First Look: “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”

Voice cast: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Allison Janney, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Lake Bell and Dennis Haysbert

Writer: Craig Wright

Director: Rob Minkoff

The story: When Sherman (Charles) takes the WABAC machine for a spin to impress his friend Penny (Winter), they accidentally tear a hole in the universe, forcing Mr. Peabody (Burrell) to come to their rescue.

The buzz: Not great. The 50-something-year-old characters don’t enjoy a ton of name recognition among the movie’s target audience. Wall Street analysts are predicting another write-off for DreamWorks Animation, which is still reeling from the box-office disappointments “Rise of the Guardians” and “Turbo.”

— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE