into this film, highlighted by the ever-popular "Linus and Lucy" main theme. The piano, percussion, and bass performances are presented alongside the new recordings with as much synchrony in sound quality as allowed. Beck works all three Guaraldi themes into his score, "Linus and Lucy" most extensively, including a modern re-working in the "Carnival Panic" cue. Both "Skating" and "Christmas Time is Here" are afforded more source-like re-recordings and placements, and Beck's arrangements are fine. The original material by Beck is large and orchestral in the John Powell mould of operation for today's animated flicks, a definite change for the concept, but Beck keeps the score wholesome enough and features piano at regular intervals. The reminder of the Trio at the end of "The Assembly," for instance, is a nice touch. The "Snow Day" cue provides an enthusiastic new identity for the concept that is easy to digest, and "Charlie Brown in Love" explores a piano-based light romance variant that is equally saccharine. More impressive in the new score is the often soaring ensemble adventure music for the Snoopy side of the movie, "Fifi's Theme" understandably reminding a bit of John Barry's High Road to China in scope and progression. The pair of "Wingwalking" and "Curse You Red Baron" present extended action sequences that are the score's highlights, Beck's orchestral writing openly positive and harmless despite its snare-ripping bravado. The pair of "Winter Becomes Spring" and "Pen Pal Partners" may be short, but their piano and woodwind sentimentality is attractive. The album presentation of the soundtrack nicely condenses Beck's new material to its midsection, his arrangements of Guaraldi themes included at the end. The original Guaraldi recordings and two new pop songs are thrown together at the start of the product as expected. (a Target-exclusive product includes one more song.) The whole product is tasteful and satisfying while being extraordinarily conservative in its handling of the concept. Perhaps it would have been nice for Beck to integrate the classic themes into his score even more, but the whole functions fine as is. The album will serve for listeners much like Winnie the Pooh did for fans of the Sherman Brothers' original music for that set of characters during its own updated adaptation in 2011. Keep your expectations tempered and be prepared for the listening experience to breeze by quickly and without a worry.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 47:49

• 1. Linus and Lucy* - performed by Vince Guaraldi Trio (3:04) • 2. Better When I'm Dancin' - performed by Meghan Trainor (2:56) • 3. That's What I Like - performed by Flo Rida (3:15) • 4. Skating* - performed by Vince Guaraldi Trio (2:23) • 5. Christmas Time is Here* - performed by Vince Guaraldi Trio and Lee Mendelson (2:45) • 6. Snow Day (2:26) • 7. Fifi's Theme (1:13) • 8. Charlie Brown in Love (1:38) • 9. Wingwalking (2:18) • 10. The Library (1:10) • 11. The Assembly (2:20) • 12. Curse You Red Baron (3:30) • 13. Winter Becomes Spring (2:01) • 14. Never Give Up (3:50) • 15. Carnival Panic/Linus and Lucy** (2:17) • 16. Pen Pal Partners (1:23) • 17. Good Ol' Charlie Brown** (1:03) • 18. Skating* (2:39) • 19. Christmas Time is Here/Christmas is Coming (Medley)* (2:53) • 20. Linus and Lucy* (2:14)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a short note from the director, lyrics to the main song, and a list of orchestral performers.

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