Mr. Peabody's first name is never given or referred to in the cartoons, but, in an animated promotion for theRocky & BullwinkleSavings Stamp Club, he tells Sherman that it is "Hector".[5]
The cartoons are about Peabody, who is the smartest being in existence, having graduated from Harvard when he was 3 years old. ("Wagna cum laude"). Peabody has accomplished many things in his life as abusiness magnate, inventor, scientist,Nobel laureate,gourmand, and two-time Olympic medalist.[citation needed]
In the first episode, Peabody meets an orphan named Sherman (portrayed byWalter Tetley) whom he saves from some bullies. He adopts Sherman after a court appearance that also involved him having to get the President and the government to help him out. Upon inventing theWayback Machine and doing different upgrades, Peabody and Sherman meet various historic figures and help out with their plights. Each installment ends with Peabody making a pun on something revolving around the episode's time-traveling trip. An example of such a pun is "Marie Antoinette could have avoided trouble by making an edict for the people to eat cake, but she could not have her cake and edict too."
This is the list of 91 episodes which aired in 1959 and 1960:[6][7]
"Show Opening" - This episode details how Mr. Peabody adopted Sherman and how he invented the Wayback Machine to travel back in time that involved it being upgraded twice. They travel in time where they meet a used chariot salesman and laterBen Franklin.
An animated feature film based on the characters of Mister Peabody and Sherman had been in development atDreamWorks Animation since 2007.[8] The feature was directed byRob Minkoff, who is known for co-directingThe Lion King for Disney. In January 2011, it was announced that an animated film titledMr. Peabody & Sherman would be released on March 14, 2014.[9]Robert Downey Jr. was announced to voice Mr. Peabody,[10] but in March 2012, was replaced byTy Burrell.[11]Max Charles, the actor who played youngPeter Parker inThe Amazing Spider-Man voiced Sherman.[11] In June 2012, it was reported thatMr. Peabody & Sherman's release date had been moved up to November 8, 2013.Stephen Colbert voiced Paul Peterson, Penny's father;Leslie Mann voiced Peterson's wife, Patty, andAriel Winter (Burrell'sModern Family co-star) voiced their daughter Penny. Also joining the cast wereAllison Janney andStephen Tobolowsky.[12] 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.[13] The film was produced by Alex Schwartz and Denise Cascino, and written byCraig Wright.[14]
The film focused much more on Mr. Peabody and Sherman's personal lives that prompt a series oftime-traveling mishaps with theWABAC machine, forcing the pair to put things on track before the space-time continuum is irreparably destroyed.[11]
Unlike the show, Mr. Peabody treats Sherman as a beloved son, whom he adopted as an infant rather than as 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.
An animated television series, starring Mr. Peabody and Sherman, premiered in October 2015, onNetflix.[15] It takes the form of a talk show namedThe Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show, with Mr. Peabody and Sherman hosting historical guests.[15] The series is inspired by the 1960s short segments, including their hand-drawn animation and comedy, and it also integrates some elements from the2014 film.[15] Mr. Peabody is voiced byChris Parnell, whileMax Charles reprises his role as Sherman from the film.[15] In this series, Peabody's family is further explored, with his foster parents appearing in the first season's episode nine, and his distant Uncle Duke appearing in a time travel adventure in the fourth season's episode six.
InThe Simpsons' fifth Halloween special ("Treehouse of Horror V"), in theTime and Punishment segment,Homer Simpson finds himself able to travel through time by means of a magic toaster and claims he is the "first non-Brazilian person to travel backwards through time". He then comes across Mr. Peabody (voiced byDan Castellaneta) and Sherman (voiced byNancy Cartwright). Mr. Peabody then corrects Homer, saying he is actually the second. Sherman then agrees with him, only for Mr. Peabody to respond with "Quiet, you". The charactersKang and Kodos later take on Peabody's and Sherman's appearances (though still in their helmets and with their tentacles) due to Homer's meddling with the time stream.
InTime Squad, the character Otto is modeled on Sherman, and Larry partially on Peabody.
The 1985 filmBack to the Future included a 1955 character named Otis Peabody with a son named Sherman, a tribute to the animated characters. Unlike the famed duo, this Sherman and Mr. Peabody are hostile towardMarty McFly and his time machine, mistaking Marty for an evil alien and hisDeLorean time machine for aspaceship.
The comic series 'Gold Digger' by Fred Perry includes a long running villain based loosely on this show. Dr Alfred Peachbody and his trained attack-boy Benji are trying to change history to enable their dominance over the humans from their alternative future with their first appearance in the comic involving them trying to sabotage the person who invented the dog whistle. They also take part in a crossover event with Ben Dunn's Ninja High School comic.
^"Voice Of Mr. Peabody - Rocky and Bullwinkle".Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2017. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources
Beck, Jerry; Minkoff, Rob; Ward, Tiffany; Burrell, Ty (February 11, 2014).The Art of Mr. Peabody & Sherman (Hardcover).Insight Editions.ISBN9781608872589.
Kilgore, Al; Mendelsohn, Jack; Berg, Dave (2015).Rocky and Bullwinkle: Classic Adventures (Paperback).Idea & Design Works, LLC.ISBN9781631404900.Al Kilgore, Dave Berg, Fred Fredericks, Jerry Robinson, Illustrators
