The Real Impact Of Mr Peabody And Sherman

The Problem

The movie explores a theme of discrimination against minorities in a subtle way. Social services and CPS officials can be quick to jump to bad conclusions about parents based on their race, ethnicity, past, etc. This is represented in the movie through the fact that Mr. Peabody is a dog. He is a minority in the situation, and the CPS official jumped to conclusions about him being a terrible father because of it. Even though this is a kids movie, subtly exposing them to problems in our society allows kids to comprehend said problems better in the future and Mr. Peabody & Sherman does it perfectly.
Through the duration of the movie, they travel to four different historical events. The French Revolution in 1789, the reign of King Tutankhamun of Ancient Egypt in 1332 B.C.E, The Italian Renaissance in 1508, and The Trojan War in 1184 B.C. When visiting the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette's love of cake is extremely exaggerated but completely relevant to illustrating the start of the French Revolution. Although the movie is dramatizing the historic events for entertainment, it still manages to include key facts, such as the mention of the Reign of Terror, a large event where a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place. Mr. Peabody gets caught in this event and is to be executed by guillotine.
Outside of the historical aspect of the movie, there's clear progression and growth of a meaningful and unique father-son relationship between Mr. Peabody and Sherman, as well as a romance subplot—an enemies to lovers if you will—between Sherman and Penny. Mr. Peabody adds some comedy in his life-of-the-party but somehow still serious personality, as he drops puns throughout the movie. Before you shy away from the mention of puns, they're pretty good. When they go to Ancient Egypt to rescue Penny and she refuses to be rescued, Mr. Peabody says she's "in deNile."
This masterpiece of a movie is an over exaggerated, dissectible, and entertaining way of learning about important historical events. Even though the movie is made for kids, anyone and everyone can learn something. Rob Minkoff pulled off an incredibly crazy plot incredibly well, but was terribly short changed in the appreciation of the movie. A few students at Enloe had great things to say about the movie: