Mr. Peabody is a cartoon dog who appeared in the late 1950s and early
1960s television animated series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show,
produced by Jay Ward. Peabody appeared in the "Peabody's Improbable History"
segments created by Ted Key, and was voiced by Bill Scott. In 2014, he was
featured in a computer-animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Mr. Peabody's first name is never given or referred to in the cartoons, but in
an animated promo for the Rocky & Bullwinkle Savings Stamp Club he tells
Sherman that it's "Hector." Peabody's Improbable History
= Plot= The cartoons are about Peabody, a beagle
who is the smartest being in existence. Peabody has accomplished many things in
his life as a business magnate, inventor, scientist, Nobel laureate,
gourmand, and two-time Olympic medalist. Mr. Peabody becomes sad and lonely and
decides to adopt his own human son. In an alley, he meets Sherman, a dorky,
bespectacled, red-haired boy. After saving Sherman from a group of bullies,
Peabody discovers that Sherman is an orphan and decides to adopt him.
After a court appearance and a talk with the President and the government,
Peabody becomes Sherman's new guardian. Mr. Peabody tells Sherman to not call
him "Daddy" and to call him by his name, "Mr. Peabody", or "Peabody".
Believing that boys need running room, Peabody invents the WABAC time machine
as a birthday gift for Sherman. He and Sherman go back in time to see a Roman
speaking in Latin; Peabody adds a translator circuit to the machine so
that everyone seems to speak English. They see the Roman again and learn that
he is a used chariot salesman. Their next trip is to see Ben Franklin flying
his kite that discovered electricity, but Peabody and Sherman discover that
they cannot interact with the past. Peabody makes some more adjustments,
turning the WABAC into a "should-have-been machine". This causes
past events to seem distorted and anachronistic, and famous people to
behave out of character. Each of the cartoons usually ends with a
bad pun from Mr. Peabody to Sherman which resulted in a group sour notes
played on a tuba or bass trombone. Only if the pun was good was the distorted
sound not heard. = Episodes=
This is the list of 91 episodes which aired in 1959 and 1960:
Mr. Peabody & Sherman An animated feature film based on the
characters of Mister Peabody and Sherman had been in development at DreamWorks
Animation since 2007. The feature was directed by Rob Minkoff, who is known
for co-directing The Lion King for Disney. In January 2011, it was
announced that a 3-D computer animated film titled Mr. Peabody & Sherman would
be released on March 14, 2014. Robert Downey, Jr. was announced to voice Mr.
Peabody, but in March 2012, was replaced by Ty Burrell. Max Charles, the actor
who plays young Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man voiced Sherman. In
June 2012, it was reported that Mr. Peabody & Sherman's release date had
been moved up to November 8, 2013. Stephen Colbert voiced Paul Peterson,
Mr. Peabody's nemesis; Leslie Mann voiced Peterson's wife, Patty, and Ariel
Winter voiced their daughter Penny. Also joining the cast were Allison Janney and
Stephen Tobolowsky. In September 2012, the release date was moved up for a week
to November 1, 2013. It finally had an official release on March 7, 2014. The
film was produced by Alex Schwartz and Denise Cascino, and written by Craig
Wright. The film focused much more on Mr.
Peabody and Sherman's personal lives that prompt a series of time traveling
mishaps with the WABAC machine, forcing the pair to put things on track before
the space-time continuum is irreparably destroyed.
Unlike the show, Mr. Peabody treats Sherman as a beloved son, whom he
adopted as an infant rather than a pet and assistant, and the machine is more
futuristic with an autonomous aircraft function. Also, a third member of the
team is introduced, Penny, who is Sherman's rival and later, best friend
and love interest. The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show
An animated television series, starring Mr. Peabody and Sherman, premiered in
October 2015, on Netflix. It takes the form of a talk show named The Mr.
Peabody & Sherman Show, with Mr. Peabody and Sherman hosting historical guests.
The series is inspired by the 1960s short segments, including their
hand-drawn animation and comedy, and it also integrates some elements from the
2014 film. Mr. Peabody is voiced by Chris Parnell, while Max Charles
reprises his role as Sherman from the film.
Appearances = Television shows=
In The Simpsons' fifth Halloween special, in the Time and Punishment
segment, Homer finds himself able to travel through time by means of a magic
toaster and comes across Mr. Peabody and Sherman. The characters Kang and Kodos
later take on Peabody's and Sherman's appearances due to Homer's meddling with
the time stream. In Time Squad, the character Otto is
modeled on Sherman, and Larry partially on Peabody.
In the Family Guy episode "The Kiss Seen Around the World", Peter Griffin and
Brian Griffin travel back in time to see Christopher Columbus. The two don
similar looks to Mister Peabody and Sherman; the flashback also parodies the
format of the show, with the two going back in time and Brian teaching Peter.
= Tribute= The 1985 film Back to the Future
included a character named Otis Peabody and a son named Sherman, a tribute to
the animated characters. Unlike the famed duo, this Sherman and Mr. Peabody
are hostile toward Marty and his time machine, mistaking Marty for an evil
alien and his DeLorean car for a spaceship.
References External links
Peabody's Improbable History on Toonopedia
Peabody's Improbable History at the Big Cartoon DataBase