Compared to how poorly Jay Ward’s previous properties have fared, Peabody is a success over Dudley Do-Right, Boris & Natasha and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. I almost forgot George of the Jungle which was way better than Peabody. Still this Dreamworks dreck is yet another waste of 80 minutes yet will keep the rear seats of a mini-van pacified..
My gripe is that the time-travel element from the source is a lame plot device to rip off Finding Nemo. Somara pointed out quickly how Pixar’s story wasn’t original neither. I completely agree but the execution was a thousand times better. Plus the “moral lesson” didn’t feel so heavy handed.
Peabody has funny moments. The exposition show how Mr. Peabody became the smartest mammal living on Earth. Some historical figure are amusing: Patrick Warburton has Agamemnon, Jess Harnell as George Washington and Stanley Tucci as da Vinci. The rest are the usual laziness from Dreamworks except for the cameo of Albert Einstein.
I think Peabody just doesn’t work in long-form storytelling. The writers managed to work in the character’s trademark in puns, just not much else. The short-lived Cartoon Nnetwork show Time Squad was a better successor.
Will kids like it? Probably. There’s fart joke, high-speed chases and the obligatory bully girl to widen the audience’s base. Peabody won’t go on to be a franchise like Despicable Me or the turgid Shrek crap.
Alamo Extras: The Ben Stiller Show‘s skit “B- Time Traveler,” a Peabody & Sherman short of them meeting Cleopatra and Caesar, and a Quisp cereal commercial done by Jay Ward’s animation studio.