Review of Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) by Audrey C — 26 Feb 2013

In this animated version of the classic Shakespearean tale of Romeo and Juliet, the bard is taken to entirely new places. Directed by Kelly Asbury, the storyline resembles the original, but only enough to know where the movie is going, but even then, the writers of Gnomeo and Juliet took artistic license where artistic license was needed, in plot as well as in dialogue. While the Elton John songs, Shakespeare references and puns might go over kids heads, the adults will appreciate some good chuckles.

Mr. Capulet and Ms. Montague live in a duplex on vair Verona Street, in Stratford upon Avon, where we lay our scene. When the humans are gone the gnomes come alive in a very Toy Story-esque way. The red gnomes of Mr. Capulets garden, led by Mr. Redbrick, hate the blues, led by Ms. Bluebury, and they have been feuding since time out of mind. After Gnomeo loses to a cheating Tybalt in the lawnmower race, things start to get even more heated. Gnomeo enters the forbidden red garden and gets chased out. A blessing in disguise, it seems, because in an abandoned garden across the way, Juliet and Gnomeo meet and fall instantly in love.

After a whirlwind clandestine romance, helped along by a plastic pink flamingo with a horrendous Spanish accent named Featherstone, Gnomeo and Juliets romance turns into a comedy of errors. A real death by lawnmower happens, Gnomeo accidentally fakes his own death and Benny's revenge plot against the reds goes insanely wrong and destroys everything, including the barriers between the reds and the blues. (As an aside, I never thought of lawn mowers as deadly until this movie.) As the major plot twist of the movie (spoilers!), Gnomeo and Juliet end up alive and together. They sing and dance their way into the sunset with both their families.

The bard can be seen in a ton of places in this film, the most obvious reference being a statue in the park of Shakespeare himself. He tells Gnomeo, after Gnomeo recounts his woes, that his tale 'puts him in mind of another'. Hint hint, wink wink. The movie has an all star cast as well. James McAvoy voices Gnomeo, Emily Blunt is Juliet. There are also appearances by Ozzy Osbourne, Dolly Parton, Maggie Smith as Ms. Bluebury, Michael Caine as Mr. Redbrick and Jason Statham as Tybalt, just to name a few. The all star cast adds to the mass appeal of the movie, big names bringing in more people, but the movie stands on its own as a childrens story.

There is no real meaning or depth in the end, it's simply another feel-good, happy-go-lucky romance that happens to be hilarious. It's movie popcorn, you watch it, it's good, but there isn't a whole lot of substance. The characters are vivacious and distinct, making it a joy to watch, and the setting brings Shakespeare into a whole new realm, but there is no meat on these bones.

The animation only adds to this effect. The whole world is in these vibrant primary colors that appeal best to younger children. The gnomes are color coded with the houses for ease of identification, and the language is everyday, things that are easily understood by kids. They won't know that 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' is an Elton John song, or that the entire movie is Elton John songs, but I don't think that they will care very much.

In the end, this is a movie that you watch when you're feeling down (or there isn't anything better on), or when want your kids to be quiet for an hour and a half. It's a silly animated romcom that is made for the whole family to enjoy.