Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back) is the final theatrically released movie based on the Peanuts comic strips and television specials until The Peanuts Movie 35 years later. Compared to the previous films and even some of the television specials I didn't find this one as enjoyable. I love Peanuts and I think Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the gang are a timeless creation by Charles Schulz as I've admired his work for more than a decade.
So this movie takes an approach on the Peanuts gang going on an adventure as they travel to France since Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie are being exchange students for a few weeks with Snoopy and Woodstock tagging along. And as they make it there with Charlie Brown receiving an invitation, him and Linus end up wondering who it was inviting the gang to the chateau.
This is not a bad premise for Peanuts especially with them returning to the silver screen. It's exciting to see Charlie and the gang travel somewhere overseas for the first time. However this movie doesn't really have a story until after half way through the runtime. The entire first half of this movie is just seeing the Peanuts gang traveling to France with different transportation every few minutes, not to mention they stop at England which contributes nothing to the plot. There's a lot of filler and the conflict isn't even hinted until they arrive at France in the second half. I will say by the third act the story really gets good though. The climax of the house being on fire was honestly the best part of the movie and puts a nice dramatic effect to everything. But that's the only time I really enjoyed this movie, the rest is just boring. It is nice to see the adults appear on screen who also speak words instead of just hearing the trombone sound effect for the first time and there are some funny gags here and there. I wasn't a fan of the exaggerated accents though. This movie does feel a little theater-worthy still, it just lacks a well told story for all 3 acts of the film.
Charlie Brown has a decent motivation in this movie wanting to make it to his destination for the school and finding out who invited him to the chateau. Pierre is a cool kid who gives us an introduction to the cultures of France. Peppermint Patty on the other hand is really annoying as she constantly gets on Charlie Brown's nerves without any thought of her actions and assumes Pierre likes her when he doesn't at all. She's the least I could understand in this movie since the characters barely develop. Linus makes a good supporting companion to Charlie Brown especially in the climax. Snoopy and Woodstock are fun as they bring comedic effect to the movie. And Violette turns out to be the one behind the invitation but isn't on screen for very long. A lot of the other characters like Schroeder, Lucy, Sally, and Patty only appear in the very beginning of the movie with reduced roles which is disappointing especially since they had exchange students at their school in America. I think an opportunity was really missed there. We could've gotten to know who they were while Charlie and his gang were on their way to France.
Additionally the animation is on par for Peanuts. I really admire the background work for this movie and definitely gave it a big-screen vibe. The soundtrack is okay, it doesn't compare to the talent of Vince Guaraldi or even the Sherman Brothers from Snoopy Come Home but it's fine for what it is.
Overall, this movie could've been much better if the story didn't feel rushed and the characters had more bonding with each other, nobody really learns anything and only 1/3 acts felt completed. I can kind of see why there wasn't another theatrical Peanuts film a few years after this one since it barely accomplished its goal. It has some fun moments for a Peanuts film but nothing truly special or memorable.
So this movie takes an approach on the Peanuts gang going on an adventure as they travel to France since Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie are being exchange students for a few weeks with Snoopy and Woodstock tagging along. And as they make it there with Charlie Brown receiving an invitation, him and Linus end up wondering who it was inviting the gang to the chateau.
This is not a bad premise for Peanuts especially with them returning to the silver screen. It's exciting to see Charlie and the gang travel somewhere overseas for the first time. However this movie doesn't really have a story until after half way through the runtime. The entire first half of this movie is just seeing the Peanuts gang traveling to France with different transportation every few minutes, not to mention they stop at England which contributes nothing to the plot. There's a lot of filler and the conflict isn't even hinted until they arrive at France in the second half. I will say by the third act the story really gets good though. The climax of the house being on fire was honestly the best part of the movie and puts a nice dramatic effect to everything. But that's the only time I really enjoyed this movie, the rest is just boring. It is nice to see the adults appear on screen who also speak words instead of just hearing the trombone sound effect for the first time and there are some funny gags here and there. I wasn't a fan of the exaggerated accents though. This movie does feel a little theater-worthy still, it just lacks a well told story for all 3 acts of the film.
Charlie Brown has a decent motivation in this movie wanting to make it to his destination for the school and finding out who invited him to the chateau. Pierre is a cool kid who gives us an introduction to the cultures of France. Peppermint Patty on the other hand is really annoying as she constantly gets on Charlie Brown's nerves without any thought of her actions and assumes Pierre likes her when he doesn't at all. She's the least I could understand in this movie since the characters barely develop. Linus makes a good supporting companion to Charlie Brown especially in the climax. Snoopy and Woodstock are fun as they bring comedic effect to the movie. And Violette turns out to be the one behind the invitation but isn't on screen for very long. A lot of the other characters like Schroeder, Lucy, Sally, and Patty only appear in the very beginning of the movie with reduced roles which is disappointing especially since they had exchange students at their school in America. I think an opportunity was really missed there. We could've gotten to know who they were while Charlie and his gang were on their way to France.
Additionally the animation is on par for Peanuts. I really admire the background work for this movie and definitely gave it a big-screen vibe. The soundtrack is okay, it doesn't compare to the talent of Vince Guaraldi or even the Sherman Brothers from Snoopy Come Home but it's fine for what it is.
Overall, this movie could've been much better if the story didn't feel rushed and the characters had more bonding with each other, nobody really learns anything and only 1/3 acts felt completed. I can kind of see why there wasn't another theatrical Peanuts film a few years after this one since it barely accomplished its goal. It has some fun moments for a Peanuts film but nothing truly special or memorable.