After making his television debut in the 1960s, hyperintelligent hound dog Mr. Peabody is back with puns, witticisms and smarts to educate and entertain in DreamWorks’ newest 3-D animated feature “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.”
Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) is a Renaissance dog — well versed in history, cuisine, science, language and music. He is an Olympic gold medalist, a world-renowned explorer, Valedogtorian from Harvard and the inventor of tear-away pants, planking and Zumba.
But Peabody’s greatest invention is the WABAC, a time machine he uses to teach his 7-year-old adopted human son, Sherman (Max Charles), about history by taking him back in time to meet historical figures like George Washington and Mahatma Ghandi, sail across the Delaware River, and eat cake with Marie Antoinette.
Everything is going well for the dog and his boy until Sherman gets into an altercation with Penny (Ariel Winter), a competitive girl at his school. Trying to let bygones be bygones, Peabody invites Penny and her parents (Stephen Colbert and Leslie Mann) to a dinner party. One thing leads to another and about an hour into the evening Penny ends up engaged to King Tut and trapped in Ancient Egypt. Hey, stuff happens, right?
And thus begins a journey through history — spanning from Ancient Egypt to 16th century Florence, Italy, to the Trojan War. Throughout their adventures, Peabody, Sherman and Penny run into a colorful cast of characters — an eccentric Leonardo da Vinci (Stanley Tucci) and Mona Lisa (Lake Bell), victory-smelling Agamemnon (Patrick Warburton, or as I refer to him, Kronk from “The Emperor’s New Groove”), and a Rubik’s cube-wielding Albert Einstein (Mel Brooks). This vast array of offbeat players is the highpoint of the movie, each character bringing charm and laughs to the story.
The strength of “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” lies with its adult-oriented humor of clever quips and well-timed puns, such as when Agamemnon mentions how you don’t want to go to Oedipus’ house for the holidays (things are a bit awkward) and when Beethoven becomes the master of “Speed over Beethoven” on Dance Dance Revolution.
These witty gags balance out the many, many instances of poop and butt jokes (“King Tut? His name rhymes with butt!”) that the kiddies are sure to roar over and anyone over the age of 15 will roll their eyes at.
The heart of this film rests with the relationship between Sherman and his four-legged father. Peabody can be guarded and uptight; he asks Sherman to refer to him as “Mr. Peabody,” and responds with “I have a deep regard for you as well” when Sherman tells him he loves him. But in the end, it is Peabody who learns something from Sherman — a lesson in love and trust.
Though “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” has its share of strengths, much of the film comes across as forced and a large number of the jokes fall flat, particularly the reoccurring “I don’t get it” line that follows an unnecessarily large percentage of the movie’s puns.
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is a pretty decent family flick. It’s got history lessons, colorful animation, ’60s nostalgia and humor suitable for adults and children alike. But coming from the same studio that made the sidesplitting “Shrek” movies and the flawless “How to Train Your Dragon,” it falls a bit flat.
