Mr. Peabody & Sherman

“If a boy can adopt a dog, I see no reason why a dog can't adopt a boy,” says a judge—which explains why brilliant, bespectacled beagle Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) is raising orphaned Sherman (Max Charles). Education is important, so Mr. Peabody teaches Sherman world history by transporting him to different eras, using a time-traveling machine—the WABAC—secreted in his New York apartment. Their nemesis is nosy social worker Ms. Grunion (Allison Janney), who believes that even a Nobel prize-winning, Olympic-medalist dog is not a suitable parent for a human, particularly after Sherman bites bullying, competitive classmate Penny Peterson (Ariel Winter), an act that upsets not only Ms. Grunion but also Penny's parents (Leslie Mann, Stephen Colbert). When Mr. Peabody invites everyone for a peace-making dinner, Sherman disobeys his dad and shows Penny the WABAC, after which things go awry as Penny propels them on an unexpected adventure, starting in ancient Egypt, where she finds herself betrothed to 9-year-old child/Pharaoh Tutankhamen (Zach Callison), and including visits with Leonardo da Vinci (Stanley Tucci) and Albert Einstein (Mel Brooks). Created by Ted Key, the characters are drawn from skits that were part of Jay Ward's Rocky & Bullwinkle franchise. Directed by Rob Minkgrabnoff, the inventive animation is stunning while the puns are funny in this zany yet also surprisingly educational family film. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Time Travel: Mad Science” (6 min.) and “A Tour of the WABAC Machine” (3 min.), a “World of DreamWorks Animation” music video section, a stills gallery, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are Mr. Peabody & Sherman classic cartoon segments (26 min.); the premiere episode of Rocky & His Friends (23 min.); the behind-the-scenes featurettes “A Journey WABAC” (22 min.), “Peabody's Paw Print on History” (4 min.), and “History's Greatest Mystery—A Dog and His Boy” (3 min.); the “Time Travel Memory Match” and “The WABAC Jigsaw Puzzle” games; and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an engaging family film.] (S. Granger)