User Reviews

It's hard to imagine somebody trying to pitch the story for Mr. Peabody & Sherman - "Let's make a movie about a genius dog who goes travelling in time and space with his adopted human son!" Well, actually, someone did make that pitch... way back in the 1950s. The two characters first appeared in Rocky And His Friends, an animated television show that will ring a bell with American audiences. But those of us who are less familiar with these characters needn't fret: this new incarnation by DreamWorks Animation is bright, funny and packed with great gags, a pleasingly smart treat for kids and adults alike.

Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) is the brainiest dog in all the land, and a celebrated inventor, athlete and businessman to boot. From his lonely perch atop the world, he decides to adopt a baby boy. Everything goes well until the bespectacled Sherman (Max Charles) starts school. Forced to play nice with Penny (Ariel Winter), a classmate who ridicules him for having a dog as a father, Sherman shows her the WABAC: a time machine invented by Mr. Peabody to allow his son to bear witness to history in the making. Together, Sherman and Penny embark on a trip across time that could destroy the past, the present and the future.

Bouncing merrily from the French Revolution to ancient Greece by way of the Italian Renaissance, Mr. Peabody & Sherman messes mischievously with history - we're presented with a cake-obsessed Marie Antoinette (Lauri Fraser), a volatile Mona Lisa (Lake Bell) and a beef-headed Agamemnon (Patrick Warburton). Most of these references will likely be lost on younger viewers, but there's still plenty to keep them entertained. As the film races along in its madcap way, gags and puns (so bad they're brilliant) are tossed at the audience in such great amounts that it's rather amazing that most of them work as well as they do.

The film does suffer a little from its breakneck pace, as it rushes headlong towards a cataclysmic convergence of the past and the present. The story gets a little lost in the shuffle of history, with almost too much to absorb by the time nefarious social services worker Ms. Grunion (voiced with wicked relish by Allison Janney) turns up - a canine bigot to the core - and threatens to remove Sherman from Mr. Peabody's custody.

Nevertheless, director Rob Minkoff manages to pull the whole thing off, balancing the film's largely irreverent tone with a surprisingly heartfelt ending. He even crafts a father-son moment near the end of the film that's both shamelessly sweet and a cheeky nod to cinematic history. (Think Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick circa 1960.) It's all quite enough to suggest that there's a bright cinematic future ahead for this little boy and his dog/dad.

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.

So I went to see this with not much expectation at all, the one trailer I had seen didn't really grab me but I decided to see it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Peabody is this extremely intelligent dog who can talk and his adopted son Sherman is a 7-year-old boy who is a sponge for facts but quite slow practically. They go on adventures through time to learn about history. The movie sets that up in the first 15 minutes, which by the way it was done it looked like the movie was going to be some kids documentary about history but when it actually got into the story it was really fun. The comedy made me laugh, the visuals are stunning, I wish I could've seen it in 3D, the story is quite unique but also had similar elements of other movies, I got a Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure vibe and you get some pretty generic characters that you've seen in quite a lot of animated movies but the plot was't boring; I was interested to the end. The voice acting is pretty average but the way Mr. Peabody says things do add a certain something to the film. 8 out of 10.

At first I was not interested to watch this film since the poster looked absolutely juvenile. The characters and the title did not appeal, looking and sounding so old-fashioned. My kids did not really want to watch it as well. However, good initial reviews got me intrigued to see it.

Mr. Peabody is special little white dog who can talk, read tomes, graduate college, earn a Nobel Prize, an all-around talented character, who can do anything under the son. He adopts an abandoned baby boy named Sherman due to his desire to give the boy what he never had growing up, a home.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman share a secret activity together, traipsing around history with an amazing time machine. This invention by Mr. Peabody can take them to any time in history he likes, allowing them to meet and be friends with all the great figures in history.

On Sherman's first day at school, a sassy little girl named Penny bullies him, and he retaliates by biting. This altercation leads to a series of events which may cost Mr. Peabody not only his custody of his beloved Sherman, but may alter the whole fabric of human history as we know it.

The whole absurd concept of a genius dog adopting a boy really did not ring well with me. Thankfully, the execution and the story about them travelling through history did sustain my interest. As a history buff, I enjoyed seeing the various periods in history and the characters come alive and interact with our protagonists. Kids who have no interest in history will probably just laugh shallowly at the crazy visual comedy.

The animation is okay, a bit on the old-fashioned style. Dreamworks characters do not really grab you at first sight. "Shrek," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Croods," I almost did not watch because of the unusual (or even ugly) artwork. Luckily I was convinced to see them by good word of mouth, and I ended up loving them. This one I liked, not really love. 7/10.

After the February smash hit: "The Lego Movie," "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" certainly does have a tough act to follow. Despite this, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" certainly does bring another high-quality piece of family entertainment to the big screen.

Surprisingly, the film's story is quite strong. Based on the retro cartoon of the same name, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" centers on a highly intelligent dog named Mr. Peabody (excellently voiced by Modern Family star, Ty Burrell) who adopts a young boy named Sherman (also excellently voiced by 8-year-old Max Charles). Peabody takes Sherman on adventures through time with his super advanced time machine known as the "Way Back". After a series of incidents, the duo must travel to different time periods and eventually have to fix a potential hole in the space time continuum.

Many recent films based on retro cartoons (such as the abysmal "Scooby Doo" and "Smurfs" films) have failed to provide a good screenplay to accompany its animated hijinks. This film, however, is packed with witty dialogue and good morals about unconventional families, fatherhood, and childhood struggles. Mr. Peabody and Sherman are surprisingly deep characters. The fact that Sherman has been raised by a dog does eventually cause a rift between the two. In the beginning of the movie, Sherman is teased at school and called a "dog" because his father is one. Also faced with his own maturing, Sherman wishes to do more things on his own. Peabody, meanwhile is apprehensive of Sherman doing things on his own, as he fears inside that Sherman will outgrow him. This is quite a lot of conflict for a "kid's movie."

Luckily, the thematic elements are interspersed with charming humor and exciting visuals. Each time period is filled with beautifully animated landscapes and enjoyable characters with top-notch vocal performances. In 18th century France, Marie Antoinette (voiced by Lauri Fraser) is portrayed as a bubbly, naive, cake-obsessed aristocrat who is constantly stuffing her face with dessert. In ancient Egypt, palm trees, pyramids and towering statues show a clear rose gallery of effort from the animation team.

It's also worth pointing out that this film has some of the finest voice acting I have ever heard in an animated feature. Ty Burrell and Max Charles bring believable emotion and jocularity to Peabody and Sherman respectively. Burrell gives Peabody a suitably intellectual and clear sounding voice, giving an extra jolt of likability to the character. Max Charles shows an excessive amount of talent for an 8- year-old (probably younger when the dialogue was recorded), making Sherman a believable young boy with a roller-coaster of emotions throughout. An all-star supporting cast including Steve Colbert, Ariel Winter, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Dennis Haysbert, Allison Janney, Leslie Mann and even Mel Brooks are certainly a treasure to listen to as well.

In regards to its historical accuracy, though this film does certainly have its share of jarring anachronisms (such as heart-printed underwear and an actual working flying machine made by Leonardo da Vinci), there is certainly a decent amount of informative elements in the historical scenes. Kids may actually be delighted to learn about how Marie Antoinette helped ignite the French Revolution and how George Washington didn't really cut down a cherry tree. The film makes the wise decision of being a colorful family adventure film while still having some informative elements. LA Times' film critic Betsey Sharkey recently criticized this movie for being "too smart for its own good," saying: "Mr. Peabody's "teaching moments" will sail right over the heads of kids while requiring adults to pay attention." With all due respect, Ms. Sharkey, I feel like the "teaching moments" are what make this movie stand out from other family fare. The fact that the filmmakers bring some education to the screenplay really shows that they have faith in a kid's ability to watch a movie.

In all fairness, one common criticism I do somewhat understand is the film's somewhat convoluted second act. Without giving anything away, I do have to admit things get pretty hectic. However, after many years of watching movies with time travel, I've learned to put down my complaint notebook and enjoy the movie. Let's face it: it's pretty much a guarantee that a movie involving time travel will have at least a couple of plot holes. Even excellent time travel films like "Looper" and "Back to the Future" have plot holes. However, those discussions are for another day.

At the end of the day, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" is a beautiful, funny, and even heartfelt film that families from every background will get a kick out of. It is enjoyable to watch, and I dare even say it's one of Dreamworks' best efforts to date.

I saw the trailers and I expected it to be more concentrated on time travel and not have much of a story line. Well there is. A fantastic one at that! "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" is a wonderful story about a dog who adopts a boy.

The film also has lots of animated things to love - like history, comedy, romance, suspense and so much more. To make it even better – characters come to live thanks to the brilliant voice-over actors such as Ty Burrel and Max Charles.

The film starts when a young puppy is growing up in different shelters. From a very early age he shows everyone how very special he is. He is intelligent, athletic and smooth. He wins many prizes, but his greatest adventure happens when he adopts a boy. Together they go through multiple adventures and troubles but able to stay together.

I love so much about this film. The film itself is fantastic! I love how they take twenty five-minute shows that had old, colored 2-D animation and turn it into modern 3D animation with the use of modern technology.

My favorite scene is when they show the story of how Mr. Peabody adopts Sherman. They show points throughout Sherman's little life of great moments, like his first step in 1709. Then it shows how he finds Sherman. That is definitely a sweet and loving part!

This movie has a bit of violence in it, therefore I recommend it to ages 5-18. I also believe that adults who admired this cartoon kids, will love this new version of these beloved characters. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed by Gerry O, KIDS FIRST Film Critic. For more reviews, go to kidsfirst dot org.

I was so excited when I heard they were doing a re-make of Mr. Peabody, one of my all time favorite characters from the BEST animated show ever done, Rocky and Bullwinkle. However, anyone who is familiar with the original will be seriously disappointed. Ty Burrell's portrayal of this one of a kind cartoon character is awful. His voice doesn't even come close to capturing the attitude or personality of the original which was voiced by the inimitable Bill Scott. With a silver spooned cadence reminiscent of early film stars such as Clifton Webb, Mr. Scott perfectly captured the somewhat snooty and totally self-satisfied Mr. Peabody.

Ty Burrell sounds like an actor who is trying too hard to capture those qualities. His Mr. Peabody is lifeless and dull. He is unable to capture the essence of the character and so the whole film falls flat.

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.

Up until the ending of this film, I enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, the ending seemed very formulaic and clichéd and the film ended on a sour note. On balance, however, it's enjoyable but not a film I'd hurry to see.

This film is based on the old characters from the "Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle". However, unlike the old show, giving it movie length was very positive because it allowed the characters to have much greater depth. This is especially so for the relationship between Mr. Peabody and his son, Sherman. I liked how the film showed the difficulties of raising a child and the difficulties a super-genius might have in such an improbably role as a parent. When the film focused on this, it was firing on all cylinders. However, at the end, it really looked like they didn't know how to end the thing and it looked a lot like too many other films (such as "Back to the Future", among MANY others) and destroyed the momentum and good will I had towards the film. Not a bad film, but given what the film was early on, it sure lost its direction late in the production and could have been so much better.

I never grew up with The Rocky and Bullwinkle show, so I went into this film knowing absolutely nothing about the set-up or plot in the original cartoon. As a whole this movie works reasonably well for a younger audience, it's huge fun and is pretty entertaining. I just don't think this is one of Dreamwork's best and I wish it could have been more creative and clever with the time-travel aspect.

The motion sequences are well done (especially when the characters are surfing the sewers of Paris or flying on Da Vinci's flying machine), and the majority of the characters are hugely likable (especially Mr Peabody and Sherman themselves), but the plot is a little bit all over the place, occasionally has some weak script writing and most jokes fall flat.

It's safe to say that all the best parts are in the trailer and I really hope that Dreamworks does better next time, but overall this isn't a bad movie for kids and could even appeal to the Horrible Histories crowd (no matter what age they are).

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!

A kid suddenly started clapping and continued for around 30 seconds towards the end of the movie and that made me realize how much kids were really enjoying it. The best thing about the movie is that there was not a single dull moment. Something or the other keeps happening throughout the 1 and a half hour.The Peabody-Sherman relationship is endearing.However, the makers tried to bring a lot of events within a single frame which made many scenes seem like a hotchpotch to me. Also,some scenes look like they had been rather forced. This movie had the potential to be another of those Dreamworks classic animations. But sadly, it just remains as a Children's animation movie and not much more.

This film gives itself a huge pat on the back for debunking the Washington-and-the-cherry-tree story, and then turns right around and peddles the myth that Marie-Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake." Most movies about history end up repeating legends and lies, but they don't generally insist at the same time that they're superior historians of the truth. The old Sherman and Peabody cartoons did silly takeoffs on history that weren't accurate, but they weren't pretending to be; they were just for fun, and as a kid, I understood that. Some aspects of this new version could really confuse children who are trying to figure out how to understand and learn about history, and the braggadocio is just annoying anyway.