Review Roundup: Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Dreamworks' newest animated feature, MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN, opens in theaters nationwide today. Based on sketches from the classic Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, the movie follows a super-genius dog and his adopted human son on time-traveling adventures.

Directed by Rob Minkoff, the animated adventure features the voices of Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Allison Janney, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Lake Bell, Zach Callison and Dennis Haysbert.

Mr. Peabody, the most accomplished dog in the world, and his mischievous boy Sherman, use their time machine - The Wabac - to go on the most outrageous adventures known to man or dog. But when Sherman takes The Wabac out for a joyride to impress his friend Penny, they accidently rip a hole in the universe, wreaking havoc on the most important events in world history.

Before they forever alter the past, present and future, Mr. Peabody must come to their rescue, ultimately facing the most daunting challenge of any era: figuring out how to be a parent. Together, the time traveling trio will make their mark on history.

What did the critics have to say?

Leslie Felperin | Hollywood Reporter

"Here, screenwriter Craig Wright (SIX FEET UNDER) and director Rob Minkoff (STUART LITTLE, THE LION KING, THE HAUNTED MANSION) pay homage to the spirit of the original Saturday-morning shorts with puns a plenty and history-based high jinks. Unfortunately, somebody somewhere decided they needed to pile the sentimentality on thick as birthday cupcake frosting, even if its pro-adoption, pro-unconventional-family message is laudable." Read the full review here.

Betsy Sharkey | Los Angeles Times

"While the characters from the beloved Rocky and Bullwinkle shows of the 1960s mixed arch intelligence with kid confusion to the delight of the Saturday-morning cartoon crowd a generation ago, the big-screen adventure is more Adult Swim than Saturday morning. Those are treacherous waters to tread." Read the full review here.

Tom Russo | Boston Globe

"The cartoon adventures of time-traveling brainiac dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son, Sherman, had the same clever tone of everything that came out of animation producer Jay Ward's ROCKY & BULLWINKLE factory... All solid material for creating the feature update MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN. Don't dumb things down, stick to character, give the duo's WABAC machine a 3-D rebuild, and you've got your movie." Read the full review here.

Rafer Guzman | Newsday

"As they travel through time using Peabody's WABAC machine -- no longer a room-sized mess of dials and gauges but a sleek, red orb -- the movie has trouble stitching together disjointed episodes into a coherent narrative. Thanks to a strong voice cast, however, the characters retain their charm throughout." Read the full review here.

Michael O'Sullivan | Washington Post

"Despite an updated CGI animation style, the movie has all the superficial attributes of the 1959-64 series but none of the charm. Both revolve around a boy named Sherman; his canine master, Peabody; a time machine; and bad puns. Yet by visual standards alone, the characters, rendered in eye-popping 3-D, resemble nothing so much as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade floats. They're just as lifeless and inexpressive, too." Read the full review here.

Guy Lodge | Variety

"Swift, peppy and defiantly unendearing, DreamWorks' latest toon updates the zany adventures of the time-traveling dog-and-his-boy sideshow from Jay Ward's 1960s TV series ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE - an arcane starting point for contempo kiddie fare, and not one that adapts entirely comfortably to the studio's blend of state-of-the-art imagery and touchy-feely personal issues. Though the pic is sufficiently bright and gag-laden to lure families in a release frame short on comparable distractions, its commercial legs will depend on how readily tots accept its bizarre premise." Read the full review here.

Soren Anderson | Seattle Times

"Frantically paced by director Rob Minkoff (THE LION KING) and making very effective use of 3D - Hey! Get that sword out of my face! - the movie will surely appeal to kids. Unfortunately, a not-insignificant part of that appeal derives from poop jokes. There's a road-apple reference relating to the Trojan Horse. And when our heroes are ejected from the Sphinx's rear, oh dear. Plus, there's the scene set in the sewers of Paris where ... well, you get the idea." Read the full review here.

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