Fifteen years after the death of creator Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts returns to the big screen after a 35-year absence. Though there has been some apprehension regarding the creative decision of recreating these characters in a 3D universe, The Peanuts Movie manages to seamlessly incorporate this new visual style all the while remaining faithful to its source material.

Zooming into theaters Nov. 6, 20th Century Fox’s vision of the classic comic strip follows the adventures of Charlie Brown, his gang of friends and his iconic dog Snoopy. When a new girl moves into the neighborhood, Charlie Brown does his best to hide his reputation as a klutz and become friends with her in an effort to get over his insecurity and lack of self-confidence. What ensues is a beautiful story injected with magnificent humor and glorious animation.

A common way to decide whether a kids movie works is if it equally appeals to adults, and this incarnation of the Peanuts does so more than any kids movie in recent years, even more so than some of Pixar’s finest work. The comedy is silly and outlandish, but also has a great deal of subtlety to it and is never smarmy or immature. The film knows it doesn’t need to toss in forced pop culture references the way other films would in order to satisfy its young demographic, and instead relies solely on its well-structured, balanced humor.

At its core, Peanuts has always had themes of melancholy, and thankfully, this film does not skip out on that facet. The story highlights the importance of failure in a way that’s both comical and emotional, staying true to the Peanuts canon. The animation looks terrific as well and each of the details of the characters and their surroundings pop with their vibrant colors and odd shapes. Was it entirely necessary to have it be animated in 3D? Not really, in fact, it would’ve been better had it been 2D the way it’s always been. But nevertheless, the film remains to be astounding.

There isn’t much to say about The Peanuts Movie that isn’t positive. The animation looks lovely, the humor always hits its mark, and the themes are wonderfully woven into the story. Good grief, this is without a doubt the best animated movie of the year.r the death of creator Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts returns to the big screen after a 35-year absence. Though there has been some apprehension regarding the creative decision of recreating these characters in a 3D universe, The Peanuts Movie manages to seamlessly incorporate this new visual style all the while remaining faithful to its source material.