Up until the ending of this film, I enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, the ending seemed very formulaic and clichéd and the film ended on a sour note. On balance, however, it's enjoyable but not a film I'd hurry to see.

This film is based on the old characters from the "Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle". However, unlike the old show, giving it movie length was very positive because it allowed the characters to have much greater depth. This is especially so for the relationship between Mr. Peabody and his son, Sherman. I liked how the film showed the difficulties of raising a child and the difficulties a super-genius might have in such an improbably role as a parent. When the film focused on this, it was firing on all cylinders. However, at the end, it really looked like they didn't know how to end the thing and it looked a lot like too many other films (such as "Back to the Future", among MANY others) and destroyed the momentum and good will I had towards the film. Not a bad film, but given what the film was early on, it sure lost its direction late in the production and could have been so much better.

Mr Peabody and Sherman may not be among Dreamworks' best(The Prince of Egypt, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek) or the best animated film of the year so far(between The Lego Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2),but in my opinion it was a very good film with plenty going for it. The third act does get convoluted and too hectic, there are a few anachronisms that are quite jarring(especially with the Leonardo DaVinci referred to in a previous review) and some of the historical references might go over children's heads(for example they are unlikely to have heard of Robespierre),but actually Mr Peabody and Sherman doesn't have much that wrong with it.

The animation is great; the colours are beautifully textured and rich, the backgrounds are smooth and detailed in alternative to blocky(the landscapes are beautifully rendered) and while the "over-sized heads" may take some getting used to the character designs are likable and don't move in a robotic way at all. Danny Elfman's music is energetic and rousing, while it's not one of his best works(ie. Edward Scissorhands) it is one of his better recent efforts. There's always room as well for Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and George Gershwin. The script is very witty and smart with some very inspired puns that both children and adults will love. Especially funny were the plagues and Oedipus jokes. The story is cleverly structured and fast-moving, it is a tad predictable in places and as said the third act gets convoluted but on the most part it does a great(and fresh) job with the time travel idea(after seeing the mediocre at best Free Birds waste it).

And I for one loved the historical references, there's a lot of them(for example George Washington, Ancient Egypt, the French Revolution with Marie Antoinette and Robespierre, the Trojan War with Agamemnon and the Italian Renaissance with Mona Lisa and Leonardo DaVinci) and they are sent up remarkably cleverly. Sure the referenced characters are caricatures- but to be honest that wasn't unexpected, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is one of the best examples of time travelling in films and the referenced characters were caricatures in that too- and some might find them stereotypical but they were really fun to spot and delightful in their own right. The references may go over the heads of some but actually it is a good way of getting acquainted with the characters and eras and may inspire to learn more about it. By all means though you still learn a good deal here, Marie Antoinette and George Washington were interesting.

Underneath all the irreverence though Mr Peabody and Sherman also has a lot of heart, the whole adoptive father/son bonding, the story of how Sherman came to be adopted and the ending were very heartfelt. The titular characters are very endearing and the film does wonderfully in making their somewhat unlikely relationship believable, one of its strengths. Didn't mind Penny personally, she was bratty to begin with but she grows on you. The voice cast are first-rate, particularly Ty Burrell who is brilliantly funny yet with the ability to bring emotional depth to the character, and if Max Charles continues to act he has a promising future ahead of him. Of the rest of the cast the standouts were Allison Janney who is deliciously wicked, Stanley Tucci who brings warm eccentric colour to Leonardo DaVinci and especially Patrick Warburton who is a hoot as Agamemnon. To conclude, a very good animated film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Mr. Peabody is a genius and (oh yes) a dog. His brilliance always got into the way of him being adopted. He discovers baby Sherman in an alley and adopts him. Sherman inspires him to invent the WABAC time machine. At school, Sherman is bullied by Penny Peterson teasing him that he's a dog. Sherman invites the Petersons to a dinner. Sherman disobeys Mr. Peabody and takes Penny on the WABAC. Mr. Peabody and Sherman must go back to ancient Egypt to rescue Penny.

This is a good clean children's movie. The jokes are mostly puns delivered by Mr. Peabody and Sherman saying "I don't get it." It does well in the way of most modern animations. I like the light touch and the round smooth faces. It gives it an easy comfortable innocent feel. On top of the well-made animation, there is a real heart. That puts it as one of the better kids' movies. The adoption storyline is really touching and compelling.