New Peanuts Movie Coming from Apple
Practice the Snoopy Dance (preferably with Xander Harris as your instructor) because the Peanuts are back. Deadline reports that Apple is developing a new Peanuts movie based on the beloved comic strip characters created by Charles M. Schulz. The film will find Charlie Brown and friends “on an epic adventure to the Big City, learning the true meaning of friendship while meeting some surprising new friends along the way.” The currently untitled movie will be written by Schulz’s son, Craig Schulz, and grandson, Bryan Schulz, as well as Brian’s writing partner, Cornelius Uliano, all of whom wrote the last film featuring the characters, The Peanuts Movie, from 2015. Steve Martino, who directed The Peanuts Movie, will return as well. The new movie will begin filming in 2024; there’s no word yet on whether it will be released in theaters before coming to Apple TV+.
My interest in the Peanuts is such that I have no memory of The Peanuts Movie existing. I may have seen A Charlie Brown Christmas when I was a kid, but the most exposure I got to it was my dad playing the soundtrack in the car at Christmastime. So, I don’t have strong feelings about this one way or the other. However, it reminds me of the recent news that Warner Bros. is bringing back the Looney Tunes for their first fully animated theatrical movie. When that was announced, I wondered if it was a sign that other studios were seizing the moment now that Disney’s animation department is dropping like… well, the rest of Disney. And that includes Pixar, which is a shell of its former self in terms of business and cultural impact. Disney’s next animated movie is Wish, which is tracking okayish but not great. Apple owns the rights to the Peanuts, and all the beloved specials and shows are available solely on Apple TV+; as Warner Bros. is dusting off the Looney Tunes, so will Apple trot out the Peanuts. And as with the Looney Tunes, all Apple has to do is make a good, traditional Peanuts movie that the whole family can enjoy and that doesn’t force modern sociopolitical ideology on kids. Disney is being hit from all sides now, and they’d better hope Lucy doesn’t yank the football away from Charlie Brown this time. (Okay, I know a few Peanuts things.)
