The Lion King Director Brings Beloved Classic Mr. Peabody & Sherman Onscreen

Blockbuster director (of “The Lion King”) Rob Minkoff directs another yet blockbuster classic, DreamWorks Animation’s “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” a film based on the classic 1960s cartoon characters that appeared as part of “Rocky and Bullwinkle.”

Featuring the voices of awarded and multi-talented actors Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Patrick Warburton and Allison Janney, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” takes us on an exciting ride around the world within the past and future along with history’s most unforgettable leaders and shakers.

“Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is based upon the beloved characters that first appeared in in the late 1950s and early 1960s animated television series “Rocky and His Friends” and “The Bullwinkle Show,” produced by Jay Ward. The characters appeared in the “Peabody's Improbable History” segments created by Ted Key. Peabody was voiced by Bill Scott, while Sherman was voiced by Walter Tetley (an adult). Ninety-one shorts, each running about four and a half minutes, were produced.

The new film updates the classic dog-and-his-boy team for contemporary audiences with state of the art CG animation and 3D, while retaining the charm of the original cartoon. “The movie pays loving homage to the show,” says Alex Schwartz, “including the WABAC, and Peabody’s wonderful puns, which are woven throughout the movie. There’s a great deal of the show’s DNA in the movie.”

Rob Minkoff says that Mr. Peabody and Sherman are a classic movie team, “like Laurel and Hardy, Batman and Robin, Holmes and Watson.” That’s heady company, but Mr. Peabody isn’t your typical beagle: he is nothing less than a business titan, inventor, scientist, Nobel Laureate, gourmet, Olympic medalist, and genius – who just happens to be a dog.

Jay Ward’s daughter, Tiffany, is the custodian of her father’s legacy, and worked closely with the filmmakers to ensure that MR. PEABODY AND SHERMAN remained true to Jay’s vision. The results, she says, were everything she had hoped for.

“The movie, like Jay’s short cartoons, never talks down to children,” says Tiffany Ward, also the film’s executive producer. “He made them just as much for adults. And now the movie is a dream-come-true for me and my family – to have dad’s work, over 50 years later, being produced by DreamWorks Animation and put on the big screen in 3D. It’s spectacular. Jay would have been so incredibly proud. The movie is a particularly emotional experience for me, because to me, my dad was Peabody – a true genius.”
Some of the filmmakers and actors remember, with great fondness and admiration, the original series. Stephen Colbert has already mentioned his childhood shenanigans in sneaking into the living room to watch the past-his-bedtime show. And Rob Minkoff similarly remembers watching the show and loving the characters. “I was very happy to get the chance to bring them to life on the big screen and into our modern world.”

Travel through time around the world with DreamWorks Animation SKG’s “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” when it opens March 6 nationwide in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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Max Charles Voices the Adopted Human in Dreamworks' 3D Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Max Charles, a young actor with an impressive resume at just nine years of age, who played the young Peter Parker in the hit movie “Amazing Spiderman” stars and lends voice to a genius dog’s adopted boy named Sherman in DreamWorks’ upcoming adventure-packed 3D animation “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.”

“Mr. Peabody & Sherman” is an adventure-comedy featuring science fiction, time travel, outlandish characters and clever dialogue, all of which are bound together by the unexpected relationship between the titular heroes – a dog and his boy.

Peabody possesses the genius of Einstein, the wit of Oscar Wilde, the daring of Indiana Jones, the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes, the sartorial style of James Bond, and the culinary skills of Mario Batali. The one thing that challenges Peabody is keeping up with his adopted boy Sherman. Peabody devotes himself to Sherman, from whom he learns the one thing even a genius has to figure out – parenthood.

Charles’ Sherman is open, enthusiastic and over-curious. Growing up with his adoptive dad – the time-traveling super-genius Mr. Peabody – gives Sherman many opportunities for adventure. Like most youngsters, Sherman has a penchant for trouble and sometimes finds himself in over his head, but Sherman always makes certain to fix even the most difficult problems he creates.

“Sherman is a genuine kid,” says Minkoff. “He’s quite naïve at times, but he’s actually a terrific student of Mr. Peabody’s because one of the special things they do together is travel through history. Peabody has taken the time to introduce Sherman to many of history’s greatest events.”

As any parent knows, there are children’s “leaps” that can lead to breakage – and for Sherman, breaking the rules of time travel has extraordinary consequences. Says Max Charles: Sherman is “a normal kid who gets to do some unusual stuff, like travel back in time.” Sherman learns a lot about everything from Mr. Peabody, and as Charles sees it the reverse is also true. “Peabody also learns a lot from Sherman, like how to be a little more laid back, and a little more trusting.”

As for Sherman’s animation design, Schleifer and his team ensured that he feels and looks like a child. “I looked at my own kids to see how they respond to certain situations, and I discovered interesting kid-like things to make Sherman feel authentic and support the story of his adventures and transformation.” A key challenge was dealing was animating Sherman’s oversized – Schleifer calls it “ginormous” – head, which adds to the character’s appeal and fun. “The head is so big and it’s attached to a tiny neck, so we had to incorporate Sherman’s entire body into even a simple head turn,” he explains. “Or it would look like it would just snap off!”

Prominent eyeglasses are a key feature shared by father and son. The animators had to carefully maneuver the specs and the characters’ eyebrows to ensure that Peabody and Sherman were able to convey the necessary expressions and emotions. “The glasses cover their eyebrows, so if we did nothing you’d never see their expressions change,” says Schleifer. “So when Peabody and Sherman convey excitement, we had their eyebrows go way upon the tops of their heads. And when things get intense, the brows drop straight down and cover their eyes.”

“Peabody realizes that Sherman’s imperfections are what make him so wonderful,” adds Ty Burrell who voices Mr. Peabody, “and that it’s really worth trying to make himself more vulnerable.” Director Rob Minkoff adds: “Max performs with emotion, depth, heart and humor. That’s not easy to find in a young actor.”

A DreamWorks presentation, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” (available in 3D and 2D) is a DreamWorks Animation SKG presentation and a PDI/DreamWorks production, opens March 6 in Philippine cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Check out the film’s localized site here http://www.peabodyandshermanthemovie-ph.com/ for more updates, videos, mobile apps and lots of games and downloadable fun stuff.

First Look at Dreamworks' Mr. Peabody and Sherman Movie

From DreamWorks Animation, makers of global hit franchise films such as “Shrek,” Madagascar” and “How to Train Your Dragon” comes another high-flying adventure film “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” (3D) – an endearing story about a man’s best friend and his adopted boy.

“Mr. Peabody and Sherman” is about to take the world in a wild ride through history as the world’s smartest dog, Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son, Sherman embark on an outrageous iconic adventure of all time.

Aboard the WABAC (pronounced “way back”) machine that Mr. Peabody invented, the father and son tandem go around the world back and forth in time when the natural course of history is about to be altered. Emmy Award Winner Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”) voices Mr. Peabody and Max Charles who recently appeared in “The Amazing Spiderman” lends voice to Sherman.

Mr. Peabody is a business titan, inventor, scientist, Nobel Laureate, gourmand, two-time Olympic medalist and genius…who also happens to be a dog and faces his biggest challenge yet – being a parent since this is the first time that he will have to deal with outside influences, including girls. Taking a modern twist for the new generation, the movie takes us to temple runs across Egypt where Sherman’s friend Penny (voiced by Ariel Winter) decides to stay forever in Egypt that forces Mr. Peabody to save the day and history as well.

Directed by Rob Minkoff (“The Lion King,” “Stuart Little”), “Mr. Peabody and Sherman’s” voice cast also includes Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Patrick Warburton, Stanley Tucci, Allison Janney, Mel Brooks, Lake Bell, Zach Callison and Dennis Haysbert.

A DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox presentation, “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” will open worldwide March 2014 in cinemas (3D and 2D).