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
