[CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT ★]
“THE PEANUTS MOVIE” STAYS TRUE TO THE COMIC STRIP
(P1) As a LIFELONG fan of the Peanuts COMIC STRIP and television specials, Steve Martino says that getting chosen to direct a computer-animated Peanuts movie struck him as “a huge responsibility.” When he accepted the offer, he knew the importance of STAYING TRUE TO the original work that cartoonist Charles Schulz created in 1950.
(P2) “I have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for Charles Schulz as an artist,” Martino says. “He was like a teacher to me. When I was very young, I would read the comic strip with my dad. I used to just lie on the floor and stare at the drawings. I think the Peanuts characters were some of the first characters I tried to draw or copy.”
(P3) Though Charles Schulz died in 2000, his family has been passionate about preserving his LEGACY and making sure children today can enjoy the Peanuts characters. His son Craig and grandson Bryan worked as two of the three writers on The Peanuts Movie, which comes to theaters on November 6. While the Schulz family worked hard to keep the characters AUTHENTIC, Martino had a special kind of BALANCING ACT: bringing the Peanuts gang to life with computer animation while staying true to the original two-dimensional artwork.
(P4) “I thought that with computer animation there would be the opportunity to bring these characters to life and make [their] world feel a little more real,” he said. “But it was very important to me that we find the ‘pen line’—the way that Charles Schulz drew.”
(P5) Longtime Peanuts fans will notice the SIGNATURE pen line in almost every detail: the SQUIGGLE of Charlie Brown’s mouth, the way movement is shown with motion lines, and even the OUTLINE of Snoopy’s dog house.
(P6) In addition to following Schulz’s pen line, Martino had the film’s CASTING DIRECTOR listen to thousands of recordings to choose actors who sound like the original Peanuts characters from TV.
(P7) This ATTENTION TO DETAIL required extra hours of work for the film’s crew, but Martino thinks it was worth it. “We took a tremendous amount of care in the making of the movie because we have such respect for the work that [Schulz] created,” he said. “And as we studied more of his work, we developed even more respect for how he has touched people around the world. My hope is that he would be proud of what we’ve created.”
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SOURCE: http://www.timeforkids.com/news/working-%E2%80%9Cpeanuts%E2%80%9D/300556
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Are the Peanuts characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy popular in your country?
- Who were your favorite comic strip or cartoon characters when you were growing up?
- Do you like the new computer animation, or the old hand-drawn animation?
- Do 3D MOVIES hurt your eyes or give you a headache?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Comic strip
- Stay true to
- Balancing act
- Casting director
- Attention to detail
- 3D movie
