MR. PEABODY AND SHERMAN

 Reviewed by Paul Gibbs

GRADE: A

Ty Burrell, Max Charles,Ariel Winter Stephen Colbert, Patrick Warburton Lauri Fraser, Stephen Tobolowsky
Based on the Cartoon Created by Jay Ward
Screenplay by Craig Wright
Directed by  Rob Minkoff


Because this latest DreamWorks animated featured is based on a beloved cartoon from my childhood (one which is still very entertaining today, I was both excited and nervous for the film. Happily, Mr. Peabody and Sherman does a much better job than most recent cartoons revivals of both retaining the flavor of the original and updating its sensibilities for a modern audience, as well as fleshing out the story to sustain feature length. And on its own terms, its a funny and extremely engaging family fantasy blockbuster that I enjoyed enough to feel compelled to rush out and see it again.

Mr. Peabody (ably voiced by Ty Burrell) is a genius talking dog who has more Nobel Prizes and achievements than an entire graduating class from M.I.T. Mr. Peabody has adopted a small boy named Sherman, and has taught him history through the use of a time machine (of his own design) called the WABAC machine. But when Sherman gets into a fight on his first day of school, the ability of a dog to act as an adoptive parent for a human is called into question (somebody alert FOX News to interpret this as an attack on traditional families). But when the the family of the girl who bullied Sherman comes over for dinner, Sherman ends up showing her the WABAC, and Mr. Peabody is forced to jump and clean up the mess.

Craig Wright's screenplay features Mr. Peabody's trademark historical puns, as well as more modern humor (though my favorite pop culture reference no doubt went far over the heads of the kids in the audience), and manages to flesh out the principle characters well enough to make us emotionally engaged in the story. The only downside is a few of the expected vulgar and juvenile gags (the most shocking of these is the one that I have to admit made me laugh out loud, but I found the others rather weak). However, that's a mild annoyance in an otherwise delightful movie that easily entertains a wide audience, giving us enough laughs, adventure and heart to earn an enthusiastic recommendation from me. It's great to see Rob Minkoff, director of The Lion King, finally give us another animated classic.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman is rated PG for the aforementioned vulgar gags.