HOLLYWOOD – Dogs do indeed make man’s best friend and the animated feature “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” tells that story in reverse.  Being dragged to an animated flick is never fun, but as with most adults we tend to enjoy the picture more entertaining than the tots sitting beside us.

The movie tells the story of Mr. Peabody (voice of Ty Burrell) a talking dog that is also the smartest person in the world. Just imagine if dogs really could talk what would they actually say? We’ve seen it time and time again on shows like “Family Guy,” but this movie tackles a human emotion involving adoption.

At first I thought the picture was tackling quite a heavy issue for little ones, but as the story progress’ it all wraps up like a nice little bow. The story revolves around Mr. Peabody who has been an outcast most of his life, but finds solace in his intelligence and his ability to care for an abandoned infant who he legally adopts.


Sherman (voice of Max Charles) is taught the many academics through Mr. Peabody, but learns the real world is not as accepting as Mr. Peabody. At school, he finds an enemy in Penny (voice of Ariel Winter) who is a bit of a bully. Penny is a bit unruly and a character that most kids will be distanced from while watching the movie; she has it out for Sherman simply because he’s a bit smarter than her.

This is something common for many kids in school who are ostracized for being intelligent. This animated feature takes that notion and plants it on its head. It’s about tolerance, accepting people for who they are regardless of where they come from or who raises them. To get even Sherman decides to warp Penny to Ancient Egypt. The rest of the picture involves Penny’s nemesis working to rescue her from an untimely demise by an Egyptian titan.

The film also examines the relationship between parent and child, while disagreements may ensue the love a parent for a child and a child for the parent is impossible describe. Sometimes our stubbornness can get us into loads of trouble as both Sherman and Penny discover. “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is a fun-ride because at its core is a story about the love shared between a parent and child, regardless of blood ties. The laughs are consistent and the characters are not one note as commonly see in so many animated flicks. There is a reason this picture is delivering major bucks at the box-office.