Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa

Leo and Lorenzo are sky high.

(2018) Animated Feature (Ammo Content) Starring the voices of Johnny Bosch, Cherami Leigh, Bryce Papenbrook, Faith Graham, Landen Beattie, Michael Sorich, Keith Silverstein, Jamieson Price, Darrel Guilbeau, Tom Fahn, Kyle McCarley, Tony Azzolino, Katie McGovern. Directed by Sergio Manfio

 

From a video content standpoint, we live in an age of too many choices and things are only going to get worse in that regard. With literally dozens of streaming outlets all clamoring for content with more and more being added all the time, it leads to an embarrassment of riches when you think about the wonderful movies and shows that are available these days but that also means, conversely, that there is also an awful lot of dreck out there.

This Italian CGI film, which is a fictionalized account of a young Leonardo da Vinci as his restless intellect and imagination are leading to some fantastic and sometimes bizarre inventions, falls somewhere in between wonderful and awful. Leo (Bosch) lives in a small village in the 15^th century as Europe is moving out of the Dark Ages and into the light of the Renaissance. He hangs out with his pal Lorenzo (Papenbrook) and Lisa (Leigh) whom he has a secret crush on – one that everybody knows about.

While showing off his latest inventions – a vehicle called the Barrel that is a combination roadster, paddlewheel boat and ornithopter as well as a prototype diving suit – Lisa’s farm burns down, leaving her father (Sorich) in a precarious financial position. In fact, if something isn’t done, Lisa will be forced to marry the foppish and despicable son of the landowner whom Lisa’s father rents his land from. Determined to not let that happen, Leo heads off to Florence with Lisa and Lorenzo – only Lorenzo doesn’t show. He has a really good excuse, though – he’s been kidnapped by pirates.

Once in Florence, Leo learns of the location of a lost treasure. Aided by little pickpocket Agnes (Graham), who refers to herself in the third person, and the extremely polite little inventor Niccolo (Beattie), Leo and Lisa locate the treasure. However, they are unaware that there are pirates seeking the same treasure and who will stop at nothing to get it.

This is very definitely meant to be a video babysitter for your young ‘uns, particularly those in the six to eight-year-old range. The colors are bright and cheerful, there is no objectionable content here and while the history might be fudged somewhat as well as little details – Lisa is depicted as wearing a kind of yoga pants and while very modern, back in the 15^th century it was considered a sin for women to wear trousers so it would have been skirts for Lisa. Children might also be distracted (if they bother to notice) that the dialogue doesn’t match the movement of the character’s mouths but this was originally in Italian.

The story is full of adventure and intrigue and even a little science (Niccolò explains how eclipses work). There are also some godawful songs that even the kids won’t sing. It’s kind of bizarre hearing a 15^th century character singing about bicycles and mobile phones, things not available back then. There are some friendly dolphins and a trio of sharks straight out of Finding Nemo. There’s even some references to the real Da Vinci’s later work. And did I mention pirates? To quote Fred Savage from The Princess Bride, “Pirates are good.” Even the ones with excessive blue eye shadow.

REASONS TO SEE: The backgrounds are lush and beautiful.
REASONS TO AVOID: The human characters are a bit wooden and expressionless.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a little bit of rude humor and situations of peril.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The film is based on an Italian animated television series on da Vinci.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 8/5/19: Rotten Tomatoes: 33% positive reviews: Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Aladdin
FINAL RATING: 6/10
NEXT: Fyre

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Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Every dog should have a boy.

(2013) Animated Feature (DreamWorks Animation) Starring the voices of Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Alison Janney, Leslie Mann, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Lake Bell, Zach Callison, Dennis Haysbert, Stephen Colbert, Lauri Fraser, Steve Valentine, Guillaume Aretos, Karan Brar, Joshua Rush, Mel Brooks, Thomas Lennon, Tom McGrath, Leila Birch. Directed by Rob Minkoff

Those of a certain age group (i.e. my own) will remember with great fondness the Jay Ward cartoons on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, from Fractured Fairy Tales to my own personal favorite, Peabody’s Improbable History. They were subversive for their time, with humor that sailed above my innocent yet pointy little child head but still the cartoons managed to educate about history almost despite themselves. When you compare them to the drekk that passes for animation on the Cartoon Network, it’s clear that modern animators think that modern kids are dumber than a sackful of dead cats.

In this 3D updating of the Jay Ward cartoon, Mr. Peabody (Burrell) – a brilliant beagle who also is able to talk – is the adoptive father of Sherman (Charles), a none-too-bright but full of heart kid who has trouble making friends at school. Mr. Peabody has invented a time machine called the WABAC to help teach Sherman about history.

When the gentle Sherman gets into a fight with the overbearing Penny (Winter) at school, Mr. Peabody realizes that something is wrong. Peabody is summoned to the principal’s office where he is confronted by Ms. Grunion (Janney), a social worker who thinks that dogs are not fit parents and threatens to take Sherman away if an upcoming visit to Peabody’s apartment turns up any irregularities. Peabody also takes the opportunity to invite Penny’s family – parents Paul (Colbert) and Patty (Mann) – to dinner.

At first things go swimmingly well as Peabody charms both the parents. However, Penny is a tougher nut to crack and when Sherman accidentally lets slip that there is a time machine in the house, he is forced to prove it to her when she calls him a liar. Of course,  the spoiled little princess finds herself in ancient Egypt as the bride of Tutankhamen (Callison) and looking forward to a life of indolent pleasure, not wanting to return back with Sherman.

In desperation, he gets his father to intervene. Mr. Peabody must drag the unwilling brat back to the present so that he can keep the nosy Ms. Grunion from finding an excuse to take Sherman away and while he’s at it repair a disturbance in the space-time continuum. It’s a dog’s life indeed.

Burrell, the star of Modern Family is the perfect choice to replace the late Bill Scott as the voice of Peabody. He captures the dog’s supercilious demeanor and urbane charm but adds a little bit of beagle warmth to the mix. He gets the inflections and tone Scott used down perfectly. It can safely be said that Burrell carries the film and should a sequel be made (and it looks like that’s a distinct possibility judging on the box office) could be a lucrative sidelight for the actor.

While there are a few brief celebrity cameos (Brooks as a kvetching Einstein is the best), the movie doesn’t stoop to being a cameo-fest as some other DreamWorks films have tended to do. There are also fewer pop culture references than a lot of the movies from the DreamWorks studio, although there are enough of them to be pleasing when they arrive but not so many as to be overbearing.

The animation is cool looking enough, particularly the WABAC which going from the clunky 60s version is a kind of red orb looking not unlike Spock’s spaceship on the reboot of Star Trek. There are plenty of nods to the original series (such as the street sweeper who ended every five minute MP&S cartoon in the 60s making an appearance in the end credits) but has enough cool credibility to keep most young ‘uns (particularly the boy types) delighted, which has to make every mom smile. And most moms and dads, who grew up on this stuff, will have enough here to feel a pleasant wave of nostalgia break over them like a tropical beach. All in all as far as this film is concerned I’d say “Mission Accomplished” – and not in a George W. Bush manner either.

REASONS TO GO: Heart-warming. Some nice animated effects.

REASONS TO STAY: Lacks the sophistication of the original cartoon. Dumbed down a bit.

FAMILY VALUES:  Some mild peril and a bit of rude humor.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: A sketch of Bullwinkle hangs in Peabody’s apartment over his yoga mat.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 3/18/14: Rotten Tomatoes: 78% positive reviews. Metacritic: 60/100.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: Monsters vs. Aliens

FINAL RATING: 6/10

NEXT: 300: Rise of an Empire