Remakes of beloved children’s properties are always tricky business. Often, adaptations will awkwardly ham-fist current hit songs and slang into the narrative (See: The Smurfs) or, even worse, update them beyond recognizability (See: The recent release Jem And The Holograms. Or better yet, don’t). Thankfully, everything we’ve seen from The Peanuts Movie thus far seems keen on preserving what made Charles M. Schulz’s creations special in the first place. No characters voiced by Will.i.am, no jokes about social media, and no dance parties set to a Pitbull song. Even the fancy, modern-day computer animation maintains the comic strip’s flat look. If the movie is even half as charming as A Charlie Brown Christmas, it will be the rare family film that kids can enjoy and won’t make parents groan.
The Peanuts Movie hits theaters everywhere on November 6, but The A.V. Club and 20th Century Fox have an opportunity to you to see it for free on Sunday afternoon, November 1. For your chance to win a pair of passes to the advance screening, simply follow the link here and enter your information. As always, seats will be first come, first served, so you’ll want to try to arrive to the screening a little early. An official plot synopsis and trailer for the film can be found below.
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved “Peanuts” gang make their big-screen debut, like they’ve never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle—and flying ace—embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the Ice Age films, The Peanuts Movie will prove that every underdog has his day.