Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

There is an itch that Hollywood just can’t seem to scratch. It’s a nagging, nostalgic yearning for something from its collective youth that try as it might, it just can’t seem to get to catch on with the modern audience. I’m talking, of course, of “The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show”. Hollywood keeps on coming back to this particular wellspring time and again, seemingly undaunted by box office flop after flop. First there was 1992’s “Boris and Natasha” which ended up as a TV movie and then in 1999 a live-action ‘Dudley Do-Right’ starring Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker and Alfred Molina appeared, grossing less than 10% of its production budget. Undaunted, the following the year saw the release of the admittedly underappreciated “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle”, a good-naturedly ironic take on the classic cartoon, bring Moose and Squirrel into the ‘real world’, it too sank at the box office despite the presence of Robert DeNiro, Rene Russo and the appealing Piper Perabo. Now if the headliners of this much-loved but apparently now outdated cartoon couldn’t crack the modern box office what luck would any of the other supporting features have?

DreamWorks is banking that there’s still enough love and awareness of one of them to make it big at the box office, spinning off the “Peabody’s Improbable History” segment into the computer animated 3D feature “Mr Peabody & Sherman”. There’s a little revisionism in the mix: Sherman is Mr Peabody’s adopted son this time round, not his pet and the time travel element is driven more by their personal lives than a specific educational mission.

Essentially a junior primer for “Doctor Who”, “Mr Peabody & Sherman” tells the story of a super intelligent, resourceful and inventive dog (never queried, never explained), who travels through time in his WABAC machine. This time, they end up bringing Penny Peterson, one of Sherman’s classmates along for a whirlwind tour through history taking in Ancient Egypt, the Siege of Troy and the Renaissance.

Along the way, Mr Peabody and Sherman learn some valuable lessons about being a family and trusting in each other. The nature of father/ son bonds is clearly intended to be the moral core of the story and as I sat there watching the film with the Mertmas by my side, I’d be lying if I didn’t have at least a couple of moments where I stole a glance at him through ever so slightly misty eyes, especially when he pointed out the similarities to “Doctor Who”. Speaking of the Mertmas, he definitely enjoyed it, especially the action scenes which are well executed, and peppered with humour both slapstick and wordy. He thought it was good: exciting and funny but I’m not sure it will make his list of all time classics.

Like its source material, puns abound and there are a more than a few sly laugh out loud jokes squarely aimed at the parents but “Mr Peabody & Sherman” needs more than a handful of good jokes to succeed. When its only recent exposure to audiences is some token references in “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”, it needs to be a superb, heartfelt family adventure, a story and characters that take you by surprise and become instantly unforgettable. “Despicable Me” pulled off this trick, “Mr Peabody & Sherman” does not.

It’s competently made and certainly a diverting hour and a half of animated adventure but it presumes a little too much existing affection for the characters and, especially outside the United States where “The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show” is less well known, that’s a mistake. There’s just not enough of a hook for “Mr Peabody & Sherman” to bring in audiences unfamiliar or uninterested in the nostalgia factor and, for better or worse, it’s going to be annihilated by “The Lego Movie” which comes out a week later.

mr peabody & sherman review
Score 6/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

My Scientology Movie (2016) Review

My Scientology Movie (2016) Review

The power of Xenu compels you to read my review of My Scientology Movie There's no denying a Louis Theroux documentary draws a quite different crowd to the cinema. Those docuphiles who wouldn't deign to visit the unwashed multiplexes during blockbuster season, some who came specifically...

Onward (2020) Review

Onward (2020) Review

For a kids’ movie, there sure are a lot of crotch shots in Onward Pixar’s latest animated offering manages, in the space of its opening five minutes, to essay a more rewarding and credibly convincing blend of magic in the modern world than J K Rowling managed in seven books and ten...

3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) Review

3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) Review

3-Headed Shark Attack is a triple threat: terrible acting, writing and direction A 3-headed shark suddenly attacks a group of partying teenagers, killing all of them except one who was on a buoy while the rest of the teens were at the beach. The shark then proceeds to attack the...

The Survivor

The Survivor

Star Trek: The Animated Series S1E06 - The Survivor The Animated Series ventures into familiar territory in The Survivor, blending long lost reunions, deception, and good old-fashioned spacefaring intrigue. The Enterprise rescues Carter Winston, a renowned philanthropist who’s been...

Wild Rose (2019) Review

Wild Rose (2019) Review

Whether or not you’re a fan of country music, Wild Rose will work hard to win you over. When hot-headed young singer "Wild" Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is released from prison, she reluctantly returns to her mother’s house to be reunited with her two young children. Nursing a...

You Can’t Handle The Two’s: 22 Of My Favourite Sequel movies…

You Can't Handle The Two's: 22 Of My Favourite Sequel movies...

Two years ago today, I posted first review to What The Craggus Saw… so I thought I’d mark the day with a countdown of 22 sequels I enjoyed as much as or more than the original film. I’ve only allowed the first sequel (sorry, “Fast & Furious 6”) and I also disqualified the second parts...

The Imitation Game (2014) Review

The Imitation Game (2014) Review

Benedict Cumberbatch is impeccable as Turing, finding the humanity at the heart of The Imitation Game. Typical. You wait years for stirring tales of British ingenuity and wartime innovation and then two come along at the same time. There's a great deal of overlap between the story of...

Sicario (2015) Review

Sicario (2015) Review

Powerful and bleak, Sicario may leave you numb rather than stunned Gritty, grim and deeply nihilistic, “Sicario” is a dark and brooding thriller which examines the murky realpolitik of America’s ‘War On Drugs’ along the US/ Mexican border. Idealistic FBI Agent Kate Mercer (Emily...