Hey guys! I'm back with another update on the upcoming "Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show", and boy do I have a heap of news to bring just a week shy of the re-debut of the two iconic characters.
So let's start off with...
The Show's Setting...
Now for a strange reason, the show will take on the form that neither the classic Peabody and Sherman, nor the modern Peabody and Sherman have done. The show will be presented in a format of a late night talk show, unlike the classic shorts which show them traveling through time and nothing more, or the movie which showed them traveling through time AND grow a father/son relationship together. So now Peabody and Sherman are gonna be the next Jimmy Kimmel, or Jimmy Fallon, or Stephen Colbert (and I only mention him because ironic enough, he played the minor part of Paul Peterson in the film)
According to DreamWorks Animation, the show will be set in front of a live (animated of course) studio audience and their New York Penthouse serves as the studio for the show, and Mr. Peabody and Sherman are the stars as they serve as co-hosts. They will have musical guests (but don't expect anyone popular like Imagine Dragons or Taylor Swift. I highly doubt DreamWorks has the money to bring them), they will interview historical figures and icons, and Sherman will even have his own segment called 'Sherman's Corner' although details of this segment have yet to be revealed.
To many, the late night talk show format may not seem like a big deal, but in my opinion, that just strips away something that makes Mr. Peabody and Sherman so unique and iconic, having adventures throughout time with the Wavelength Acceleration Bidirectional Asynchronous Controller... Oh I'm sorry, that's the long and fancy way to say WABAC. Anyways, they're known for traveling through time as that was the main basis of the original shorts and the movie. Now with this new format, the WABAC may be used in very limited availability, and that's unfortunate, because the WABAC is a symbol to Mr. Peabody and Sherman, much like the TARDIS is a symbol to Doctor Who, another time traveling (and intergalactic traveling) TV show. So if they don't use the WABAC as constantly as they do, that could affect the characters not one bit, or it can be a major absence. I'm sure it will still be used since I've seen a lot of screenshots of the WABAC being used and Peabody and Sherman traveling to different eras in time. So I'm sure it will still be utilized, somehow.
Soundtrack
Of course, you can't have a show without a soundtrack. Sadly, Danny Elfman was unavailable to compose a score like he did to the film. So the soundtrack contains new and original songs from the likes of:
Jukebox the Ghost
JD McPherson
Wordsworth and Prince Paul,
Ra Ra Riot,
The Outfit,
Da'vine Joy Randolph,
And Chris Parnell and Max Charles (Mr. Peabody and Sherman themselves)
Out of all of these artists, The Outfit seems to contribute more to the score than the others, while all of them are pretty well unknown, but I'm sure the soundtrack will be good.
Lakeshore Records, the record label who will release the soundtrack album, has posted a video on their YouTube page with small samples of only about five or six songs from the track list. One of them is even the series' theme song. So check that video out to get a glimpse of the music used in the show
So be on the lookout for the official soundtrack on iTunes. It was released on October 2nd, and will be released on CD in December of 2015..
And before you ask me, No! Way Back When isn't part of the soundtrack for the show. Yeah yeah I'm upset too.
New Characters
In addition to brand new historical figures appearing, there's also gonna be a new set of characters made for the new show. So here they are.
Mr. Hobson-The anxious landlord of Templeton Tower, where Peabody and Sherman's penthouse is on (I thought the entire building was named Peabody Industries. I would know that if I see closely in one of the scenes in the film). He's kinda like your usual neat freak and wants the building to be run at a precise and orderly manner, but is willing to look the other way so that Mr. Peabody and Sherman could produce the show.
As confirmed in his Twitter account bio, Mr. Hobson is voiced by Dutch actor, Dieter Jansen.
...
Mrs. Argula Hughes-The official Notary to Peabody and Sherman, who stamps a time traveling envelope to validate the events described inside said envelope. She doesn't usually talk a lot but she usually says 'Harrumph!' Every once in a while. Her character design reminds me a lot like Ms. Grunion from the movie, which is weird since both characters seem to share a semi-striking resemblance to one another. The only differences are that Mrs. Hughes has red hair, wears a caramel gray suit and works for Peabody and Sherman, as for Ms. Grunion, she has black hair, wears a pink outfit, and is bent on tearing Peabody and Sherman apart.
So if you see a character that you think is Ms. Grunion, it's. Not. Grunion. Besides, I highly doubt that she'll come back, she's King Agamemnon's wife in the past. So we won't be seeing that gorilla of a woman anytime soon.
Mrs. Hughes' voice actress is currently unknown.
...
Orchoptitron-Every late night talk show has their own bands, and Orchoptitron seems to be filling in as a one man band. According to DreamWorks Animation, Orchoptitron is created by Mr. Peabody, (of course), and is designed to replicate any musical genre, from classical, to rock and roll, to maybe even hip hop. He is also programmed with some attitude and will be annoyed if his name is mispronounced. He also introduces Mr. Peabody and Sherman at the start of every show.
Since his voice is synthetic and robotic, he probably doesn't have a voice actor, and is probably voiced by a computer program, like a Macintalk.
...
Sweet Tune-He seems to be a genie like character with a magic flying carpet and magic flute which every time he plays on it, it's dulcet tones help Mr. Peabody and Sherman get out of trouble. It is unclear how he came to know Peabody or Sherman, but he's there to help when he's needed.
His voice actor is currently unknown.
Christine-She is Mr. Peabody's and Sherman's "bubbly and boisterous" downstairs neighbor, who happens to dream about being a singer, a dancer, an actress, a model, and any if all, a celebrity, with determination to break into show business. She thinks that The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show could jump start her career and launch herself into the luxuries of fame and fortune.
So she's probably one of those characters that only care about superstardom, but seems to also care about Peabody and Sherman and surely wouldn't use them for her personal benefits, although I could be wrong.
I guess we'll both have to watch and find out.
Christine's voice actress is unknown, but singer/actress Da'vine Joy Randolph has lent her voice as Christine's singing voice in some songs in the soundtrack. It is unclear if she will also be Christine's voice, but it could be highly likely that she will be.
Exclusive clips
Around this point, about three clips have surfaced to promote the show. One involves Mr. Peabody and Sherman, traveling to Egypt (Not King Tut's timeline) and encounter the Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra, who is kicked off her throne and is advised by Mr. Peabody to find Julius Caesar and make him fall in love with her so she can have Caesar's army reclaim her throne. She is also described by Sherman as disgusting.
The second clip shows Mr. Peabody and Sherman finding the legendary pirate Blackbeard, only to see that his beard was stolen, and as a result, Blackbeard gets easily afraid and gives up his pirating career. The other pirates start singing about the most feared pirate of all who is responsible for Blackbeard's stolen beard, and other misgivings. The Pirate know as Bumblebeard.
The third clip is just the opening sequence of the show which displays pictures of Mr. Peabody and Sherman in various locations in New York. Like a statue of Mr. Peabody in front of a museum, and a whole amusement park with Sherman's likeness on it. The clip then shows the robot Orchoptitron introducing both Mr. Peabody and Sherman as they make their way to the stage so they can start the show.
All these clips showcase Chris Parnell debuting his Mr. Peabody voice while Max Charles reprises as Sherman. Compared to Ty Burrell, Parnell is not as good as I hoped. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice voice, and Chris Parnell is a fantastic actor, he's got Peabody's voice right, but I prefer Ty Burrell as Peabody as I think he's much more better as the canine genius. Oh well at least they have someone who at least can make a reasonable impression.
Episodes based on Fanfics?
This rumor has been in existence among the MPAS fandom community for over a year, since people assumed that the film was gonna get a sequel. Fans thought that the plot of the sequel is based off of fanfics from this site and since the show was first announced, they mostly thought that some episodes were inspired from fanfics too. For example, people assumed that Mr. Peabody and Sherman would be bonding over Sherman having a nightmare, or a father/son fishing trip. Or even a new character to be friend Sherman, or, and this is the biggest guess of all, some episodes would show Sherman and Penny falling in love in some fashion.
Now there are some good fanfics in here, but there are also some bad ones too. What if they were turned into episodes commissioned by DreamWorks? They might be terrible. So I will have to say that this rumor is what it is, a rumor. Besides, I highly doubt that a successful animation studio like DreamWorks would actually have the time to read fanfics and just use them as actual episodes. No offense to everyone.
Note to a guest
This isn't officially related to the show, but an anonymous guest read this and saw flaws with Ty Burrell not being in the show. But here's some flaws you have to understand too.
Sure Ariel Winter takes time out of Modern Family to voice in such shows like Disney Junior's Sofia the First. So she could return as Penny if the writers choose to bring the character back.
But Ty Burrell cannot come back not because of payment, but because of other commitments. I'm sure DreamWorks offered him the role to reprise as Mr. Peabody, but due to other commitments, he's sadly declined. Plus, you can't recast a main character halfway through the show's run. Both voices sound almost different from each other. Someone can easily tell the difference.
And the 2D animation can easily be explained.
DreamWorks went for the direction of 2D animation instead of 3D because it's paying a homage to the classic series, which is in fact 2D. The decision was not made because of money, but because DreamWorks wanted to appeal to fans who prefer the classic hand drawn animation rather than the the 3D computer-generated animation shown in the movie.
At least give the show a chance. Don't judge a book by its cover.
Anyways, be sure to check out 'The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show'
Series premiere: This Friday, October 9th, 2015
Only on Netflix