The classic "dog and his pet boy" cartoon that appeared as part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show will be appearing in 3D theaters as DreamWorks Animation's Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Voicing the world's smartest dog and his naive companion will be, respectively, Ty Burrell (Modern Family) and Max Charles (The Amazing Spider-Man). Rob Minkoff (The Lion King) will direct from a script by Craig Wright (Six Feet Under) which follows the duo as they attempt to restore order to historical events after Sherman uses Mr. Peabody's time machine without permission. The voice of Mr. Peabody was originally supposed to go to Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), but I find Burrell to be an equally fitting personality for the inquisitive canine. Hit the jump for more on Mr. Peabody and Sherman, which is schedule to release on March 14, 2014. Variety reportedmr-peabody-and-sherman-ty-burrell-max-charles that Burrell and Charles would be voicing the title characters for DreamWorks' 3D animation, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Bill Damashcke, the chief creative officer of DreamWorks Animation had this to say about the pair's involvement:

"The brilliantly comedic and paternal sensibilities of Ty Burrell make him ideal for the role of the beloved Mr. Peabody, and we are thrilled that he will join Max Charles as the leads of 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman.'"

Here’s some background on the characters (via Wikipedia):

Peabody is a genius who adopted Sherman for company. Sherman is a naive but fairly bright, inquisitive, earnest and energetic lad who’s always one step behind getting his friend’s dreadful puns. In appearance, Peabody is a small white dog with floppy ears. Sherman is always in need of having his hair combed. He wears a white tee-shirt and dark shorts. Each character wears a pair of oversized horn-rimmed glasses…

Each episode of “Peabody’s Improbable History” begins with the dog’s greeting, “Peabody, here.” The premise each week was to introduce Sherman to real history. For that purpose, Peabody has constructed the WABAC (pronounced “wayback”) machine. The WABAC is a take-off on early computer acronyms such as UNIVAC and ENIAC. The WABAC is a time machine used by Peabody and Sherman to travel back in time and witness various historical events.

And check out a look at Mr. Peabody's concept art below:

mr-peabody-and-sherman-concept-art