Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

Just perfect...

Excellent but underrated film

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I'll just get this out of the way and say that I'm not a big fan of the works of William Shakespeare's works. I think they're too complex to read and the stories that he writes are sometimes pretty uninteresting. I've tried to read a few of his most famous plays, but sadly I could never get into them. One of those plays I've read was arguably his most famous one of all, the romance "Romeo and Juliet". I've also seen a few film adaptations of it, preferably the 1967 version and the 1996 version, both of which I have oddly enough enjoyed, though it could be because I love film more than literature. Now, we have another adaptation this time with garden gnomes known as "Gnomeo and Juliet" and in all honesty, it's rather forgettable. It's definitely not a bad movie, but there's really nothing under the surface with this film. It didn't really leave much of an impact with me, and here's why.The story like I said is basically Romeo and Juliet with garden gnomes. Essentially, there are two neighbors named Montague and Capulet who despise each other and when they both go out to do their daily business, their garden gnomes come to life. To differentiate which gnomes is owned by which neighbor is pretty easy as the Montague's wear blue and the Capulet's wear Red and also similar to the neighbors, the leading gnomes of each garden (Maggie Smith and Michael Caine) hate each other respectively. I think you can guess what's coming next. The son of the Lady Bluebury, Gnomeo (James McCoy) and the daughter Lord Redbrick, Juliet (Emily Blunt) eventually meet and fall in love while trying to keep their love a secret. It's nothing really special.The movie is just bland. The story goes everywhere you expect it to go and the jokes don't really excite you or do anything you wouldn't expect to happen. They just come and go and are fairly predictable to put lightly. The characters are not especially to go wild about either. Both Gnomeo and Juliet are nice and say some funny things, but don't have anything to stand about them. Even their friends are nothing special. You have Gnomeo's friend Benny (who's modeled after Benvoilio) and Juliet's friend Nanette (who's modeled after her nurse) but both are pretty forgettable. The only character I found myself really enjoying was the character of Featherstone played by the fantastic Jim Cummings. He's a plastic flamingo modeled after Friar Lawrence and actually did have some funny things to say and I was actually legitimately touched by his backstory. Even the animation, I did find nice. It wasn't incredibly good, but it had some good detail and I did like the look of the scenery.Though out of those two things, do I really recommend watching "Gnomeo and Juliet"? Not really. It's mostly a harmless movie that younger children might enjoy, but for those that are above the age of twelve, it's a good film to pass on. There are better adaptations of the famous play out there than this and if I were you, I'd check them out instead of this film.

This is one of the more recent Shakespeare adaptations and it's more or less the story with gnomes. In fact, that's all it is, really. I actually thought the animation was pretty nice. The main problem is that it's too short and it tries to put in too much with all this big conflict at the end that wasn't in the play. It just seems silly for a something with garden gnomes to have battle scenes. Still, I actually would recommend this to little kids because the film is completely harmless. There's absolutely nothing offensive in it.It's at least much better than "Romeo And Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss" because this film was at least animated well and it didn't have the annoying characters. Of course, it's hard to make a kid's version of a Shakespeare play. I really do like the bit where the William Shakespeare statue comes to life and comments on the story. It does make you wonder how their world works. It seems to work on "Toy Story" where they're not allowed to show themselves to humans. The Elton John music is good too. **1/2

'Gnomeo and Juliet' is Kelly Asbury's 2011 foray into the much explored world of Shakespearean adaptations. An animated take on the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet, this children's tale tells the story of two feuding gardens – the red gnomes of the Capulet house versus the blue gnomes of the Montague house – as they battle with each other and the film itself battles with adapting one of the best known stories in history. We meet Juliet (Emily Blunt), doomed to live life on a pedestal under the eye of her over-protective father Lord Rebrick (Michael Caine) and the sweetly named Gnomeo (James McEvoy) - a high spirited, confident gnome from the Bluebury family. The two meet and chaos ensues in what is perhaps the most told love- story of all time. But just how well did this adaption hold up against its predecessors? This movie is aimed towards children, a fact which separates it hugely from most other adaptations of the source text. It allowed the director and screenwriters plenty of scope to adjust and modernise the movie, giving the tired characters a fresh new perspective. We see Juliet as a spirited and independent young woman, one who is graceful and strong in her own right. We see her climb and run across walls dressed as a ninja and hold her own against Gnomeo both in physicality and wit throughout the movie. This adaptation plays up the strengths of both genders and leaves the two leads in a balanced and seemingly healthy relationship. It downplays the heavily criticised and deeply unhealthy co- dependency of Romeo and Juliet, instead leaving us with a sense that after time, both would be fine without the other if they had to be. Being a children's animation, it aims to be comedy and not a tragedy so there are some obvious differences in this movie to the source text, particularly in the ending. A number of characters from the play itself were not featured in the movie, such as Mercutio, the only real noticeable absence from the line up. However, these cuts are understandable, as someone like Mercutio is too violent in nature and complex of mind to establish as a friend for this carefree and spirited version of Romeo. Gnomeo has a side-kick in the form of the Benny (Matt Lucas), a character who causes more than a little trouble throughout and incorporates the bold spirit of Mercutio that the movie lacks. Juliet's nurse, often depicted as crude and bumbling in the more mature adaptations of this tale, is portrayed as Nanette (Ashley Jensen), a frog who serves as an answer to the plot problem Paris (Stephen Merchant) presents for Juliet. The two loves meet in the abandoned Laurence lot, a place that provides balanced and happy times for the two. Some characters, such as Gnomeo's pet Shroom, which acts like a dog and has no lines in the movie, feel unnecessary but over-all the characters are well- developed and very likable. Although aimed at children, the movie features a number of jokes aimed towards the older viewers in the audience, particularly those who might be fans of Shakespeare. The Montague and Capulet households are red and blue, a nod to the 1968 Zeffirelli adaptation which split the households into the same colours. The house numbers are 2B and Not 2B, one of many Shakespearean jokes throughout. There is an As you Like it ticket stub in the shed on the Laurence lot and a glimpse at a local bus lets us know that the movie itself is based in Stratford-Upon-Avon. All these nods to the Bard are accumulated in a cameo from Shakespeare (Patrick Stewart) when his statue comes alive in a park to warn Gnomeo of the tragic end of his own Romeo and Juliet. The moment is the movie's tongue in cheek defiance of the traditional depiction of this play and allows any adult members of the audience to relax about what their children will be seeing as an ending. Overall the movie is clever in its simplicity. It set out to be a children's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and that is what it achieved. There is minimal violence, plenty of laughs and a sweet set of lessons to be learned by the feuding households at the end. It's not so much a love-story as it is a warm family film with a mild focus on love. If you can deal with the over-playing of Elton John songs (a producer on the movie) and the random nods to him throughout, you'll enjoy this. It's an interestingly and beautifully animated take on Romeo and Juliet, that knows it's for children. If you go in expecting any more than that you'll be disappointed but as an adaptation, it does what it says on the tin. If you want a light, fun and fresh take on a tired classic, it's a definite must-see, there's gnome way you'll regret it!

I just lurve this movie though I am obviously not the target group!! It's a feel good movie. I got a lot of good hard laughs out of it - and I was definitely sober ;DThe cast is a dream. The story is totally not a surprise even though Mister Elton John and Lady Gaga sing otherwise. You can't fool me ;D Nevertheless, one cannot resist that Brit charm :)Plus, it's a weird idea, calling gnomes into being. On celluloid anyways. It's actually not a pleasant one if they were for real. How does one get these ideas? In the open air? Just wondering....The Dolly Gnome was my favourite one, on account she being a totally adorable character - with that makeup and all. :)I'd warmly recommend to watch.