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.

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.

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.

I wasn't impressed watching the trailer. Thankfully, I got a chance of a pre-screening. I'm perplexed by the low ratings because I absolutely loved this movie! This is coming from someone who hasn't seen Mr. Peabody before.

Mr. Peabody is a genius dog who adopts a boy and raises him to be a genius too. Unfortunately things change when the boy goes to school and gets bullied by a girl. Mr. Peabody, to appease things, invites the girl and her parents to a dinner at their house, everything goes haywire from there and we meet some pretty interesting characters from the past.

What made this movie special is the little details that are revealed along the way like how Sherman was adopted. The animation is fantastic and the 3D adorns it. As someone who likes puns, I absolutely loved the jokes, not just from Mr. Peabody but from other characters in the movie as well. Agamemnon was hilarious! Not everything is funny though, there are a few serious and tear jerking moments that make this movie special.

My only complaint is that some time travel stuff explained in the movie can be a bit hard to understand for children. Other than that, it's an absolute treat both for children and adults. Go watch it!