Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

The time-travelling adventures of an advanced canine and his adopted son, as they endeavor to fix a time rift they created.

Director:

Rob Minkoff

Writers:

Jay Ward (based on the series produced by), Craig Wright (screenplay)

Stars:

Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Stephen Colbert

2 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ty Burrell	...	Mr. Peabody (voice)
Max Charles	...	Sherman (voice)
Lauri Fraser	...	Marie Antoinette / Egyptian Woman (voice)
Guillaume Aretos	...	Robespierre (voice)
Pat Musick	...	Teacher (voice) (as Patrice A. Musick)
Ariel Winter	...	Penny Peterson (voice)
Karan Brar	...	Mason (voice)
Joshua Rush	...	Carl (voice) (as Josh Rush)
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Principal Purdy (voice)
Allison Janney	...	Ms. Grunion (voice)
Dennis Haysbert	...	Judge (voice)
Stephen Colbert	...	Paul Peterson (voice)
Leslie Mann	...	Patty Peterson (voice)
Zach Callison	...	King Tut (voice)
Steve Valentine	...	Ay (voice)

Storyline

Mr. Peabody is a business titan, inventor, scientist, gourmand, two-time Olympic medalist and genius...who also happens to be a dog. Using his most ingenious invention, the WABAC machine, Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman hurtle back in time to experience world-changing events first-hand and interact with some of the greatest characters of all time. But when Sherman breaks the rules of time travel, our two heroes find themselves in a race to repair history and save the future, while Mr. Peabody may face his biggest challenge yet - being a parent.

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Plot Keywords:

inventor | time travel | talking dog | father son relationship | george washington character | 

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Taglines:

The Dogfather of all comedies.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild action and brief rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [Brazil] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las aventuras de Peabody y Sherman

Box Office

Budget:

$145,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,207,057, 9 March 2014, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$111,506,430

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$275,698,039

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bullwinkle Studios, Classic Media Productions, DreamWorks Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos Auro 11.1 SDDS Datasat Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marie Antoinette's obsession with "cake" in the film is due to the rumor that when the peasants complained of their lack of bread (and food for that matter), she said "let them eat *brioche*." This word means expensive bread, but was later mistranslated as "cake." However, there is no real evidence that Marie uttered such words, which have also been attributed to another French queen about one hundred years earlier. The reason the peasants revolted wasn't due to such a quote as depicted in the movie, rather she and King Louis XVI were taken from the Versailles palace to Paris by a revolt of angry peasant women after they discovered the royals had been hording grains from the rest of the people. This is also debatable, as the specifics of this affair are not really known, regardless, their house arrest was due to the peasant revolt during France's early Revolution.

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Goofs

The reference to the fate of a pharaoh's wife is in error. As for Tutankhamun's wife, Ankhesenamun, she survived him but quickly vanished from the historical record as did her place of burial.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mr. Peabody: Our story begins high over New York City, in the luxurious penthouse apartment of perhaps the most unlikely genius the world has ever known.
[Camera pans to Peabody in an upside-down position]
Mr. Peabody: Oh. Sorry. You caught me doing my yoga. You were expecting downward dog, perhaps?
[Jumps into upright position]
Mr. Peabody: My name is Mr. Peabody.

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Crazy Credits

Mr. Peabody and Sherman are shown in the credits in their original drawn design, and shown at the very end walking towards the vanishing point of the screen.

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Alternate Versions

The closing credits in the UK version feature a song entitled 'Kid', written and performed by Peter Andre.

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Connections

References My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

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Soundtracks

Aquarela do Brasil
Written by Ary Barroso

User Reviews

Barking up the right tree.

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.