Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
Charlie Brown enters a talent show at his school, planning to perform a magic show act. On the day of the show, however, Charlie Brown decides to sacrifice his act in order to help his sister Sally with hers, which gives her a standing ovation, yet causes him to be humiliated in front of the entire school. Later, Charlie Brown practices for a school dance, hoping that he can impress the Little Red-Haired Girl with his moves. At the dance, Charlie Brown attracts praise for his skills until he accidentally causes a sprinkler to be set off, causing the dance to be cut short.
The next day, Charlie Brown is partnered with the Little Red-Haired Girl to write a book report. When she is called away for a week to deal with a family illness, Charlie Brown decides to write the report alone, on the collegiate-level novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, to which he writes a comprehensive report. At the same time, Charlie Brown finds he is the only student to get a perfect score on a standardized test taken earlier that school year. His friends and the other students congratulate him, and his popularity begins to climb.
However, when he goes to accept a medal at a school assembly, Charlie Brown learns that his test papers were accidentally mixed up with Peppermint Patty's, prompting him to reveal the mistake and decline the medal, thus becoming unpopular again. Subsequently, his book report is accidentally shredded by the model plane, causing Charlie Brown and the Little Red-Haired Girl to fail the assignment and making the former give up on his attempts to improve himself.
Meanwhile, Snoopy writes a novel about his World War I Flying Ace persona trying to save his girlfriend Fifi from the Red Baron with help from his bird friend Woodstock, using the key events and situations surrounding Charlie Brown as inspiration to develop his story. Snoopy, in the end, manages to defeat the Red Baron and save Fifi.
On the last day of school, Charlie Brown is surprised when the Little Red-Haired Girl chooses him for a pen pal (as part of a school project during the summer). Linus encourages Charlie Brown to tell the Little Red-Haired Girl how he feels about her before she leaves for the summer. Working up his courage, Charlie Brown meets the Little Red-Haired Girl just as she is about to leave on the bus for summer camp and asks her why she has chosen him in spite of his previous failed attempts to try and impress her. The Little Red-Haired Girl explains to him that she admires his compassion, honesty, and bravery. This causes the other kids, including Lucy, to congratulate Charlie Brown, finally accepting him as a true friend. Meanwhile, the model plane finally runs out of batteries and falls into a lake.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Peanuts Movie. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license