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| Sherman and Mr. Peabody |
Every dog needs a boy. Yes, you read that right. That's the premise of the amusing dog-boy time traveling animated comedy "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" from Dreamworks Animation and the director of "The Lion King" and loosely based on characters originated from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show." Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell) is the smartest being in the world and has adopted a young boy named Sherman (Max Charles). Their time-travel machine, called the WABAC (pronounced wayback), has provided them with some great adventures that threaten the space-time continuum along with their relationship. Silly stuff for sure, but "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" is wacky, colorful fun that should please the kids, though they won't get all the humor. Especially silly is the heavy (maybe even over) use of fun puns that may lose the younger set but the adults in particular will enjoy ("I'm just an old GIZA" and "when in doubt, keep Troy-ing" among them). Mr. Peabody and Sherman is nothing new, either, given they've been around since the 1960s, when their "Peabody's Improbable History" segments were featured on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show," though this is a worthy update of that old cartoon. Burrell has fun as the nerdy Mr. Peabody, though Allison Janney and animated voice staple Patrick Warburton get some of the better lines as a villainous school counselor and Greek soldier, among many of the talented voices featured in their time travails (yes, that's Mel Brooks briefly as Einstein). Directed by Rob Minkoff of "The Lion King" fame, "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" is energetic, goofy and filled with some solid laughs, even if the premise is a little thin and scattershot, particularly in the meandering second act. The young ones certainly won't get all the puns (they fly by at a rapid rate) but they'll have fun anyway (who doesn't love a talking dog?) and won't even care (at this point) how truly improbable it all really is.
Wes's Grade: B
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