ironhorse_iv Review of Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

Well, doggone it! Whenever you got a Ruff day! Watch Mr. Peabody & Sherman! I woof it! It's pretty funny.

[7/10 · 1 May 2014]

Being a fan of the 1960's animated television series, 'The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'. I found the Peabody's Improbable History segments to be a lot better than the other segments like Dudley Do Right & Fractured Fairy Tales. This movie was in production for years until Director Rob Minkoff put together this film. I really glad, they didn't go live action with this as the other movies based off the 1960s animated television series were. Animation was the way to go. Like the show, the movie plot is similar. Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) and his adopted boy Sherman (Voiced by Max Charles) travel back in time in a time machine to experience world-changing events first-hand and interact with some of the greatest historical figures. The movie theme is mostly about fatherhood as Mr. Peabody tries everything to make Sherman is ready for life. There is a really great music montage to the tune of John Lennon's 'Beautiful Boy' in the middle of the film that shows how much Mr. Peabody loves his son. Mr. Peabody's main chunk of his character development is him learning to cope with Sherman as he grows and changes, and struggling to be a good father despite the emotional complexity of it all. Supposedly, Mr. Peabody was treating Sherman like a pet and assistant as in the Rocky and Bullwinkle segments, rather than his son. Honestly, I don't see it here in this film, but clearly in the show, Mr. Peabody did. While Sherman and Mr. Peabody are very close to each other, the outside world doesn't think Mr. Peabody is fit to be a good father because he is a dog. There are underline message about discrimination and being prejudiced here that works. It really does help teach the kids, not to discriminate anybody. Too bad, nobody told that to Penny Peterson (Voiced by Ariel Winter) who bully Sherman at school because he was raised by a dog. Honestly, she's the worst and the cause of most of their problems and conflict. Trying to resolve the issue, Mr. Peabody invite her family for dinner. However, the plan horribly backfires when Sherman breaks the rules to show that he's more than a dog by showing Penny the WABAC time machine. Penny then hijack the WABAC and cause havoc throughout time. Now our heroes must race to repair history before Penny destroy more of it. One thing, I really hate about this movie is Penny. I thought it was a bit forced to have Sherman and Penny, secretly liking each other. Honestly, I don't like how the film is literally saying that abusive relationships are OK. Another character wasn't needed is Mrs. Grunion (Allison Janney). One dimensional character that if you take away. Doesn't affect the main plot, much. Despite that, the movie is pretty entertaining. The movie has a lot of good smart humor that can be a hit or miss, depending on the person. I like how the film kept the awful puns in it. It does add a lot of poop jokes. Some of those are alright. There are tons of pop culture references that are worth looking for. I love the 300 references, Bill Clinton, & I'm Spartacus joke! Also look for a lot of historical cartoony cameos. George Washington, Marie Antoinette, Jackie Robertson, and others. My favorite is Agamemnon (voiced by Patrick Warburton) and Leonardo Da Vinci (voiced by Stanley Tucci). I didn't mind the film breaking the Fourth Wall for some odd reason, the time travelling paradoxes, silly racial historical stereotypes or the historical inaccuracies that can scattered around this film. I wouldn't say, the movie is good enough for a history or science lecture, but it wasn't that bother-some. Honestly, if the movie told history and science correctly, it might be either be too boring or too gruesome for kids. At less, the movie is more historical accuracy than the show. It make kids interested in finding out what real history and science is about. Still, the movie is pretty dark at some points of the film, as it portray the sacking of Troy, and the events leading up to the French Revolution. Surprising the movie is very close to the source material. It even has the sweeper guy at the end. It's just update a few things like the appearance of the WABAC machine and others to a modern settling. Much of the opening to this film, is taken from the first appearance of Mr. Peabody in the cartoon show. The animation is way better than the show. While in the movie is in 3-D, don't mistakes the movie 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman' glasses and bow-tie for the 3-D glasses. Overall: The story could been a little bit more tuned up, but other than that it was a very funny and smart!