Die Abenteuer von Mr. Peabody & Sherman

It's quite noticeable that Dreamworks Animation is trying to break visual grounds in their most recent movies, but Mr. Peabody and Sherman gives a little reminder on their original magic. The first half shows how charming the worlds they can bring even without shoving too much spectacles, the characters bursting out absurd personality that may sometimes be senseless yet terribly affable. But of course, it's an adventure traveling through historical events, but it kind of falls short on the concept and rather places those things into a bumpy ride with a dramatic center. Those things could have worked if it was more sincere, but the real enjoyment lies on the basics where you let the mockeries and the humor speak.

There is a nice additional depth behind the quirky and interesting relationship of the two, it makes their reintroduction on screen feel a lot fresh. The growth of their connection kicks in the plot, and that is when it starts becoming a bit forced. It doesn't seem comfortable with heightening the material. Turning things big and emotional is more like a must for the film to have because apparently that is what most animation today usually strive for. None of it actually plummets things down, but the story is probably better off smaller. People should remember the studio is more than trippy visuals and celebrity voices, in the end it's the simple witty humor that provides the genuine color in their movies.

The plot here should have focused more on the intersection between education and parody within the historical settings than building epic proportions in its little plot. The typical elements are still fun. Ty Burrell is dashing as Mr. Peabody even with the seriousness that embodies the character do too sparks a sense of heart. The entire cast delivers the comedy admirably and it really leaves the viewers hungry for more. The zany effects kind of interrupts most of that, but the animation is still great overall. The designs are wonderfully loyal to its cartoony essence which is one of the striking things to pay close attention to.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman is completely fun when it doesn't try following the modern roots of the genre. It's a lot brilliant when it's just traveling time, meeting a caricatured version of a particular historical figure, stopping candles, and let the personalities of the characters develop on their own without being too didactic. The relationship of Peabody and Sherman is already compelling at the start, but they could have think of better choices to justify its center. There are still plenty of strong stuff worth seeing around, it just needs to be cleverer.

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.

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.

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.

From the creators of ¨How to Train Your Dragon¨ and the director of ¨The Lion King¨ bring us a new adventure stars Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell's voice) is a talking dog who is the smartest living thing in the world. Mr. Peabody is an inventor, scientist, Nobel Prize winner, gourmet, two-time Olympic medalist and a genius. He also happens to be a dog... a dog who has adopted a human child, Sherman (Max Charles' voice). . Mr. Peabody, canine of superior intellect realizes that he needs to adopt a boy. In his search comes across Sherman. Using his most ingenious invention, a time-travel machine, Mr. Peabody and his son Sherman are able to experience firsthand the events and characters that have changed the world throughout its history. Along the way, they soon have to fix the timeline and return to present day. But when Sherman breaks the rules of time travel, the two heroes will have to repair history and save the future. He's leaving his mark on history !. History is catching up with them !. Meet Mr. Peabody March 7 !. The Dogfather of all comedies !. The time traveling misadventures of a genius dog and his adopted son !.

Rob Minkoff returns to animated film - after The Lion King and the Stuart Little saga - with this comedy of adventures and time travel that reimagines the classic animated series from the 1950s and that had a sequel ¨Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show¨ (2015-2017) . In ¨Mr. Peabody & Sherman¨(2014) actor Ty Burrell voices Mr. Peabody in the original version. Fantasy, magic and adventure for the whole family come together in this US animated film about a a very special pair of protagonists a naughty boy and his dog father and the power to change fate. There is continuous non-stop entertainment with frenetic action, good staging and adventures of all kinds in which our starring will face a thousand and one dangers in order to to escape from a temporal mess in which a time machine has sent them through various periods of history . There are some historical references, important events and historical characters that will entertain the little ones, as well as instructing or educate them, including the following: French Revolution, Ancient Egypt, sacking of Troy as the Trojan Horse , Renaissance Florence including several historical figures as Queen Antoinette, Robespierre, Tutankhamun, Agamenon, Leonardo Da Vinci with his Mona Lisa, Beethoven, Gandhi, William Shakespeare, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, among others. The film is technically acceptable with a colorful pop approach accentuated by contrasts of time and space. The story, with basic positive messages, action enough and continous amusement, but it does stand out for its inventiveness in humor, originality or the keys it handles. So the director of ¨Mr. Peabody & Sherman(2014)¨ takes us on an adventure where fantasy prevails over everything else, although everything else is equally exciting.

There's a good and lively musical score by composer Danny Elfman. The film was well directed by Rob Minkoff. Rob Minkoff, is a successful filmmaker with several hits, such as: Haunted mansion, The Forbidden Kingdom, Stuart Little I and II, Lion King, Adventures of Peabody and Sherman, Flypaper and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank(2022). Rob was approached to direct Beauty and the Beast (1991), but the studio turned him down because he wanted complete creative control. He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Lion King (1994).

Mr. Peabody & Sherman(2014) Rating: 7.5/10. Better than average. Well worth watching.