Here’s an another animation movie which we could have been a bit surprised by just by the fact that it’s a DreamWorks production ( “the Croods” , “Madagascar” ) and the subject: a gifted dog Mr. Peabody and his relationship with his adoptive son Sherman through time travel adventures.
But here, despite a rather good directing (3D does not bring much to the table though) the film is very predictable filled with pretty clumsy jokes.
One wonders what audience the film is aimed at: the adults will be more or less amused by the liberties taken with History and the lack of subtlety of some jokes and children may not understand the historical references.
Too bad, Mr. Peabody the genius dog could have educated the young audience about History instead of throwing grotesque clichés. So yes, it’s parodied but the problem is that it is rarely really funny. Added to this the treatment of the father (or rather dog) /son relationship not subtle at all and irritating characters (Jenny the female character and the voice of Sherman constantly repeating “Mr. Peabody” is almost unbearable) it does not rest much to save this film.
While the American audience may appreciate to see a movie with characters they already know (and slightly anti- French humor: Marie Antoinette as a silly bulimic and a Robespierre who gets hit a lot) but for the rest of us it doesn’t really work …too bad…
