Mr Peabody & Sherman (**½)
Directed
by: Ron Minkoff
Starring
(voices): Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann,
Alison Janney, Stephen Tobolowsky, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Zach
Callison, Dennis Haysbert, Leila Birch, Lake Bell
Seen:
April 4th 2014
**½ Out of ****
Mr
Peabody & Sherman is based on characters from a show that 90-95% of its
target audience will never know of, but that will not be in any way detrimental
for this amusing en sweet little animated movie. The movie exhibits a good
amount of heart together with an enjoyable plot and characters ranging from interesting
and funny to slightly annoying and not extremely original. The main characters
are very entertaining and while they are running around on screen you will
remain entertained in one way or another. DreamWorks Animation creates a
visually engaging movie that is inventive and enjoyable and should be accessible
for all ages.
Mr
Peabody (Burrell) is a dog unlike any other. He is smarter than any human on
earth, and he has invented a plethora of items, from social trends (planking)
to scientific near-impossibilities (a time machine, called the WABAC,
pronounced the way-back, itself voiced by Leila Birch). He even manages to get
the courts to allow him to legally adopt an abandoned infant, Sherman
(Charles). He teaches Sherman about history in the greatest possible way,
through first-hand experience, using the WABAC. Sherman’s experiential
knowledge of history doesn’t stand him in good stead though, but rather
attracts unwanted attention in the form of Penny (Winter), the up-to-now
smartest girl, and bully it seems, of the class. When she calls Sherman a dog,
he bites her, and this brings Mr Peabody and his adoptive son’s situation to
the attention of the vindictive (oddly so for a children’s animated movie)
child protective services representative, Mrs Grunion (Janney), who vows to
take Sherman away from Mr Peabody.
Mr
Peabody invites Penny and her parents, Paul (Colbert) and Pattie (Mann) over
for dinner, and in an attempt to placate the vicious and unrelenting Penny,
Sherman shows her the WABAC. They go on a time travel adventure, into which Mr
Peabody is sucked after Sherman “loses” Penny in ancient Egypt. They have many
close shaves and interesting and amusing adventures, meeting Leonardo da Vinci
(Tucci) while painting the Mona Lisa (Bell); King Agamemnon (Warburton) as he
is about to invade via his Trojan Horse (which Mr Peabody himself invades
through a smaller Trojan Horse…); and many more. The space time-continuum
however becomes endangered as events in time and back home cause chaos, and it’s
up to Mr Peabody and Sherman to save the day.
The
movie is at times really funny with some excellent voice acting, Patrick
Warburton’s Agamemnon, though not alone, garners big laughs. The movie feels a
little bit out-dated, with not the most original ideas – yet more jokes about
Marie Antoinette and the cake, among other things, feel rehashed in-between the
fun and laughter. While it doesn’t pop as much as many other modern animated movies,
Mr Peabody & Sherman is very enjoyable in a nostalgic way.
Comments