Fun and enjoyable

In the year 2000, 1950s-animated characters Rocky and Bullwinkle got the big screen treatment and left behind their buddies Mr Peabody and Sherman.

It proved to be a mistake. Not only did the movie flop at the box office, but do any of you even remember it? It seemed as though fans were upset that they let behind the super smart dog and his adopted son, Sherman.

The duo finally find the limelight they deserve in 2014 and it’s surprisingly pleasant.

I had never seen the original skit, Peabody’s Improbable History, from 1959 (Editor’s note: It was a great year to be born), but when I heard the film was based on something from that era, I wasn’t really excited … I mean children barely understand the eighties.

I wasn’t wrong either … a lot of kids were scratching their heads in the theatre, but for me, that was a good thing.

This movie is extremely smart. It includes references from history, maths and science. It does a good job of making even the adults in the cinema feel stupid. But, it’s OK, because the feeling doesn’t last for long when the scriptwriters make sure to add a bad smell joke after throwing all the educational information in your face. They need to keep the kids happy too! Funny thing is, it works. Most of the laughs from the kids come from the slapstick humour and the butt jokes.

The Lion King is one of my favourite animated movies of all time, so it was a plus when I found out its co-director, Rob Minkoff, was behind Mr Peabody & Sherman. He may be straying away from the seriousness of the classical tale he’s known for, but he does a good job. There’s nothing new to this movie, but it’s fun and enjoyable.

I must admit though, the visuals and animations didn’t have the panache they needed. In this day and age, where different production houses are trying to upstage the other and win the awards for their computer generated graphics, Mr Peabody & Sherman falls flat.

The film opens explaining, through legal court cases of cross-species adoption, exactly how Mr Peabody (Ty Burrell), a genius, multi-faceted beagle dog, is to father a human child Sherman (Max Charles).

Mr Peabody is an inventor, a scientist and even a pro at Zumba. He is definitely one of the smartest things on this planet.

Now that he has legally adopted Sherman, the pair go about spending their days on Peabody’s invention, the WABAC (pronounced ‘way back), a time machine that goes on fun adventures through history, educating Sherman through firsthand experience of past iconic events.

When Sherman starts school, trouble begins. His unique upbringing has made him very smart, but he has also become to target for bullies, particularly Penny (Ariel Winter). When in retaliation, after Penny pushes him, Sherman bites her and it comes to the attention of social worker, Ms Gruinion (Allison Janney). Ms Gruinion questions what type of father Mr Peabody can be, raising Sherman like a dog.

Taking matters into his own hands, Mr Peabody invites Penny and her parents (Leslie Mann and Stephen Colbert), along with Ms Gruinion over to his house for dinner.

Although Mr Peabody bans Sherman from showing Penny the WABAC, he disobeys him and tries to prove his point to Penny that he knows that George Washington never cut down the cherry tree.

They take a ride in the WABAC and come back changing events in history. When Mr Peabody finds out after they return, they go on an adventure through history to fix the entire space-time continuum that was threatened by Penny and Sherman.

Burrell may be famous for his role on Modern Family, but he definitely shows his versatility as a sophisticated and intelligent dog, something that is quite the opposite of his Phil Dunphy character. His unique tone and humour really brings the character to life.

Charles as Sherman was a good choice and shows a great amount of energy and enthusiasm. With the more emotional scenes, he definitely shows heart and is convincing with his delivery.

Overall, it may not end up to be a classic like The Lion King, nor will the kids fully understand what is happening, but they will definitely enjoy the adventure and all the action Mr Peabody & Sherman has to offer. The Trojan horse segment will leave mostly everyone in stitches.

* Showing in Cineco, Seef II, Saar Cineplex