"The Muppets" have made a comeback, with "Muppets Most Wanted" hitting theaters on Friday. So why not the "Peanuts" gang? Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the crew will return in a big-screen 3-D movie in 2015, and a teaser was released on Tuesday.
To the strains of the famous fanfare from "Also sprach Zarathustra," a round object appears on screen. But it's not a planet — it's Charlie Brown's iconic round head, complete with single squiggle of hair. Quickly the music switches to Vince Guaraldi's jazzy "Linus and Lucy," aka, the Snoopy dance music. And dance Snoopy does, quickly making his poor owner dizzy (though he later apologizes with a friendly slurp, and gets a hug in return).
"Peanuts" fans can hold back any exclamations of "good grief" for now. The teaser's short, but Charlie Brown and Snoopy's voices and appearances match up nicely with memories of the classic television specials. They're drawn for 3-D this time around, so are a little rounder and softer than the flatter TV images, but fit right in with the legacy of Charles Schulz's famed comic strip.
And for good reason: Schulz's son Craig is a producer on the film, and he told USA Today he's always watching out for what his dad would've wanted. "I'm way more protective than my father would have been," he told the paper. "Our No. 1 goal was always to be authentic to his work and legacy."
The film will reportedly include all the "Peanuts" favorite characters, including Charlie Brown's long-unrequited crush, the little red-haired girl. And there will be familiar plots, such as Snoopy flying his doghouse into battle as a World War I Sopwith Camel fighter plane.
Schulz says his father would have "embraced the technology" of 3-D, and producer Paul Feig, of "Freaks and Geeks" fame, told USA Today that fans shouldn't worry the gang will get too modern.
“Snoopy will not be rapping, no one will be twerking, we're in good hands," Feig said.
"Peanuts" is scheduled for a Nov. 6, 2015, release.
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