Blu-ray Review Mr. Peabody & Sherman Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Blu-ray Review

For millions of Baby Boomers, the ninety-one installments of “Peabody’s Improbable History” contained within five years of Rocky & His Friends/The Bullwinkle Show constitute some of the most cherished of childhood memories. Filled with the pun and parody antics of two beloved characters a genius dog and his boy, the shorts were fast, hilariously funny, and even tipped with some historical awareness. Dreamworks Animation’s Mr. Peabody & Sherman tries its hardest to recapture the magic of those bygone animated gold nuggets, but the results are often as tiresome as they are terrific, and the filmmakers’ desperation to appeal to a more frantic, attention-starved generation of viewers throws off kilter the wittier, more intelligent moments inherent in the material.

Studio: DreamWorks Animation

Distributed By: Fox

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD, Other

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Rating: PG

Run Time: 1 Hr. 32 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy, UltraViolet

keep case in a slipcover

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 10/14/2014

MSRP: $36.99

The Production Rating: 3/5

After getting in trouble with a bullying mean girl Penny Peterson (Ariel Winter) on his first day at school, Sherman (Max Charles) and his Nobel Prize-winning genius dog guardian Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell) must try to make amends with the little girl and her aggravated parents (Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann). To try to appease Penny, Sherman shows her Mr. Peabody’s WABAC machine, a contraption that can go backward anywhere in time. When they land in ancient Egypt and Penny becomes the betrothed of child pharaoh King Tut (Zach Callison), Sherman races back to Mr. Peabody to get his help to rescue her only to find themselves whirled into a series of misadventures at different points of history where either Sherman, Penny, or Peabody himself generates lots of chaos that spills over into present day New York.While the movie begins with a spiffy adventure with Peabody and Sherman in the Paris of 1789 on the brink of the French Revolution involved with Marie Antoinette (Lauri Fraser) whose offer of cake to her guests is misinterpreted by the revolutionaries as a call to arms (the closest the movie ever gets to matching the charm and wit of the original films), the subplot with Sherman trying to win over a truly despicable little girl by using the WABAC lends an air of distraction to the entire story. In all of the shorts, Sherman or the famous historical characters were able to get into plenty of inadvertent trouble which required Mr. Peabody’s expert help, but Craig Wright’s script feels the need to inflict Penny and her disapproving parents on the story along with a ridiculously over-the-top bigoted social worker Ms. Grunion (Allison Janney) who for some reason Peabody’s genius never seems to get the best of. These prejudiced, rather nasty adults cast something of a pall over the general madcap merriment, and even though the script snaps the trio into not only 1332 B.C. Egypt but also into 1508 Florence (Leonardo da Vinci) and 1184 B.C. Troy (Agamemnon), the heaviness of the narrative which bookends the series of adventures seems at odds with the movie’s more comedic intentions. And the movie’s plus/minus balance sheet includes a perfectly lovely sequence set to the tune of “Beautiful Boy” where Peabody and Sherman bond over shared experiences throughout history courtesy of his miraculous invention to the riotously loud and unsatisfyingly messy conclusion where a rip in the space/time continuum brings forth all of the historical personages we’ve seen in the film to present day New York. Also, the Dreamworks animators just can’t help themselves in throwing in a little modern day scatological humor as our spunky trio are shot out of the Sphinx’s rear end and the Trojans descend from their trick horse though the same orifice.While Ty Burrell, an outstanding physical and verbal comic actor, can’t quite match the dryly ironic vocal stylings of Bill Scott’s original Peabody, he gives it a game attempt, and by the end, we’ve accustomed ourselves to his own individual interpretation. Likewise, there’s less wide-eyed amazement in Max Charles’ delivery as Sherman than was present in Walter Tetley’s original vocal work, but he plays the character just fine. Ariel Winter’s transition from mean girl to loving friend seems a bit abrupt and unconvincing (though obviously necessary for the happy ending the filmmakers desire) as are the on again/off again natures of support or the lack thereof from the Petersons acted by Stephen Colbert and Leslie Mann. Of the historical figures, Patrick Warburton as Agamemnon makes the most of his comic opportunities though Stanley Tucci’s Leonardo da Vinci and Lauri Fraser’s Marie Antoinette are both lots of fun in their segments of the movie. Allison Janney’s overly broad (in more ways than one) Ms. Grunion is perhaps a bit much even for a no-holds-barred comedy like this one.

Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is faithfully rendered in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Sharpness is superb throughout with color magnificently bright and bold but always under control. Contrast has been expertly maintained while allowing for inky black levels. There is no banding at all to mar this reference quality picture. The film has been divided into 28 chapters.The film was presented in selected theaters in 3D, and there is a 3D Blu-ray package available though only the 2D was sent for review. There would appear to be, as is the case with many Dreamworks Animation titles, some effective use of outward projections at certain moments, and depth would appear to be certainly enhanced by an added dimension.

Audio Rating: 4.5/5

The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix might not be the busiest and most enveloping of the modern CGI-rendered animated hits, but it’s certainly an outstanding accomplishment. Danny Elfman’s bustling score gets expert spread through the fronts and rears, and there are plenty of split effects to give each of the surround channels something to do with occasional sweeps through the soundstage to give those all-important rear surrounds some impressive activity. There’s a nice amount of deep bass in the mix, too, which occupies the LFE channel on a fairly regular basis. Dialogue has been superbly recorded and has been placed in the center channel.

Special Features Rating: 4/5

Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends Show (22:53, SD): the 1959 first episode of the series that introduced Rocky and Bullwinkle, “Fractured Fairy Tales,” and “Peabody’s Improbable History.” Sadly, the original Rocky & His Friends logo in the title and end credits has been replaced by its more recent renaming.“Peabody’s Improbable History” Segments (25:48, HD): five installments of the series are offered either individually or together. They are “Robin Hood,” “Leonardo da Vinci,” “Louis XVI,” “William Shakespeare,” and “Ludwig Van Beethoven.”Tour of the WABAC Machine (2:51, HD): Ty Burrell’s Mr. Peabody explains what the various dials and buttons inside the WABAC machine actually do.Time Travel: Mad Science (5:58, HD): scientists Ken Wharton and Anthony Aguirre explain two actual albeit different theories of time travel: Multi-Verse time travel (used in the series and film) and Block Universe time travel.Dreamworks Presents: Mr. Peabody & Sherman, a Journey WABAC (21:50, HD): Patrick Warburton is the host to a history of the cartoon series which features sound bites from creator Jay Ward’s daughter Tiffany and the film’s director Rob Minkoff as well as various homages to the show planted throughout the film and some behind-the-scenes views of the recording sessions.History’s Greatest Mysteries – A Dog and His Boy (2:33, HD): a brief recap of the various moments of history touched on during Mr. Peabody & Sherman which turns into a promo trailer for the film.Peabody’s Paw Print in History (3:52, HD): Mr. Peabody plants his paw prints in the cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre with Ty Burrell signing for the celebrated pooch.Games (HD): two games to be played with the colored buttons on the remote are offered: four jigsaw puzzles and a time travel memory match game.Photo Gallery (HD): two dozen stills and specially created artwork based on the movie which the viewer can step through.Theatrical Trailer (2:26, HD)Promo Trailers (HD): Dreamworks Animation hits, Penguins of Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Rio 2.DVD/Digital Copy: disc and code sheet for iTunes and Ultraviolet enclosed in the case.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

A snappy if not quite satisfying 21^st century rendering of one of the 20^th century’s most endearing and witty short subjects, Mr. Peabody & Sherman will likely please today’s children and their parents with its fast-paced action in various historical periods with more familiar modern-day attitudes and behaviors. The disc offers reference picture and near-reference sound to enhance the experience, and there are some tasty bonuses included in the package as well.

Reviewed By: Matt Hough

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It's too bad that only the 2D version was available for review. I've seen a LOT of 3D films, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman is right up there with the very best of them in terms of both depth, and "in yo' face" moments.

Reed Grele said:

It's too bad that only the 2D version was available for review. I've seen a LOT of 3D films, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman is right up there with the very best of them in terms of both depth, and "in yo' face" moments.

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I kept thinking the same thing the entire time I was watching it. Moments would happen, and I'd think "I'll bet that would look great in 3D." Alas, I'll have to buy my own copy to find out.

What happened to the new Bullwinkle short that was supposed to come with this set? It premiered on Comic-Con in San Diego? James

JamesSmith said:

What happened to the new Bullwinkle short that was supposed to come with this set? It premiered on Comic-Con in San Diego?James

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It's included in the 3D version of the feature. It's also in 3D.

bujaki said:

It's included in the 3D version of the feature. It's also in 3D.

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So if you don't have a 3D TV and Blu-ray player you can't watch it ?

LouA said:

So if you don't have a 3D TV and Blu-ray player you can't watch it ?

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I read the menu contents carefully, and unless I'm mistaken, the short is included only in the 3D disc. Even though it is also in 3D, the menu says that the "exclusive" content can also be viewed in your standard BD player. In short, it seems you need to purchase the 3D disc if you want to see the short.

bujaki said:

I read the menu contents carefully, and unless I'm mistaken, the short is included only in the 3D disc. Even though it is also in 3D, the menu says that the "exclusive" content can also be viewed in your standard BD player. In short, it seems you need to purchase the 3D disc if you want to see the short.

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I don't mind purchasing the 3D set to get the short, just as long as I can watch it . At this point , that would be the main reason I'd buy the 3D version. But I guess eventually I'll get a TV, and blu-ray player that are compatible with the 3D format.