Mr. Peabody & Sherman comes out this Friday, March 7th, in theaters. My family and I along with approximately 10 other Mom in the City reader families were treated to an advance screening of the movie a couple of weeks ago. From the feedback that I received, every family enjoyed the movie. While different aspects of the movie resonated with the different kids and parents, we all had a really great time. If you haven’t seen the preview for the movie yet, you can see it below:
I majored in History and Sociology in college, so I especially appreciate how Mr. Peabody & Sherman helps history “come alive” to its audience in a fun and exciting manner through use of the time travel machine (The WABAC). On another level, as a parent I can relate to how hard it is for Mr. Peabody to create that balance between letting his son have more freedom while also protecting him. It is good to be reminded that at various points in our kids’ lives we have to let them go. By giving them the space to make their own mistakes, we also give them room to learn new things. We just have to trust that the foundation that we gave them (when they were younger) will help them to thrive overall.
On a related note, I was also asked to participate in the press day for Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Unfortunately due to a scheduling conflict, I was unable to attend. The public relations company was kind enough to send me over the transcripts from the interviews with Ty Burrell (the voice of Mr. Peabody) and Max Charles (the voice of Sherman). During the interview, Ty mentioned that he liked the idea of being in a movie where the family wasn’t traditional. As an adoptive parent, he said that he loved the “universal idea that love is love”. It is. I also found it interesting that when asked what was the overall message that he wanted kids to know about Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Ty answered:
I would say that the core of the movie is the universal idea that love, caring and trying hard (as in any real relationship) is the most important thing – that the externals are irrelevant. In this case, it’s a father-son relationship.
And then on a secondary level, I think it’s a big fun, comedy adventure that I hope that it kind of ignites people’s imagination about history.
After seeing the movie, I would say that that the mission has been accomplished. I definitely left the theater both thinking about the various nuances of family relationships and being excited about how the movie opened up kids’ eyes to the adventure of history. In fact my oldest son Michael came home and started doing Google searches on the different eras that were visited in the movie. I highly recommend that you take a ride through history with your kids by going to see Mr. Peabody & Sherman!
{Advanced screening tickets and post image courtesy of Dreamworks Animation}
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