Ah yes, I was surprised no one brought this up either.
Actually, I'm going to say I agree with this. Peanuts always tried to be forward thinking. Peppermint Patty being a tom boy, wearing shorts and sandals, and being the child of a single father, all were pretty unusual at the time.
And frankly, Hollywood still has a real problem including female African American characters in lead roles.
I do indeed think Hollywood has a diversity problem. I don't know if this was the right film to fix that, but I'm glad to see that Franklin had a sizable role and to see more non-Caucasian background characters. They were
very careful not to add any major new characters, and I respect that. I don't think this was the movie to fix that problem, especially when the real problem to me is lack of
original diverse characters in original movies. And you know what film does this the best? Fast and Furious! Yep. Some say that the key to this movie series' success
is the diverse roles. I was also delighted by Home having a black female role. Not exactly African American, I forget where she comes from, but it's an island. Either Haitian or Jamaican or something.
I also don't really mind racelifts in comic book hero movies, but I prefer to see original heroes and characters of different races. It's a shame that the only one in the running so far is the up and coming Black Panther movie. It would be awesome to see WB add Static Shock to their film line up, but that's never going to happen.
When Lucy says "No dogs!" to Snoopy, it reminds me of the recurring "No Dogs Allowed' line from Snoopy Come Home. When Charlie Brown picks up the Little Red-Haired Girl's pencil, he successfully manages to hold on to it and return it to her, as compared to A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002), where Lucy snatches the pencil from his hand and ruins his chances of a potential conversation.
The "No Dogs Allowed" thing was clearly intentional. I loved the little Easter Eggs and references they had in the movie. I'd almost say the War and Peace bit and the part where Snoopy's teaching Chuck dance moves was a nod to the New Years special.