Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Just watched this with my movie theatre-working friend. It's based on "Peabody's Improbable History", a cartoon that always aired in the middle of the "Rocky & Bullwinkle" show and had Mr. Peabody, a smart dog with glasses, and Sherman, his adopted human son-also with glasses, going to various important events in history ending with some kind of pun often said by Peabody to a bemused Sherman. This version takes some elements from the pilot episode (Peabody adopts Sherman amid some troubles) and also adds somewhat of a girlfriend from school for the boy. With that out of the way, I'll just say that I found some amusement at much of the humor concerning some historical figures and some modern lingo and I did laugh out loud a few times. There's even some heart rending scenes I liked. But nothing beats the charm of the old cartoons even though they weren't the best artistically in animation. Still, the computer-animation is visually pleasing so on that note, I recommend Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is the story of an extremely intelligent dog named, Mr. Peabody(Ty Burrell) & his adopted human son, Sherman(Max Charles). Using a time traveling machine called, the WABAC, the duo travel to the past to experience iconic historic moments & meet historic people firsthand. However, after Sherman gets into trouble at school due to Penny Peterson(Ariel Winter), Peabody decides to invite Penny & her parents, Paul(Stephen Colbert) & Patty Peterson(Leslie Mann) for dinner to resolve the issue. However, the intelligent dog's plan horribly backfires when Sherman tells Penny about the WABAC & she being the obnoxious & inquisitive girl that she is, decides to do some time traveling of her own. Now, it's up to Mr. Peabody & Sherman to save Penny & return the space-time continuum to normal before the Petersons realize their daughter's missing.

I was laughing throughout the film & had a blast! I loved the fact that Mr. Peabody, who is a dog, is way more clever than the humans he interacts with. I loved the father-son relationship between Mr. Peabody & his human kid, Sherman. Though this scenario could never happen in a million years, the makers of the movie make their relationship believable & emotional at the same time. Mr. Peabody gets pretty emotional & sad seeing how fast Sherman is growing up. I loved the idea of time travel in an animated film, which kind of makes it a sci-fi film, as well! The voice acting is the highlight of the movie. Ty Burrell, best known for portraying Phil Dunphy on the hit sitcom, Modern Family, is equally hilarious, sarcastic, goofy & endearing as Mr. Peabody. Max Charles is adorable as the innocent little kid, Sherman. Ariel Winter, also known for playing Alex Dunphy on Modern Family, is outstanding as the obnoxious & curious, Penny Peterson. Allison Janney is spectacular as the main antagonist, Ms. Grunion. Stephen Colbert is impressive as Paul Peterson. Leslie Mann is amazing as Patty Peterson. The famous characters of historical importance are brilliant as well. Special mention should be made of, Stanley Tucci, Lake Bell & Patrick Warburton for their unforgettable voice overs of Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa & Agamemnon respectively. I would like to sign off by saying, Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a must watch for everyone who enjoys a darn good movie.

Based on a 60's short 'Peabody's Improbable History', DreamWorks and director Rob Minkoff ('The Lion King') bring the original characters up- to-date in this wonderfully charming and colourful romp.

The story tells of Mr. Peabody, a talking canine (voiced by Modern Family's Ty Burrell), and his adopted "pet" son Sherman. An incident on Sherman's first day of school leads to Peabody inviting Penny and her parents for dinner, hoping the kids will reconcile their differences and avoiding potential loss of custody over Sherman. In an attempt to impress Penny, however, Sherman accidentally reveals the WABAC - Peabody's time travelling machine and ends up rewriting history that will have dire consequences in the future if not set right.

I hadn't seen the original cartoon until I saw the film, but I caught the introduction episode on YouTube after and there were several scenes/dialogue that's been re-used in the movie. Even though it holds no nostalgia for me, it's a great little touch.

The vocal talent is also great. There's the aforementioned Burrell, but also some other well-known names including, but not limited to, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton (Kronk from 'The Emperor's New Groove'), Mel Brooks and Stephen Toblowsky. Their indistinguishable voices really liven up their respectable characters. And, while, Robert Downey Jr. was originally cast as Peabody, Burrell does a commendable job here.

After being less than impressed with prior DreamWorks entries 'The Croods' and, more recently, 'Turbo', I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I initially thought I would. The humour is very child-friendly and it's still a step down from what I like to call the "old" DreamWorks ('Shrek', etc.), but it is great family entertainment.

The story is on the predictable side, but has a great message and will keep parents and older siblings entertained, while the zany energy and characters will keep the kids amused. They might even pick up a thing or two about history.

7/10.

From the creators of ¨How to Train Your Dragon¨ and the director of ¨The Lion King¨ bring us a new adventure stars Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell's voice) is a talking dog who is the smartest living thing in the world. Mr. Peabody is an inventor, scientist, Nobel Prize winner, gourmet, two-time Olympic medalist and a genius. He also happens to be a dog... a dog who has adopted a human child, Sherman (Max Charles' voice). . Mr. Peabody, canine of superior intellect realizes that he needs to adopt a boy. In his search comes across Sherman. Using his most ingenious invention, a time-travel machine, Mr. Peabody and his son Sherman are able to experience firsthand the events and characters that have changed the world throughout its history. Along the way, they soon have to fix the timeline and return to present day. But when Sherman breaks the rules of time travel, the two heroes will have to repair history and save the future. He's leaving his mark on history !. History is catching up with them !. Meet Mr. Peabody March 7 !. The Dogfather of all comedies !. The time traveling misadventures of a genius dog and his adopted son !.

Rob Minkoff returns to animated film - after The Lion King and the Stuart Little saga - with this comedy of adventures and time travel that reimagines the classic animated series from the 1950s and that had a sequel ¨Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show¨ (2015-2017) . In ¨Mr. Peabody & Sherman¨(2014) actor Ty Burrell voices Mr. Peabody in the original version. Fantasy, magic and adventure for the whole family come together in this US animated film about a a very special pair of protagonists a naughty boy and his dog father and the power to change fate. There is continuous non-stop entertainment with frenetic action, good staging and adventures of all kinds in which our starring will face a thousand and one dangers in order to to escape from a temporal mess in which a time machine has sent them through various periods of history . There are some historical references, important events and historical characters that will entertain the little ones, as well as instructing or educate them, including the following: French Revolution, Ancient Egypt, sacking of Troy as the Trojan Horse , Renaissance Florence including several historical figures as Queen Antoinette, Robespierre, Tutankhamun, Agamenon, Leonardo Da Vinci with his Mona Lisa, Beethoven, Gandhi, William Shakespeare, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, among others. The film is technically acceptable with a colorful pop approach accentuated by contrasts of time and space. The story, with basic positive messages, action enough and continous amusement, but it does stand out for its inventiveness in humor, originality or the keys it handles. So the director of ¨Mr. Peabody & Sherman(2014)¨ takes us on an adventure where fantasy prevails over everything else, although everything else is equally exciting.

There's a good and lively musical score by composer Danny Elfman. The film was well directed by Rob Minkoff. Rob Minkoff, is a successful filmmaker with several hits, such as: Haunted mansion, The Forbidden Kingdom, Stuart Little I and II, Lion King, Adventures of Peabody and Sherman, Flypaper and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank(2022). Rob was approached to direct Beauty and the Beast (1991), but the studio turned him down because he wanted complete creative control. He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Lion King (1994).

Mr. Peabody & Sherman(2014) Rating: 7.5/10. Better than average. Well worth watching.

After the February smash hit: "The Lego Movie," "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" certainly does have a tough act to follow. Despite this, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" certainly does bring another high-quality piece of family entertainment to the big screen.

Surprisingly, the film's story is quite strong. Based on the retro cartoon of the same name, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" centers on a highly intelligent dog named Mr. Peabody (excellently voiced by Modern Family star, Ty Burrell) who adopts a young boy named Sherman (also excellently voiced by 8-year-old Max Charles). Peabody takes Sherman on adventures through time with his super advanced time machine known as the "Way Back". After a series of incidents, the duo must travel to different time periods and eventually have to fix a potential hole in the space time continuum.

Many recent films based on retro cartoons (such as the abysmal "Scooby Doo" and "Smurfs" films) have failed to provide a good screenplay to accompany its animated hijinks. This film, however, is packed with witty dialogue and good morals about unconventional families, fatherhood, and childhood struggles. Mr. Peabody and Sherman are surprisingly deep characters. The fact that Sherman has been raised by a dog does eventually cause a rift between the two. In the beginning of the movie, Sherman is teased at school and called a "dog" because his father is one. Also faced with his own maturing, Sherman wishes to do more things on his own. Peabody, meanwhile is apprehensive of Sherman doing things on his own, as he fears inside that Sherman will outgrow him. This is quite a lot of conflict for a "kid's movie."

Luckily, the thematic elements are interspersed with charming humor and exciting visuals. Each time period is filled with beautifully animated landscapes and enjoyable characters with top-notch vocal performances. In 18th century France, Marie Antoinette (voiced by Lauri Fraser) is portrayed as a bubbly, naive, cake-obsessed aristocrat who is constantly stuffing her face with dessert. In ancient Egypt, palm trees, pyramids and towering statues show a clear rose gallery of effort from the animation team.

It's also worth pointing out that this film has some of the finest voice acting I have ever heard in an animated feature. Ty Burrell and Max Charles bring believable emotion and jocularity to Peabody and Sherman respectively. Burrell gives Peabody a suitably intellectual and clear sounding voice, giving an extra jolt of likability to the character. Max Charles shows an excessive amount of talent for an 8- year-old (probably younger when the dialogue was recorded), making Sherman a believable young boy with a roller-coaster of emotions throughout. An all-star supporting cast including Steve Colbert, Ariel Winter, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Dennis Haysbert, Allison Janney, Leslie Mann and even Mel Brooks are certainly a treasure to listen to as well.

In regards to its historical accuracy, though this film does certainly have its share of jarring anachronisms (such as heart-printed underwear and an actual working flying machine made by Leonardo da Vinci), there is certainly a decent amount of informative elements in the historical scenes. Kids may actually be delighted to learn about how Marie Antoinette helped ignite the French Revolution and how George Washington didn't really cut down a cherry tree. The film makes the wise decision of being a colorful family adventure film while still having some informative elements. LA Times' film critic Betsey Sharkey recently criticized this movie for being "too smart for its own good," saying: "Mr. Peabody's "teaching moments" will sail right over the heads of kids while requiring adults to pay attention." With all due respect, Ms. Sharkey, I feel like the "teaching moments" are what make this movie stand out from other family fare. The fact that the filmmakers bring some education to the screenplay really shows that they have faith in a kid's ability to watch a movie.

In all fairness, one common criticism I do somewhat understand is the film's somewhat convoluted second act. Without giving anything away, I do have to admit things get pretty hectic. However, after many years of watching movies with time travel, I've learned to put down my complaint notebook and enjoy the movie. Let's face it: it's pretty much a guarantee that a movie involving time travel will have at least a couple of plot holes. Even excellent time travel films like "Looper" and "Back to the Future" have plot holes. However, those discussions are for another day.

At the end of the day, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" is a beautiful, funny, and even heartfelt film that families from every background will get a kick out of. It is enjoyable to watch, and I dare even say it's one of Dreamworks' best efforts to date.