Mr. Peabody & Sherman

RATING: D+

DreamWorks Animation has always been a studio that it's hard to know what to expect from sometimes. They have some fantastic movies like the Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon movies, as well as the hilarious Over the Hedge and Flushed Away, but sometimes they make some more middle-ground films like Rise of the Guardians or Bee Movie. And then there were some just plain lame films, like Turbo or the Madagascar films (although I do love the penguins). 

Mr. Peabody & Sherman was one I had somewhat high expectations for, being a fan of the source material and also the fact that the film had some good marketing. Of course, time travel is always a difficult subject for me sometimes. But even time travel enthusiasts are going to find themselves disappointed here. 

For those who aren't familiar with the source material (especially the younger generation), Peabody &  Sherman was a segment in the Rocky & Bullwinkle series that featured the title characters going on various journeys back in time to make sure that certain history events *did* happen the way they were supposed to. 

The film actually gets off to a pretty decent start. Peabody opens up with a monologue--and we meet Sherman as well--in an opening surprisingly reminiscent of the original cartoon. Then things escalate quickly from there. 

Fans of the original cartoon will probably be disappointed with how their favorite characters are often butchered. People who are new to the characters will be disappointed to see just how unlikable they often are. 

Sherman's character isn't anything like the original cartoon at all, and he is awfully inconsistent here as well. He goes from good-natured kid to somewhat rebellious to hooligan to good-natured again to sudden genius to save the world via some concept that makes no sense at all and will leave the children horribly confused. Peabody is mostly faithful to his original character, thankfully--but also makes a couple *incredibly* uncharacteristic moves that quite frankly left me stunned. The brand-new character, Penny, isn't very likable either. She starts off as this conceited little brat who torments Sherman and then about two-thirds through, she just makes this transformation into a nicer person. Because of what? No one knows. 

As far as time travel films go, this one isn't that confusing--save for the last ten or so minutes. Like I mentioned earlier, the world is saved through an idea that absolutely makes no sense.

(SPOILER WARNING.)

And what's all the worse is that we see at the very end of the film that the world wasn't really saved in a sense--that time is still screwed up, and the space-time continuum isn't freaking out. Why? Considering that time is perhaps in even worse shape than it was before, it makes no sense. And what makes even less sense is how the present day isn't affected by all the huge changes. 

(END OF SPOILER WARNING.)

Although the film is quite flawed, there are still some laughs to be had. The puns, just like in the original cartoon, are rampant and to be found just about everywhere (a couple of them go overboard, though). There are some quick funny gags as well. It's clear to see that this film is geared more towards the young kids, since the film is a bit too ridiculous for adults fairly often. 

It's certainly not horrible, but it is quite disappointing, especially for those who were hoping for something good after the marketing and if they were a fan of the source material. Ultimately, I find it hard to recommend this film unless you're a pun fanatic, in which case this might be a romp even if you're frustrated by the end.