Fans of “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” will be a bit partial to seeing the genius dog, Mr. Peabody take center stage in his own feature film, but parents should be pleased as well. It’s rare to see an animated movie that features history so prominently. Now, it does star a talking dog who adopted a human boy, but let’s not get too picky here. Napoleon, da Vinci and the Trojan horse all make appearances as Mr. Peabody and Sherman travel through time. Written in the tone familiar to Dreamworks Animation, the comedy works well for young viewers, their parents and everyone in between.
Based on the simple segments the characters originally appeared in, the movie ramps up the backstory. It even goes so far as to explain how a dog could possibly adopt a human. Answer, he has to be very smart. Also there is more to the story than time travelling. There is a whole arch involving the relationship between parents and their children. From bullying at school to showing respect to others, they really pulled out all the stops in sending the message they wanted to send.
Where the story hits a snag is when the space time continuum and complicated physics get involved. The normal time travel is fine but ultimately a vortex is opened which threatens the city. It’s used as a device to bring back characters introduced earlier in the film, but it’s a clunky few scenes that could have been expressed in a different way. Ty Burrell, who voices Mr. Peabody does well making the classic character his own without changing him too much. I know it’s only his voice, but rebooting classics is a tricky business, one at which Mr. Peabody & Sherman delivers.
Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.
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