It's Enough To Make Me Cancel Netflix..."Mr. Peabody and Sherman"

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2015)

TV-Y7

Starring Chris Parnell, Max Charles

The Story:

Now that everyone knows about the WABAC machine, Mr. Peabody (Parnell) and his boy Sherman (Charles) decide to use the device to host a talk show right from their apartment.

Seriously.

For the record, I found the original Mr. Peabody and Sherman pieces from Rocky & Bullwinkle to be mildly amusing at best, but more often than not, never really cared for them. I found it to be the weakest link in the show.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well the movie was made, so I had moderate hopes of a continued success with the new Netflix original.

Where do I begin with this train-wreck?

We'll start with the good: Parnell does an admirable job filling in for Ty Burrell as the voice of Mr. Peabody and Charles returns to have some fun as Sherman.

And there you have it.

The bad: Everything else.

The art style is straight out of the bad 90s cartoons from Cartoon Network that I refused to let my kids watch because they were hard on the eyes, and painful to the brain. Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd and Eddie, Ren & Stimpy (I know, different network) and countless others with a "style" that they happily called their own which looked rough, unfinished, and just plain bad.

It returns with a vengeance in Peabody. Watch Sherman and see how many times his teeth change as his face changes. It's horribly pathetic, and a style I am not a fan of.

These were the shows that I forbid my kids to watch as they were growing up.

Yes, I know, I'm an evil parent.

Instead, I forced them to watch Looney Tunes and classic Hanna Barbera offerings so they could see what good animation with a great script could be like, and I didn't have to suffer while their brains were turned to mush.

Speaking of great scripts, the writing team for this show boasts 6 writers. Apparently none of them know or get humor because I think in the 23 minutes of the first show, I laughed once.

Once.

And I don't even think it was at the groan-inducing "moral of the story" pun you come to expect in a Peabody cartoon.

I think it was more of a pity, "I can't believe someone paid to have this made" laugh at the absurdity of it all.

If you want a talk show with cartoon characters that is drawn well and actually funny, go find episodes of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.

That was comedy gold.

This is fool's gold.

And I won't be fooled into watching another episode.

Ever.

Final Grade: F

Ruh Roh! "Scooby Doo, Where Are You!"

Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969)

TV G

Starring  Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Nicole Jaffe, Frank Welker, Stefanianna Christopherson, Heather North

The Story:

4 Sleuths and their talking dog uncover the truth behind apparent supernatural mysteries.

Seriously, how in-depth do you want me to make a synopsis of Scooby Doo?

I'm more curious how they could get away with using an exclamation point in the title when clearly they are asking a question.

:)

Can we all assume everyone has at least seen an episode?

If not, these are the episodes to see.

The first two seasons...the best two seasons.

Everything you wanted to know about Scooby and the Gang can be gleaned by watching these episodes.

And now you know the secret of why I have so many children, and why I creatively spaced them out like I did.

This way, I can keep introducing the next generation of fans to some of the best animation and fun shows that I had the privilege to grow up watching.

;)

It could be argued that Scooby Doo is the most successful feather in the Hanna Barbera cap, and I would be willing to agree.

Naturally, I'll put the Flintstones first, but I've got a lot of love for Scooby (Messick), Shaggy (Kasem) and the rest of the gang.

Happily, aside from some Daphne switching (Christopherson to North), the gang that voiced the original Scooby episodes pretty much were given the opportunity to voice their most famous creations in many of the updated iterations that has brought Scooby and his crime solving sleuths to the screen.

That includes ascot wearing Fred (Welker) and the brainy Velma (Jaffe).

Naturally, nearly every episode plays out the exact same way, so watching episode after episode can become very déjà vu-ish, but most of the jokes and gags work just as well now as they did over 40 years ago.

My little 2 year old had recently discovered the new Scooby stuff on Netflix, but was totally enchanted when the originals were cracked out of the DVD case and watched with the family.

I even got her to say "Rooby Roo".

Now that's priceless!

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: While you don't have to have children to appreciate this part of your youth, but it doesn't hurt.  And it provides cover for watching them again.  :)