Years ago, we were introduced to a genius dog and his boy-assistant as they traveled through time and went to exotic locales. Mr. Peabody and Sherman were regulars on Rocky and Bullwinkle, giving generations a healthy dose of historical mumbo-jumbo and Cold War fun. Now, like their parent show, they have received their own film, updated to the contemporary time period and injected with some bright and shiny DreamWorks animation.
Today, the second trailer for Mr. Peabody & Sherman arrived and unfortunately, it looks quite disappointing. The film features Ty Burrell (Modern Family) as the voice of the genius dog/adoptive parent who balances his busy schedule of inventing Zoomba and winning Olympic gold medals with taking care of his boy Sherman (Max Charles). Things get complicated for the pair when Sherman shows his father’s Way-Back time machine to his classmate Penny (Ariel Winter). Unsurprisingly, the kids screw up some history and need to enlist the help of Mr. Peabody to rectify their errors.
While the plot itself could go in many directions, this latest trailer seems to indicate that DreamWorks Animation has gone mostly for low-brow, childish humor and pop culture references. It’s a shame, too, because the cast looks good and the opportunities for hilarity are right there in the fabric of the characters. But Greek and Egyptian jokes aside, there just does not seem to be a lot to recommend this one for. While there’s always a chance that the trailers are making Mr. Peabody & Sherman look a bit dumber than it actually is, I am not feeling too optimistic.
You can watch the latest trailer for the film below and let us know if you think I’m being unfair in the comments.
Directed by Rob Minkoff, Mr. Peabody & Sherman will come to theatres March 14, 2014.
