Lately, DreamWorks has been on a downward spiral. With films like The Croods and Turbo, I was starting to get worried about the fate of the studio. Mr. Peabody & Sherman, however, seems to be a comeback. While the film isn't perfect, its excellent story, great characters and wonderful themes make Mr. Peabody & Sherman a fun, heartfelt adventure.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman is based off of the short series from the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon about a brilliant dog named Mr. Peabody who adopts a boy named Sherman. In the show, they use a time machine to go to different time periods and learn about history. The exact same thing happens in this movie adaptation, but there is a lot more going on as well. There is also conflict about whether Mr. Peabody, a dog, is actually fit to be a father. I can't go into much more detail due to spoilers.
Anyways, the story is surprisingly really strong with a ton of depth. There are some really beautiful themes about parenting and growing up. I feel that the parenting theme could relate to parents much more than anyone else, but it is still really heartwarming whether you're a parent or not. The theme of growing up is one that I feel everyone can relate to.
The film is also really well directed. It's directed by Rob Minkoff, the director of The Lion King. There are a ton of amazing shots, especially during the many action-packed scenes. The film is also on a pretty epic scale. It's far more epic than the short series from Rocky & Bullwinkle.
Speaking of the short series, this film stays true to it... for the most part. Which leads me to one of the problems I had with the film. It is too modern. Characters are using iPhones, playing Dance Dace Revolution and using modern slang. Even the people from different time periods talk in such a modern way. You would think that people from hundreds and even thousands of years ago wouldn't use slang like they do in this film.
I feel the film really stayed true to the source material in the animation. I know, the film isn't hand-drawn animation like the short series was, but the weird art direction and characters designs you would see in that series is definitely present here, just in computer animation. The animation is also gorgeous, but that's probably obvious seeing as how the film is coming from a rather big animation studio.
The film also stays true to the original series with the two main characters, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Mr. Peabody has the same attributes and character traits as he did in the TV series with his very witty remarks, puns and in the way he acts as well. Though Sherman's character is changed a little bit, it still stays somewhat true to his original character.
Most of the characters are really likable. I already talked about the main characters, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but I did not mention the new character they brought into the film: a girl name Penny. She is not really that likable, which is another problem I had with the film. Her character does not develop from her being more than an annoying brat until the end of the film and she is very one-dimensional until then. Mr. Peabody and Sherman are very multidimensional characters, though. They have a lot more depth to them. The relationship between the two is excellent, as well. There is also a lot of character development going on. The voice acting is really good as well. Ty Burrell as Mr. Peabody and Max Charles as Sherman give great performances.
Many of the jokes in the film are really funny. There were some very mature jokes that I was actually kind of surprised they put in. There were also some very clever puns that I thought were pretty funny. However, some of the other jokes do fall flat or are simply not funny. Thankfully, that doesn't happen very often, though.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a really fun film. It mostly stays true to its source material but puts in the heart, action and depth that the TV series lacked. While it isn't perfect, it is definitely a step up from DreamWorks' other recent efforts and I still recommend that you give it a watch.
Film Grade: B+
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