Mr. Peabody and Sherman, The Movie

[The Count]

Hey guys... Just found a news blurb about this at http://ign.filmforce.com, stating that the next animated classic series or short to be turned into a full-length CGI movie will be Mr. Peabody from Rocky and Bullwinkle... And the reason it was publicized is cause they've apparently gotten Robert Downey, Jr. to voice the canine genius. Another point about the article is that they're trying to flesh the story out with an origins tale of how Peabody and Sherman met. So now I've given you the details... Discuss.

 

[Drtooth]

The first episode was the origin. Everybody (at least everyone who has the box sets) knows that.

Basically, Mr. Peabody sees a bunch of nasty kids picking on Sherman, and he feels so sorry he tries to adopt him (much like he was getting a puppy out of a shelter, and they exploit the reversed roles angle for the three minutes) he then appears in front of court to try to adopt him, and Peabody builds a time machine because Sherman, like a puppy, was messing up his penthouse apartment. Then of course, they wind up getting electrocuted by Benjamin Franklin, causing Mr. Peabody to invent a "What If" machine so they don't screw up history, and wind up getting electrocuted by Benjamin Franklin.

Now, I gotta admit, Bullwinkle cartoons make uneven movies. George of the Jungle and its sequel were very good, and very in the spirit despite changing a few things (the sequel even made fun of the fact they couldn't get Brendan Frasier). Dudley Do-Right was bland, poorly cast, and only the guy playing Snidely Whiplash got the point. I liked it when I watched it first, but the second time just felt bad. It even took place in the WRONG time period. Sure, there was a LOT of anachronism in the original program, but it was ALWAYS at the turn of the 20th century. Rocky and Bullwinkle I actually liked, but the fact they threw a useless Mary Sue in there wasn't a smart idea and ruined what they were doing.

And by all counts, they were all wildly unsuccessful. They've been threatening to make this film for years, and I still doubt they're going to fully go through with it.

 

[D'Snowth]

Hey guys... Just found a news blurb about this at http://ign.filmforce.com, stating that the next animated classic series or short to be turned into a full-length CGI movie will be Mr. Peabody from Rocky and Bullwinkle... And the reason it was publicized is cause they've apparently gotten Robert Downey, Jr. to voice the canine genius. Another point about the article is that they're trying to flesh the story out with an origins tale of how Peabody and Sherman met. So now I've given you the details... Discuss.

Ed: the link doesn't work.

But to discuss, all I have to say is this: aww maaan... I heard they were going to do this movie a few years ago, but it kind of died down, so I assumed that the project had been scrapped/shelved... but I guess this isn't the case.

Like Drtooth said, modern remakes of ANYTHING nostalgic, not just from the world of Jay Ward, are often very uneven... but as far as just the Jay Ward franchise is concerned... Dudley Do-Right was okay, they could've gotten some better casting as far as Dudley and Nell are concerned (Snidely Whiplash and his goonie Homer were pretty spot-on for the most part), the Rocky and Bullwinkle was amusing simply because it took Rocky and Bullwinkle from their "stuck in 1964" rerun world, into the real word, where they knew nothing about the 21st century, kind of like those Brady Bunch movies, where it's the 90s all around you... then this one family is still stuck in the 70s (literally).

So... I don't know, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[CensoredAlso]

The writing of this film would have to be immensely superior to that Rocky and Bullwinkle movie to be any good. I hate to even use their names in relation to that film. I'm not even going to put the title in italics!

 

[Drtooth]

With the Bullwinkle film, I thought Rocky and Bullwinkle and all the characters that were on the show, and even the humor used was spot on... just... the studio exec that FORCED a Mary Sue so girls could see it ruined the picture. Just her character pulled the entire film down. The casting was perfect, they got June back to play Rocky and a Jay Ward enthusiast and historian to play Bullwinkle, Jason Alexander LOOKS like Boris down to the receding hair line, and every other minute was a Bullwinkle style joke. Heck, they used the Washington joke (a running gag in the series) AND the used only in one episode Pottsylvanian anthem. They did their research and gave us something that was close to the original source... BUT they added that Mary Sue. had it been Peachfuzz in the same role it would have worked perfectly... studio meddling ruined an otherwise perfectly good film.

Dudley Do-Right failed for good reason. Really... wanna know WHY they made it a movie? Someone said "ooh, the narrator on GOTJ sounds like the one on Dudley Do-Right." It has moments, sure... but over all, they should have KEPT it in the early 1900's like the show did. But really, Snidely was spot on.

That said, at least R&B was a better tribute to the series than the new George of the Jungle series. THAT was terrible. Taking what made the concept GREAT and replacing it with the humor that made "My Gym partner's a Monkey" suck was a sour note. Kids didn't even like it. The animation was good, though... Studio B does a great job with the animation (especially Martha Speaks) but the humor and direction were bland and like everything else on TV.

That said, I still doubt this movie would be made. And if it is, I doubt it's going to make an impact one way or another. Sigh... If only the rumors of Bill and Ted 3 were true... then we'd at least have ONE good time travel movie... and we DO have Telltale games doing a BTTF game with the ORIGINAL cast.

 

[Erine81981]

I wouldn't mind seeing this if it's made. Look to me any animated cartoon show or whatever is made it makes me believe even more how cool would it be to see a talking dog,bear, mouse, sheep, duck or anything that exsit expect for shows or movies. How cool would it be to work on a movie of your favorite characters you grew up watching or even think about all the time.

I mean i know anyone here would love that (even a Muppet movie) but everyone just seems to think that every time there's a movie made of any show or animated series or book it just seems everyone bad mouths it here. And i don't want to ramble on so i'm going to be quite and know that every one has their own opinons. That's my 2 cents.

 

[Drtooth]

The problem with these movies is simple. You can do a dead on perfect, absolute tribute to the cartoon series, or a cheap little in name only generic script without even watching an episode of the cartoon, and you'll end up with the same result. FAIL.

Robert Altman's Popeye was considered junk for some reason... I dunno why, I thought it was endlessly brilliant, and actually paid tribute to the original Thimble Theater comics. Not really those repetitive Popeye gets Olive taken away by Bluto, and Popeye eats Spinach and punches him out in a nice 7 minute interval cartoons we're more familiar with. And let's face it, not only did Robin Williams disappear into Popeye (squinting the eye for the entire film), but Shelly Duval IS Olive Oyl. I mean, really... she looks and sounds like her anyway.

Even the Flintstones wasn't looked upon with great prestige. It was successful, don't get me wrong... and the care to detail they took... both times.

And the only thing I agree about Speed Racer is that the writing was a bit off and the film went on too long. But I give them credit for not making a 90 minute bad joke fest. And Pops Racer couldn't have been better cast either. Very stylish movie, though.

And then of course, the "We don't care and we bought a licences that's about to expire" films like Disney's Inspector Gadget (poorly cast, almost ignorant of the series, can't even get the name of the town or Gadget's catchphrase right)... Underdog which stripped all the satire from the original so they could make another talking fart dog movie.... and of course Dragon Ball. That was ONLY made because Fox's option was about to expire, and they didn't want to lose another court battle like they did with Watchmen. Really? Goku going to High School? BULL! Gohan did go to high school because he was forced to be a scholar from his mother, Chichi... but that's only because Goku didn't go, and it was a time of peace. And Gohan's powers were WELL awakened before then. When you can't even get Roshi right, you have no right making a DB film. Even the unlicenced unauthorized Hong Kong Dragon Ball film got Roshi right.

And, I guess there's a third set I'm calling the Garfield effect. They get the CGI main characters right, but get everything else wrong and force a romantic storyline for nobody. Alvin and the Chipmunks (the first one is surprisingly watchable) and Yogi bear are on this list too.

 

[Starchamberfall]

When will Beany and Cecil get another turn?

 

[D'Snowth]

When will Beany and Cecil get another turn?

Is that Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent?

 

[minor muppetz]

and we DO have Telltale games doing a BTTF game with the ORIGINAL cast.

I heard that Michael J. Fox didn't actually provide Marty's voice in the game, but the person who did the voice did a spot-on job at getting it right.

People have mentioned the various live-action movies based on Jay Ward properties... But has anybody here seen or heard of Boris and Natasha, a live-action movie that came out in 1992? I know that many fans who have seen it dislike it (surprise, surprise), but I really enjoyed it. Of course I like Boris and Natasha a lot more than Rocky and Bullwinkle (and I'm referring to the characters here, not productions). I always thought it was wrong that Boris and Natasha didn't get enough screen time in the R&B movie, while Fearless Leader did. I mean, they were in almost every storyline (Boris was only missing from three, and Natasha missing from four), while Fearless Leader was only in about eight storylines. And it seems like in most episodes Boris and Natasha had more screen time than Rocky and Bullwinkle (at least after they made their first appearances in the plot). Though when it comes to teh Boris and Natasha movie, I feel teh casting was a bit wrong (Sally Kellerman's hair was too short, and Dave Thomas isn't bald and doesn't look short enough to me).

The casting was perfect, they got June back to play Rocky and a Jay Ward enthusiast and historian to play Bullwinkle, Jason Alexander LOOKS like Boris down to the receding hair line, and every other minute was a Bullwinkle style joke.

Was that the only movie Jason Alexander was in where he did NOT wear a wig? It seems like on television he's bald but in movies he has to wear a wig. But you know who would have been a better Boris? Danny DeVito. He's short, bald, and often portrays angry, greedy characters in movies. Sounds like Boris to me.

Heck, they used the Washington joke (a running gag in the series) AND the used only in one episode Pottsylvanian anthem.

I have the first four seasons, and I don't recall any Washington running gag.