Review of Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) by Barry N — 17 Jul 2011

Even though when I first saw this trailer and I rolled my eyes, when I actually sat down and watched it, it wasn't half bad. It certainly doesn't match up with Pixar, or even some of Dreamworks Animation films, but it does exactly what it wants to do, and does it decently; satirize Shakespeare for kids.

What I really appreciated about this film was that it had a lot of subtle (or not so subtle) winks to some Shakespeare's works, most specifically Romeo and Juliet (no, duh!). There are lots of in-jokes that I appreciated were there. It kept me engaged in the film. Some of the jokes were actually kind of funny, but some of them were rather obvious and didn't break the mold for children comedy.

It was a cute and semi-decent family film that would actually keep parents interested when they watch with their kids. But the film also has a few issues that I noticed. I feel the film was keeping it safe by staying with formula (the Disney death and the happy ending) when the original tragedy had both the main characters die. Not that I wanted to see both the characters die, but they could've ended it a little better. It just seemed predictable and pure formula, nothing new and offers nothing no other films haven't before. Even the main villain who was assumed to be smashed halfway through the film ended up alive during the end credits. That seems like a cheat on the filmmakers' part, and it disappointed me. Also there are some funny moments in this film, but there are also a lot of jokes that either weren't funny or just don't make any sense.

Still, if you have kids and they want to watch it, this is a fun watch that kids will enjoy and parents won't regret renting or buying, but other than that there's really no reason to watch this film.

5.7/10.