‘The Peanuts Movie’ Featurette Shows Animation Process

Making a contemporary Peanuts movie isn’t as easy as just creating some CGI characters on a cartoony background — original comic creator Charles M. Schulz’s style of drawing beloved characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy wasn’t entirely polished, which was part of its charm, and to replicate that feeling takes some serious attention to detail. A new featurette shows off the hard work that went into creating The Peanuts Movie and how hard the team strived to capture the spirit of Schulz’s work.

In the new video above, director Steve Martino and a few members of the animating team talk about what made Schulz’s work so original and memorable, and it mostly comes down to the imperfections, the ever-changing and inconsistent proportions, and the little nuances. As they describe, just one slight change in the shape of an eye or a mouth could convey a completely different emotion.

Also of note: it took two years for them to fully render Charlie Brown. That’s sincere dedication, and it’s also the sort of commitment that gets us excited to see what the new Peanuts Movie is all about.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved “Peanuts” gang make their big-screen debut, like they’ve never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the ICE AGE films, THE PEANUTS MOVIE will prove that every underdog has his day.

The Peanuts Movie was produced by Paul Feig and hits theaters on November 6.