Peanuts, the long-running comic strip that introduced Snoopy and Charlie Brown to the world, is to get a big-screen outing with support from the family of its late creator, Charles Schulz.
Twentieth Century Fox Animation's Blue Sky Studios will release the film on 25 November 2015, in line with the 65th anniversary of Peanuts' debut and the 50th anniversary of the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. Schulz's son Craig and grandson Bryan will write the screenplay alongside Cornelius Uliano; the movie will be directed by Steve Martino. The latter's credits include Ice Age 4: Continental Drift and Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
"We are thrilled to partner with the Schulz family and Iconix and honoured to bring the Peanuts characters to the big screen," Fox Animation's Vanessa Morrison said in a statement. "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 filmgoers."
At the height of its popularity, the Peanuts strip was read by 355 million people in 75 countries. Several television specials won or were nominated for Emmy awards, and there were also several big screen releases and TV series. The strip's final instalment ran on February 13 2000, the day after the death of its creator.
The new film is currently untitled and its format is unknown, though it seems unlikely that Fox would stray too far from the traditional hand-drawn look favoured by Schulz.
