140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Exactly what it looks like. Well-made: did good job of maintaining the spirit of the old cartoon, but instantly forgettable (like cartoon?).
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Mr. Peabody & Sherman:
I loved Rocky & Bullwinkle as a kid – still do – and the Mr. Peabody & Sherman cartoons were a big highlight. I love the awful puns, the understated humor, the delivery – it’s all great. So I viewed this DreamWorks Animation feature with trepidation. I assumed that it would be funny – I also assumed that it would be a completely paint-by-numbers “modern” cg-makeover that was obligated to create an unnecessary story with conflicts and character arcs. Sometimes it would be nice to be surprised…
There’s a scene in the underrated 1990 comedy Quick Change in which Bill Murray’s character, a jaded and burnt out city planner who has decided to become a bank robber, stares at the glass monstrosity of a new skyscraper going up and dejectedly laments, “Why do they have to do this?” I feel that way every time one of these movies based on increasingly questionable source material is announced. Every single thing created in our world does not need to be adapted to film. They’re making feature films based on board games at this point for goodness sake.
I’d have to say I liked Mr. Peabody & Sherman, since it would be untrue to say I disliked it. It was completely serviceable. With most reviews I’d make some comment that adequate is probably not what they were going for, but in this case I think it may have been. I’m becoming increasingly convinced that these cg-animated movies are aiming extremely low.
Sure, the jokes were pretty good and they brought over the sensibility of the cartoon exactly. But then they built it up with the usual DreamWorks Animation crap – you know, the too cool for school pop culture references that you aren’t really sure what audience they’re targeted to. I hate that crap. It shows a complete lack of respect for the audience.
I came to this conclusion when I asked the rhetorical question “how do they think this stuff will play in a few years’ time?” That’s when I realized they simply are not concerned with that. They are making a movie for right now – there isn’t a thought given to the shelf life of the movie. That shows not just shortsightedness, but also implies a disdain for the work itself. You can’t spend this much money and time on something and not care about its legacy unless you really don’t feel that it has any value to begin with. (Although, based on the disappointing box office receipts that caused the studio to take a $57 million write-down on it and nearly single-handedly tanked the stock and made the company vulnerable to takeover bids, maybe they were right…)
So yes, I submit that the filmmakers and this studio in particular have no respect for the work they are creating and are just making widgets. Well, mission accomplished. See ya soon for the Connect Four movie…
By the way, this film has inspired me to create a new section on the site, #140FAQ, where I post my Frequently Asked Questions (mine, not yours) in 140 characters. Here’s the first:
#140FAQ Is there some sort of rule that all cg-animated movies must have a “funny” end scene of characters dancing to pop song? #BlameShrek
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: I dunno, hard to do for these movies; call it a C (4 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Ty Burrell Mr. Peabody (voice), Max Charles Sherman (voice), Stephen Colbert Paul Peterson (voice), Leslie Mann Patty Peterson (voice) |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 07 Mar 2014 UTC |
| Director | Rob Minkoff |
| Genres | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi |
| Plot | The time-travelling adventures of an advanced canine and his adopted son, as they endeavor to fix a time rift they created. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 92 |
| Tagline | He’s leaving his mark on history. |
| Writers | Jay Ward (based on the series produced by), Craig Wright (screenplay) |
| Year | 2014 |
