Mr. Peabody & Sherman is released in the US today (March 7, 2014) after having entertained kids in the UK for a month. The reboot of the 1960s television cartoon, starring a highly intelligent dog and his adopted son, reimagines the original adventures and puts a 21st century spin on the inventions and hijinks.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman
The Humour & Hijinks Of The Original 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' Cartoons Is Revived In A New Movie.

Renowned for its adventurous, child-like appeal and its adult-aimed jokes, the Mr. Peabody & Sherman cartoon first featured as part of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and has now graduated to its own, visually spectacular movie. Ty Burrell voices Peabody, the articulate genius canine whose adopted son Sherman (Max Charles) gets into trouble when he uses his father's time machine to impress his classmate Penny (Ariel Winter).

A rip-roaring quest through history ensues, and the three characters bump into some of the most storied figures from history, including Sigmund Freud, King Tut, Mona Lisa and Leonardo Da Vinci as they race to seal the "space-time continuum."

Watch The 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' Trailer:

The NY Daily News classes the film somewhat harshly as "passably clever," yet notes that that Mr. Peabody succeeds in "simultaneously delivering some valuable lessons about family, loyalty and curiosity." The now ubiquitous 3D option is offered in cinemas but Elizabeth Weitzman warns that this effect will add nothing but extra cost to the viewers' experience and that fans will probably be better off checking out the original shorts on YouTube.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Ancient Egypt
Minkoff's New Movie Respects The Original Shorts But Adds A 21st Century Boost.

"Hollywood's obsession with cashing in on old television shows has yielded a grim harvest," says The New York Times. However, A. O. Scott is more optimistic about director Rob Minkoff's efforts, adding "Luckily, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," [...] breaks the curse and respects the nutty, nerdy humor of the original."

"[The film] is not perfect, but it is fast-moving, intermittently witty and pretty good fun," Scott assesses, moving on to praise the "funny and exciting" aspects of the movie: "Much of the humor in these sequences is, in the modern manner, action-, celebrity-voice-over- and excrement-based." The Times even goes as far as to say that the 3D added cost is justified too: "The adventures are built to justify the 3-D ticket upcharge, so there is a lot of roller-coasterish swooping and flying and falling."

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Penny
After Sherman Uses Peabody's Time Machine, The Team Have To Work Fast To Prevent Time Unravelling.

ContactMusic's Rich Cline gives the film a vote of confidence, noting how much young children will enjoy the "constant barrage of hilarious visual and verbal gags." With barely a bad word to say, he adds "At every step, the script gleefully subverts history with goofy slapstick, poo jokes, movie references and absurd touches that come out of nowhere."

San Francisco Gate rates the movie as middling but stands up to praise Ty Burrell's performance as Peabody, noting that he is a valuable role model for youngsters. "He conveys intelligence, self-satisfaction and just a hint of warmth, and gets the cadence of Peabody's swashbuckling linguistics right," Peter Hartlaub says, adding "the majority of the crises throughout the film are solved by intelligence."

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Ariel Winter Max Charles
The Movie Is A Race-Through-Time Learning Experience For Kids.

However, he also adds that "The movie is a good excuse to go back and watch the old cartoons," joining a significant number of reviewers who feel the old Rocky and Bullwinkle Show toons have better placed charm and wit. Nevertheless, for a riotous adventure, an entertaining premise, and a touch of education sneaked in, you could do a lot worse than Mr. Peabody and Sherman for your kids...or yourself for that matter.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is released in the US today.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Poster
'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' Is Released In Cinemas Today.