One of the rudiments of exemplary movie reviewing is to not use too many sentences and paragraphs to recount the plot in detail.

Well, sir, there's no danger of that happening with this movie review because "The Peanuts Movie" has no plot.One of the rudiments of exemplary moviemaking is a good storyline."The Peanuts Movie" eschews a story line for a compendium of scenes familiar to readers of the "Peanuts" newspaper comic strip or viewers of "Peanuts" television specials."The Peanuts Movie" is a Charlie Brown and company "Greatest Hits," including the "Linus and Lucy" theme song that jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi composed (snippets of which are heard three times in the film) for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" television special (marking its 50th anniversary in 2015), plus depictions of the Charles M. Schulz characters in familiar situations: Snoopy "flying" his red doghouse in an imaginary dogfight with The Red Baron, the Peanuts gang ice-skating, Charlie Brown playing baseball and striking out, Lucy's "Psychiatric Booth," Charlie Brown trying to fly a kite and Lucy pulling out the football that Charlie Brown tries to kick (this scene is saved for the end credits).The animation is in the style of the limited, flat, full-cell, pre computer digital imagery era, even though it is computer animation. The color palette is pastel. Eyes and eyebrows are represented by squiggles as if drawn with Magic Markers. Shadowing is relegated to the feet. The film was reviewed in the 2D format. There's no need to see it in 3D.The voices by the young actors are quite good, including Noah Schnapp (Charlie Brown), Hadley Belle Miller (Lucy) and Alexander Garfin (Linus).Not to be too politically correct, but the use of "You blockhead" would be considered bullying in most contemporary school and social settings. Also, throwing a typewriter to hit someone's head with it, as Charlie Brown does to Lucy, would result in a charge of assault and battery.What's sorely lacking in "The Peanuts Movie," released to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the comic strip, are the good-natured insights, clever rejoinders and quips, and those "Gospel According to Peanuts" philosophical moments. Of course, for that you'd need Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000) or his near-equal.The degree of disappointment with "The Peanuts Movie," directed by Steve Martino ("Ice Age: Continental Drift," 2012; "Horton Hears a Who!" 2008) from a screenplay by Bryan Schulz and Craig Schulz (sons of "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz) and Cornelius Uliano in their feature film screenplay writing debuts, based on the Charles M. Schulz comic strip, has to do with its importance in United States' popular culture.The "Peanuts" comic strip, debuting in 1950 in nine newspapers (including The Morning Call and the former The Bethlehem Globe-Times) and continuing until 2013, was a syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip written and illustrated by Schulz. At one point, "Peanuts" ran in more than 2,600 newspapers, with a potential readership of 355 million in 75 countries (it was translated into 21 languages)."Peanuts" is regarded as the most popular and influential comic strip ever, with 17,897 comic strips published, said to be "the longest story ever told by a human being." "Peanuts," a trendsetter for four-panel comic strips, has sold more than $1 billion in merchandise and is still run in nearly every U.S. newspaper. There was a spinoff stage musical, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (1967).With "The Peanuts Movie," there's more going on in the end credits than in the movie itself, hence an extended version of Credit Readers Anonymous:Over a backdrop of enlarged "Peanuts" newspaper panels with enlarged Ben-Day Dots (shades of artist Roy Lichtenstein) are color panels that correspond to the credits. For instance, for Engineering, a panel with V2 Squared accompanies it. When it states how many babies were born during the film's production (a typical listing for end credits in recent years), a panel of Lucy pushing a doll baby carriage and a panel of Linus nursing a baby bottle is shown. The credits include an animated sequence where a plane zooms back into view, its engine sputters and the plane crashes into a pond."The Peanuts Movie" is preceded by the five-minute short, "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe," in which Scrat ("Ice Age") is still pursuing that treasured acorn."The Peanuts Movie" should entertain the preschool crowd. However, schoolchildren and parents and guardians may hunker down, surreptitiously checking social media on their mobile devices."The Peanuts Movie," MPAA rated G (General Audiences. All Ages Admitted.); Genre: Animation, Family, Comedy; Run time: 1 hr., 28 min.; Distributed by 20th Century Fox.Box Office, Dec. 11: In somewhat of a shocker, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" continued at No. 1, four weeks in a row, with $11.3 million, $244.4 million, four weeks, sinking the debut of the highly touted director Ron Howard and star Chris Hemsworth reworking of the "Moby Dick" tale, "In the Heart of the Sea," $11 million, opening;3. "The Good Dinosaur," $10.4 million, $89.6 million, three weeks; 4. "Creed," $10.1 million, $79.3 million, three weeks; 5. "Krampus," $8 million, $28.1 million, two weeks; 6. "Spectre," $4 million, $190.7 million, six weeks; 7. "The Night Before," $3.9 million, $38.2 million, four weeks; 8. "The Peanuts Movie," $2.6 million, $124.9 million, six weeks; 9. "Spotlight," $2.5 million, $20.3 million, six weeks; 10. "Brooklyn," $1.9 million, $14.3 million, six weeksUnreel, Dec. 18:"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," PG-13: J.J. Abrams directs Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Adam Driver in the science-fiction film created by George Lucas that takes place 30 years after "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (1983)."Sisters," R: Jason Moore directs Amy Poehler, John Cena, Madison Davenport and Tina Fey in the comedy about two sisters who hold a house party before their parents sell the family home."Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip," PG: Walt Becker directs the animation comedy and the voice talents of Christina Applegate, Kaley Cuoco, Anna Faris and Bella Thorne about Alvin, Simon and Theodore as they deal with Dave's plans to marry his girlfriend."Extraction," R: Director: Steven C. Miller directs Gina Carano, Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz and Summer Altice in the thriller about a former CIA operative kidnapped by terrorists.Two Popcorn Boxes out of Fives Boxes