Where's the love for Rocky and Bullwinkle?

[Drtooth]

FINALLY:

Eh, it looks like the right elements are there. Ty even manages to pronounce Leonardo DiVinci in the same erudite and snotty way Bill Scott did, and there does seem to be a hint of the original horrible puns. It's very hard with the trailer they put together making it look like what animated movie trailers usually look like, but this movie has potential. It could very well be the film that resurrects the Rocky and Bullwinkle characters and turns the page on the other, pretty alright Jay Ward films.

And, I would complain about the getting shot out of the backside of the Sphinx bit, but it's a million times less disgusting than what happened in George of the Jungle... which they recapped in the second film. And those were my favorite of the Jay Ward films.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, looks like YouTube's having loading problems AGAIN, as I only got half way through the trailer, then it just stopped.

It looks... interesting, I'll say that. It feels more like TIME SQUAD (which a Cartoon Network blooper special blatantly said ripped off PEABODY'S IMPROBABLE HISTORY) though.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

It looks pretty good, actually. It may not wind up in their 'astounding' column, but still a lot of fun. I really liked the gag about Leonardo's 'kid'.

If this does indeed lead to a new Rocky and Bullwinkle movie, I hope they don't take them down the 'Biggest name we can get' voice actor route (at least with the main characters). While Ty does a decent take on Peabody, I don't think I could stand 'Names' trying to imatate Bill, June and Paul's more cartoony voices for a whole movie.

 

[Drtooth]

If this does indeed lead to a new Rocky and Bullwinkle movie, I hope they don't take them down the 'Biggest name we can get' voice actor route (at least with the main characters). While Ty does a decent take on Peabody, I don't think I could stand 'Names' trying to imatate Bill, June and Paul's more cartoony voices for a whole movie.

It depends on who they get for the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon short before the movie. There is going to be one, and that's going to be a test of what they probably could do. I'd gather they'd try to get Keith Scott or Corey Burton, and June's still around. At least for that short. I do give big name voices credit for trying to sound like the characters. I mean, John Cleese as an Ape named Ape was a match made in heaven.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

I've seen an unsubstantiated rumor in a couple places that say Tom Kenny is voicing Bullwinkle for the short. Still no word (rumor or no) on Rocky's voice yet.

You do have a point there. They do try. But the matches made in Heaven are rarities. Most of the time, the executives look for the biggest 'Marquee Name' they can get, whether or not they really fit the character.

Granted, most of the movies I was thinking of were the just plain lazy ones (e.g. the aforementioned Underdog) and, as of late, Dreamworks is anything but lazy. However, given their history with (and recent relapse into) the previously mentioned practice, one should be at least a little wary.

 

[Drtooth]

You do have a point there. They do try. But the matches made in Heaven are rarities. Most of the time, the executives look for the biggest 'Marquee Name' they can get, whether or not they really fit the character.

The frightening thing is, Justin Timberlake's Boo-Boo was the only good thing about the dire Yogi Bear movie. He was eerily spot on. Dan sounded more like Luigi from the Super Mario World cartoon. It's just weird when they have A-list talent try to sound like the original voice actors for the sake of a big name (especially since C and D listers make up the main cast otherwise).

Granted, most of the movies I was thinking of were the just plain lazy ones (e.g. the aforementioned Underdog) and, as of late, Dreamworks is anything but lazy. However, given their history with (and recent relapse into) the previously mentioned practice, one should be at least a little wary.

Underdog was essentially a superhero dog movie with Underdog character names tacked on flat, generic characters. Oddly, George of the Jungle was written as a generic Tarzan parody at first, and it's the closest in spirit to the original Jay Ward cartoon of all the other movies (Rocky and Bullwinkle a very close second, points deducted for generic female character shoved in by executives). But back to Underdog... nothing was related to the cartoon, it was written by people who don't care, and it was live action trying to make anthro characters into real dogs. If there's one good thing about an all CGI movie, it's that Peabody is his old anthro self... that and the actors don't have to talk to a tennis ball and sort of have chemistry with something pasted on in post.

Seriously, I'd be all over an all CGI Underdog Reboot.

 

[minor muppetz]

Mr. Peabody and Sherman looks like it'll be the best of the Bullwinkle movies.

I wasn't expecting Sherman's name to be in the title. I thought it would just be titled Mr. Peabody.

 

[Drtooth]

They clearly changed the title to reflect one thing. I'm starting to think it's not so much that they glazed over one major plot point from the first episode, so much as they're doing this for the sake of the story.

There's a reason it's called Peabody's Improbable History. The WAYBAC was only initially a Time Machine until Mr. Peabody realized a smarter move would be a "What If?" machine. Though, there are episodes where he does clearly say that they have to make sure that history runs its course the right way.

But then again, screwing around with time travel is so integral to the movie's plot, it's easily overlooked.

 

[minor muppetz]

They clearly changed the title to reflect one thing. I'm starting to think it's not so much that they glazed over one major plot point from the first episode, so much as they're doing this for the sake of the story.

There's a reason it's called Peabody's Improbable History.

I wasn't expecting the movie to be titled Peabody's Impossible History. Somehow I get the feeling that casual fans don't know that title, instead calling it "Mr. Peabody" (or maybe "Mr. Peabody and Sherman"). I didn't notice the "Peabody's Improbably History" title until I was 13.

 

[Drtooth]

Peabody's Improbable History is the official title of the segment.

The show's a real victim of Title Confusion, as it was called either "Mr. Peabody" or "Peabody and Sherman." This DVD only adds to the confusion.

Then of course there's the fact that Rocky and his Friends and The Bullwinkle Show were those series' official titles, but the actual segments were somehow called any variation of "Rocky and Bullwinkle" until that became the official title. Dudley Do-Right usually omits "Of the Mounties" as well.

Of course, unlike those other cases, the "Improbable History" is quite meaningful. It pretty much says it's completely inaccurate, and that the many anachronisms are there on purpose. But then again, you really have to watch the first segment to really get the meaning.