Perhaps no other TV property has inspired as many bad movies as the clever, eponymous half-hour cartoon series originally known as “Rocky and His Friends’’ (1959-1964) — “Boris and Natasha’’ (1992), “Dudley Do-Right’’ (1999) and, worst of all, the part-animated “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,’’ starring Robert De Niro as Fearless Leader.
Against all odds, DreamWorks Animation has created a smart, funny and beautifully designed feature called “Mr. Peabody and Sherman’’ out of the “Rocky’’ segment “Peabody’s Improbable History,’’ in which a hyperintelligent beagle and his adopted human son travel through time and meet famous personages.
Rob Minkoff (who co-directed “The Lion King’’) and his team offer a pleasingly retro-style contemporary Manhattan and historical settings, which put the crude original animation to shame.
But they remain remarkably faithful to the original dog-and-his-boy concept (complete with puns) while adding contemporary resonance that doesn’t feel forced. During his first day at school, 7-year-old Sherman (Max Charles) is teased for having a dog as a father.
When the geeky, orange-haired Sherman bites the teaser, classmate Penny (Ariel Winter), a social worker (Allison Janney) tries to take the lad away from the prissy Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell of “Modern Family,’’ channeling David Hyde-Pierce).
Mr. Peabody tries to smooth everything over by inviting Penny and her parents (Leslie Mann and Stephen Colbert) over to the penthouse he shares with Sherman. But while he’s showing off his skills as a mixologist, musician and chiropractor, Sherman unwisely decides to take Penny for a spin in Mr. Peabody’s WABAC machine.
The film makes stops during the French Revolution, ancient Egypt and the Trojan wars — and Renaissance Florence, where Mr. Peabody gets Mona Lisa to smile so Leonardo da Vinci (Stanley Tucci) can help with repairs to the WABAC machine.
Our oddly matched heroes eventually have to deal with a rupture in the space-time continuum — good thing they can consult with Albert Einstein (Mel Brooks).
Loaded with improbable cultural references (Sherman totes a Stephen Hawking lunchbox and uses words like “eponymous”), I fear “Mr. Peabody and Sherman’’ may be a bit too brainy to fully connect with contemporary movie audiences.
But it certainly gets points for championing nontraditional families in ways the creators of “Rocky and His Friends’’ could never have imagined.