‘The Peanuts Movie’ Voice Cast Revealed

Even as the holidays (and awards season) are in full swing and the 2014 year in animation will be in the books quite soon, news concerning next year’s films keeps rolling in. One of those films in particular is Blue Sky Studios’ adaptation of the beloved Peanuts comic strip and TV specials known as The Peanuts Movie.

After reporting on Disney’s first cast announcement for Moana (and not long after we’ve been granted a deeper look at the film along with a new trailer to boot), we now come with news about who may voice the beloved characters that populate the world of Peanuts.

Courtesy of Collider, we learned that for Charlie Brown and company, Blue Sky went for a cast of virtually unknown kid actors. While I’m not generally opposed to celebrity voices in animated films, I like that they went in this direction of being cognizant of tradition and the fact that these characters needed the right type of actors to do them justice (DreamWorks did this too when they cast the relatively unknown Max Charles as Sherman in Mr. Peabody & Sherman).

Without further ado, here’s the complete list of actors and their respective parts (as provided by Collider):

Noah Schnapp voices the role of Good ol’ Charlie Brown, the lovable loser who never gives up. The young actor recently filmed a role opposite Tom Hanks in director Steven Spielberg’s untitled Cold War thriller. Most recently, Noah wrapped work on the indie film We Only Know So Much, based on the book of the same title.

Hadley Belle Miller provides the voice for Lucy, known around the neighborhood (and by her little brother, Linus) for being crabby and bossy and humiliating Charlie Brown. Hadley’s voiceover credits includeSofia the First and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and she has appeared on stage and in commercials.

AJ Tecce voices Pig-Pen, who happily travels in his own private dust storm. AJ appeared in the filmsRaising Ethan and Stereopsis, and in several commercials. He’s also done extensive voiceover work.

Newcomer Venus Schultheis voices Peppermint Patty, a fearless born leader and a natural athlete who is up to any challenge…except studying. Venus wants to be a nurse and a cosmetologist, working on people’s hair and nails while they are in the hospital or a nursing home. (If you see Venus’s hair, you’ll understand!) She enjoys snowboarding, skim boarding and tennis.

Alexander Garfin gives voice to Linus, the benevolent, blanket-clutching philosopher who always has a kind word for everybody…even his bossy older sister, Lucy. Alexander’s numerous credits include the feature Salt, the television series Law & Order SVU and Saturday Night Live, and on stage, On Borrowed Time and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Francesca Capaldi voices Little Red-Haired Girl, who has captured Charlie Brown’s heart; now, if only he could muster the courage to speak to her! Francesca had a guest-starring role in Disney’s A.N.T. Farmand on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, is a series regular on Disney’s Dog with the Blog, and has appeared in the film 3-Day Test, as well as in several commercials.

Mar Mar voices Frankin, Charlie Brown’s good friend and confidant, and the only one who never has an unkind word about our hapless hero, or anyone else for that matter, Mar Mar has worked on the TV series Austin & Alley (on the Disney Channel),Guys with Kids, Bubble Guppies and Good Luck Charlie.

Mariel Sheets voices Sally, Charlie Brown’s little sister who believes the world owes her an answer for some of its most perplexing problems, such as: why does she have to go to school? Mariel has worked in film, appeared in national commercials, and done voiceovers for television, radio, and online.

Rebecca Bloom gives voice to Marcie, Peppermint Patty’s best friend, loyal follower, and complete opposite. Rebecca was featured on The Tonight Show, and has had roles on stage in Annie, The Jungle Book and How to Eat Like a Child.

William Alexander Wunsch voices Shermy, Charlie Brown’s friend, who is straight laced and dependable. William has extensive live performance experience, appeared in several commercials, and on Saturday Night Live with Jim Carrey.

Anastasia Bredikhina voices Patty, and Madisyn Shipman voices Violet – best friends who always side with the popular crowd. Anastasia is a trained actor, dancer, musician and model; Madisyn has appeared on Modern Love, Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show.

As mentioned before, archival recordings of the late Bill Melendez will be used for the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock.

In addition, producer Paul Fieg tweeted this picture featuring him (and who I assume is director Steve Martino) along with the principal cast:

As you can tell, these all are mostly actors with experience with commercial and voiceover work, stage performance, small roles in film, and TV shows on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. For one actor in particular (Venus Schultheis), it will be the first time they’ve ever done any major acting, period.

In any case, I wish this new generation of kid actors good luck in bringing these characters to life.

Here’s the new synopsis from Fox, describing the film’s plot as follows:

In the film, Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest.

The Peanuts Movie land in theaters November 6, 201