The Best Aspects of Ferdinand Stand In Sharp Contrast To Its More Derivative Elements

Blue Sky Studios has been producing animated movies for sixteen years now and they're currently occupying what one might call an awkward phase in their history. The studio's big cash cow, the Ice Age movies, has finally run out of gas and their second attempt to create a big franchise in Rio never really took off after puttering out after two movies. Meanwhile, they're still producing only one movie a year, far less than even PIXAR who've been able to do two movies a year twice now, and their recent films that aren't The Peanuts Movie have failed to really take hold of the general public. They also seem to be struggling creatively with recent films like Rio and Epic that aspire to be bold and unique but end up succumbing to some of the more conventional traits of modern-day American animated fare.

The Peanuts Movie And Spectre Perfectly Demonstrate The Right And The Wrong Way, Respectively, To Do Fan Service

WARNING: Spoilers for Spectre, The Peanuts Movie, Star Trek Into Darkness and The Dark Knight Rises follow.

At this point, James Bond is no stranger to opening against animated family films. In fact, of the four Daniel Craig 007 movies, half of them have opened on the same weekend as a feature aimed at family audiences, while the other half have opened a solitary week after a major new animated film hit the market. It's no shocker that family movies tend to open against Bond and his cohorts; those 007 adventures tend to be seen by older viewers and don't have as much value for families as, say, PG-13 blockbusters like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Jurassic World.

The Peanuts Movie Review

As a lifelong aficionado of the the world of Charlie Brown (in a fit of gratuitous self-promotion, allow me to link to an essay I wrote over the comic in honors of its 50th anniversary), in theory, a 21st century theatrical feature based on these characters should be something I despise. No doubt such a film updates individuals like Lucy and Linus by giving them cell phones, Vine accounts and other necessities of modern day existence. But a remarkable amount of restraint is shown by the filmmakers responsible for The Peanuts Movie, with the feature refraining from up giving Snoopy a "Poochie" like update in favor of retaining his personality that has managed to work OK for 65 years now.

James Bond And Snoopy Bring Some Much Needed Life Back To The Box Office

After two weeks of dismal business, two stalwarts of pop culture returned to movie theaters for solid sums of cash that brought the box office roaring back to life. Taking the number one spot was Spectre, the latest James Bond adventure which grossed $73 million for the weekend. That's down from the previous 007 adventure, Skyfall, which grossed $88 million three years ago, although that one had far better reviews and the buzz stemming from the franchise celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. It also managed do 9% better than 2008 Daniel Craig 007 film Quantum of Solace, though Spectre lagged behind that feature in terms of attendance.

The Peanuts Movie Gets New Trailer That's Both Intriguing And Troubling

The Peanuts Movie is a film that fills me with hope and trepidation. The animation really brings Charles M. Schulzs artwork to CGI life in a pleasing manner, and a lack of celebrity voices in the cast is also cool to see. But could these guys at Blue Sky Studios really pull off a new feature length film starring Charlie Brown and the gang? All these conflicting emotions ran rampant as I started to watch the newest trailer for The Peanuts Movie, which you can watch below.

It's A New Trailer For Your New Movie Charlie Brown!

The forthcoming The Peanuts Movie should be an abomination. It should be a film that takes certain beloved cartoon characters and turns them into freaky, overly realistic CGI concoctions solely to make a buck and spew fart gags (think of those hideous Scooby-Doo movies from 2002 and 2004). Instead though, it actually looks great. The characters have been translated to CGI animation in a successful manner that retains their distinctive hand-drawn look, creating a new kind of style I've never seen in a CGI-animated feature.