Good Grief: Fox Animation Is Set To Make A “Peanuts” Film

I’m well aware that Charles Schultz took plenty of opportunities to use the Peanuts gang for financial gain. For every Great Pumpkin there’s a Flashbeagle. These characters aren’t sacred. But they are American icons, the closest thing we’ve got to rival Europe’s fascination with Tintin, and it’s really weird to read the news that 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Animation, the folks that make the utterly shitty Ice Age films as well as the forgettable Rio, have announced their intent to produce a 3D cartoon based on Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Fox has slated the flick for a Thanksgiving 2015 release date, so their counting on this to be huge.

Craig Schultz, son of Charles, will be writing the film and said:

“We have been working on this project for years. We finally felt the time was right and the technology is where we need it to be to create this film. I am thrilled we will be partnering with Blue Sky/Fox to create a Peanuts movie that is true to the strip and will continue the legacy in honor of my father.”

Fox and Blue Sky released this statement:

“We are thrilled to partner with the Schulz family and Iconix and honored to bring the Peanuts characters to the big screen. This all started with our love and respect for the work of Charles Schulz. We thank the Schulz family and Iconix for letting Fox and Blue Sky bring his vision to new generations of film goers.”

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.