‘Peanuts’ Get a Release Date

While I’m not entirely sure that this is a good thing or not, Fox and Blue Sky have announced today that the Peanuts film is finally prepped and set for a release date of November 25, 2015.  This date coincides with the 65th anniversary of the comic strip, and the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. This project has been in development for years, and it looks like the creators finally have it mapped out in a way that will honor the beloved Charles Schulz series.

While I would normally have reserved expectations for this announcement, Craig Schulz and Bryan Schulz, the son and grandson of Charles, are two of the writers on the film, which will hopefully help the movie stick to the source material.
Steve Martino who directed Horton Hears a Who, and co-directed Ice Age: Continental Drift is slated as the film’s director. At this point I would say it’s safe to assume the film will be CG, rather than going for a 2D hand-drawn look that made the original specials so…special. Here’s a quote from Craig Schulz from the press release:

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.

What do you think? Will the film honor the legacy of Charles Schulz, or will this be just another CG cash grab for the studios?