Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014)

Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014)

6/10

Starring the voice of

Ty Burrell

Max Charles

Ariel Winter

Leslie Mann

Stephen Colbert

Allison Janney

Directed by Rob Minkoff

I haven’t seen any episodes of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show to accurately judge if the characters were well adapted, but from my perspective, this animation was worth every minute. Directed by the co-director of The Lion King (1994), Mr. Peabody & Sherman features the voice talents of Ty Burrell (as Mr. Peabody), who we know as Phil from the TV series Modern Family, and Max Charles as Sherman.

Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the only downside for me was that the intro felt too short and thin. It took a while to get used to what was going on, but once I did, it was colorful fun all the way. Reading up about the characters, I realized that Sherman was changed from Mr. Peabody’s pet to his adopted son. This change worked well for the movie because, let’s face it, a little boy as a pet wouldn’t sit well with most people.

This blast-through-the-past movie is set in a world where a dog can talk, walk on his hind legs, and has an IQ probably higher than Einstein’s. The dog, named Mr. Peabody, adopts a son he names Sherman. Sherman, an orphan boy Peabody found in a box, travels with him around the world and through time in Mr. Peabody’s WABAC machine.

Later, Sherman has an issue with a girl at his school, which catches the attention of social services. They start questioning how Peabody is raising Sherman. To smooth things over, Peabody invites the girl and her parents for dinner. However, the girl and Sherman end up traveling to the past in the WABAC machine and refuse to return to the present. Sherman comes back to get Mr. Peabody so they can retrieve her before her parents notice she’s missing.

Despite being a commercial failure, the movie received some cool reviews. I think its lack of success is because many people didn’t have a clue who these characters were and weren’t willing to give it a try.

So, if you’re in the mood for some fun and action, I recommend giving this movie a watch. It might just be the best decision you’ve made. The animation is on point, and just when the plot starts to lose its tempo, amazing things happen on screen before you can even think about dozing off. The voice casting is fantastic, and the directing is rich. Enough of my thoughts—go see the movie. You’ll be glad you did.