The Peanuts Movie Exclusive Interview

The Peanuts Movie will be in theaters this Friday, November 6th! I recently had the opportunity to have an intimate round table interview with the director Steve Martino, producer Craig Schulz, and the cutest kid cast ever! 

Here’s what they had to say: 

Why was this the right time to do a full length Peanuts Movie?

Craig Schulz: It’s been 15 years since my Dad’s passing and I think the world has changed. Newspapers are disappearing. People aren’t reading Peanuts in print anymore for the most part. So we wanted to generate new interest in the new generation, yet at the same time satisfy the older generation that really had missed the medium. 

This movie has a different look than the traditional Peanuts specials. Talk a little bit about your decision to give it this new look.

Steve Martino: I believe that a movie screen is a big canvas and the opportunity to use some of the tools we use in computer animation to bring this wonderful world to life with a little more detail. Make us feel like that world really exists, but it had to be in the styling of Charles Schulz’s hands. You see that in Charlie Browns smile, his eyes, and whenever there was a question, we don’t come up with the answers. We go to a comic strip and find the answers there. 

Can you guys talk a little bit about the casting process for the kids. What you guys looked for and how you guys picked them?

Craig Schulz: We we came up with the cast we had interviewed hundreds and hundreds of kids. I had decided all I wanted to hear was their names, where they went to school and what their hobbies were. The best way to choose was not to let them act, but to let them talk. I couldn’t be happier with the cast from the perspective of them sounding very close to the originals. The kids were wonderful performers. They are natural and that’s whats most important. 

How do you feel about being able to carry on your father’s legacy with creating this new Peanuts movie?

Craig Schulz: I take that burden on everyday. The oversight is at a higher level than it has ever been, even in his lifetime. I know that for a fact. Creating the movie was a huge kind of undertaking and a risk I had to take to do that. I wanted to honor what he has done. He spent 50 years doing the comic strip, almost 18,ooo comic strips. He worked on them virtually almost every single day and I take it as an honor to be able to do this. 

The film itself is still very classic, can you tell me the idea behind keeping it in that classical sense? 

Steve Martino: We wanted to make the film timeless. We wanted to have the characters fit in the right time frame. We decided what would go into film asking if these items would be found in a living room today. The ideas are timeless. It deals with humanity and our own sense of insecurity. Those are universal ideas and timeless ideas. 

How do you hope the movie impacts the younger generation?

Steve Martino: One of the great thing about Peanuts is that it’s a movie that you feel like is safe to take your children to see. A new generation of kids will get to know these characters. The hardest thing to do is to create great characters. I’m excited for a new generation to get to know the Peanuts characters. 

CAST INTERVIEW WITH:

 Hadley Belle Miller, Francesca Capaldi, and Noah Schnapp

Can you guys talk about how you prepared for some of your roles? 

Hadley: With Lucy I just listened to some of the specials. I’d read some of the comic strips because I had this big book full of the comic strips from 1952-1956. 

Francesca: It was a little hard to prepare for the Little Red Head girl because she’s never spoken before. She’s never had a voice so the Steve the director and I worked it out and ended up going with my natural voice. 

Noah: I watched a lot of the specials and I watched the Great Pumpkin like five times. I did a lot of preparing and I just used my normal voice. 

What was your favorite part of getting to voice these iconic characters? 

Hadley: My favorite part was getting to play Lucy and be a little sassy because at home I get into a lot of trouble. Also, doing this press tour and working with Steve Martino the director. 

Francesca: For me, it was being able to be the first voice of the Little Red Head Girl and also being able to work with Steve Martino. 

Noah: I think everything was amazing, I don’t think there was a part I didn’t like. The press tour has been awesome. I liked working with Steve Martino because he was an awesome director. 

What was your favorite scene? 

Hadley: My favorite scene was the ending of the movie. 

Francesca: My favorite scene was the whole movie. Charlie Brown is trying to muster up the courage to talk to the Little Red Head Girl. 

Noah: My favorite part was when Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown. It was really fun to do that. 

What do you guys want other kids to know about the movie?

Hadley: I want kids to dream big and work hard if you really want something. 

Francesca: I want kids to learn to be yourself and know that awards aren’t what make people like you. 

 Noah: I think we all agree to dream big, but to never give up on your dreams. If you never give up on your dreams you’ll be successful. 

It was a pleasure to interview the director, producer and cast on the remake of this iconic comic strip. Catch The Peanuts Movie in theaters this weekend! 

Ashley