Review of Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) by Thomas W — 10 Aug 2014

Colorful and bright, Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a rather fun kid's film that is smart enough for an adult audience to chuckle at regarding references of historical significance some children might not as yet understand.

Mr. Peabody is a dog who adopted a son named Sherman and once Sherman begins school he is taunted for having a dog for a "father". After a small scuffle, Sherman finds himself in trouble and nosey authorities decide they need to remove him from his unconventional home life.

The story eventually involves a time machine as Sherman enters it trying to correct some past wrongs and in doing so he travels to Troy and ancient Egypt and meets George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as well as a pre-guillotined Marie Antoinette who LOVES her some cake.

The film is light and has several laughs -- although a fair amount of groans too as the history is slightly skewed (buy hey ... its for kids!) -- and it kept me entertained. It isn't spectacular but it contains a nice moral message: that families are all about love .

.. and it doesn't really matter who heads that family as unconventional is better than none at all. That may horrify some but it is truth as "dog" is code here for something else. The boy loves his dog/dad .

.. and there is nothing wrong with that.