Mr. Peabody & Sherman Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Lynn Barker on Oct 16, 2013

Rating:

Kidzworld reviews the animated, comic romp through history that is “Mr. Peabody and Sherman”, the time-travelling story of a dog and his boy.

By: Lynn Barker

Get ready to time warp through history with nerdy and sweet tween Sherman and his mega-smart dad Mr. Peabody, who just happens to be a dog.

Story Goes

Mr. Peabody (voice of Ty Burrell), a super smart beagle who wears glasses, had a lonely puppyhood. He wasn’t adopted so he just studied and improved his mind until he became a famous inventor, chef, musician, diplomat and more. He invented the WABAC time machine and, to share his life, adopted human boy Sherman (voice of Max Charles) who was just abandoned in a box as a baby. The two go on adventures to the past so Sherman can “learn the lessons of history firsthand”.

Sherman and Mr. Peabody in the WABAC machineCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Mr. Peabody and Sherman travel back to France, meet Marie Antoinette and check out the French Revolution. Sherman’s first day at school doesn’t go well when Sherman tells his teacher that history has it all wrong. He knows. He was there! Classmate Penny Peterson (Ariel Winter) makes fun of Sherman. What kid has a dog for a dad? He retaliates. Her parents (voices of Stephen Colbert and Leslie Mann) complain and Sherman might be taken away from Mr. Peabody!

Finally, Penny likes ShermanCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

After taking Penny on many exciting time travel adventures and making some narrow escapes, Sherman proves to his dad that he can actually be a hero and handle tough situations but, at one point, two Shermans exist in two different time periods and it is up to Sherman (one of them) and Peabody to repair a rip in time, get home with Penny in tow and prove that they are a worthy dad/son team.

Penny and Sherman use Da Vinci's flying machineCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Special Features

The Blu-ray is really loaded with extras.

Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends – contains a lot on the 1960’s TV origins of Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

The “Premiere Episode” of the TV series is delightful and chocked full of both physical and spoken humor as Rocky the flying squirrel and pal Bullwinkle the moose end up on the moon due to an explosive boost from Bullwinkle’s granny’s “rising” cake recipe.

The first “Fractured Fairy Tale” episode centers on a funny Rapunzel and isn’t the typical tale you remember while the very first “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” short segment is a cute intro to the WABAC machine. “Mr. Peabody and Sherman Segments” of the TV show include hilarious historical trips in time to meet Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Antoinette, William Shakespeare and Beethoven. As in the feature film, you actually learn a lot but in a very silly, fun way.

Penny (center) has the adventure of her lifeCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

A Tour of the WABAC Machine – provides a description of every cleverly-named dial and button on the time travel machine. We learn how it works and how it avoids Black Holes. Cute.

Time Travel: Mad Science – presents real life physicists who talk about whether time travel could exist or not. We learn that there are two theories and explore them in detail. I found this to be really cool, interesting and yes, understandable.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman: A Journey WABAC - This featurette, hosted by actor Patrick Warburton who voices fun and dim King Agamemnon in the movie, takes you to the DreamWorks “campus” where the movie was made. You find out the origins of this tale about a dog and his boy way back when producer Jay Ward started the TV cartoon in 1959 to appeal to all ages and not talk “down” to kids.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman in ancient EgyptCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The sons of the original artist tell us about their dads’ work and the directors of the current movie say they watched the show as kids. Voice actors tell us where they would go in a time machine. Filmmakers talk about setting the movie in our current world and updating the characters. Animators share their artwork and show how the animation process worked. Interesting all in all.

History’s Greatest Mystery: A Dog and his Boy – Is really a long trailer for the film with various clips. Okay but not anything new.

Peabody warns Sherman not to use the WABAC Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Peabody Paw Print on History – takes us to the famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood where Mr. Peabody (a guy in a suit) puts his paw prints in cement on the walk of fame. Various famous animal and human actors participate. Cute.

Two easy but actually fun games are The WABAC Jigsaw Puzzle and Time Travel Memory Match. Quite fun the first time around but after that, too easy to repeat.

A Gallery of the film’s artwork is also included.

Wrapping Up

Although younger kids will have fun with the silly physical antics of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, teens and adults will appreciate some great puns, witty humor and get a real historical education in the mix. The Blu-ray looks amazing with the same detailed historical animated backgrounds enjoyed in the theatrical release looking bright and fine on the smaller screen.

Sherman gets a ride to school from dad PeabodyCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Extras abound. Your parents and grandparents, many of whom were young when seeing “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle” on TV, will really like that the entire pilot episode and many shorts starring Peabody and Sherman are included but you can enjoy them too. The games are fun at least once and there are enough fun extras as a whole to make the family want to add this Blu-ray/DVD/Digital set to the collection. This home entertainment package looks and sounds great. We go 4 stars.