Review of Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) by Gregory S — 11 Feb 2013

Gnomeo and Juliet, the title itself is indicative of what the film really is, of which I mean the play Romeo and Juliet but with garden gnomes. This animated tale about the life and times of garden gnomes is a loosely based adaptation of William Shakespeare's timeless classic about young love. I cannot emphasize the words "loosely based" enough. What I mean is that the director of this film, Kelly Asbury, turned Shakespeare's tragedy on young love into a what-if fanfic, shifting the well-known tragedy into a comedy where all the characters, even Tybalt surprisingly enough, live happily ever after.

Although I disparage the ending of this movie, this does not mean that I hated every minute of it. I did enjoy the scene where Gnomeo comes across the statue of William Shakespeare, voiced by Patrick Stewart, and relates his tale of love and recent exile. This scene alone was the most enjoyable moment for me. It gave a not-so-subtle wink to Shakespeare the author, not counting that it was a talking statue of the man. He comments on the eerie similarities between Gnomeo's situation and that of one of his own plays, and thus reveals the tragic fates of the original Romeo and Juliet. After hearing how their story ends, Gnomeo playfully spits in Shakespeare's eye by calling the ending "rubbish" and goes off to save Juliet.

On the animation, there isn't much to say. The animation isn't terrible, and it does a sufficient job of relaying a sense of fun and entertainment. The music in this film helps in some ways to accentuate the action, and while Elton John is a terrific musician and his music is beautiful, I do feel that the movie was limited due to the excessive presence of his songs. At times, it seemed more a repository for his songs than something that accentuated the action of the film. This could be explained by the fact that Elton John is the executive producer.

Without going into specifics on how the movie ends, the ending subverts the original text and is essentially a what-if scenario, and while this movie may be perfect for kids and has a few sly winks at Shakespeare for those in the know, it is not recommended for any purists out there. Bottom line, parts of it were entertaining, some of it is witty, and parts of it felt awkward and forced, particularly the lawnmower drag race sequence, but if you're looking for fidelity to Shakespeare, go somewhere else. If you're looking for a somewhat enjoyable kid-friendly rendition of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this is it.