Gnomeo and Juliet

Maybe this movie just caught me in the right silly mood. Or maybe the knowledge that I would be watching a Justin Bieber documentary immediately following it put me in the mood for something a little bizarre. Whatever the reason, I liked Gnomeo and Juliet a lot more than I expected. As the title suggests, the film is yet another Hollywood take on the classic Shakespeare tale, only this time animated and targeted at kids, and featuring a cast of ceramic lawn gnomes. At least the movie is upfront about what it is. Right as the film opens, a little animated gnome shows up on the screen to inform us that "the story we're about to see has been told many times". He goes on to say that now they're going to tell it again...only different.

The film, a production of Elton John's production company Rocket Pictures (his music is also featured throughout the story), is brightly animated and well drawn, which of course means that the studio has decided to release the film in 3D, so that all the beautiful colors and details can be muddied by the dark glasses. Fortunately, the movie is also quite clever and funny. The action is set on Verona Drive, home of two feuding neighbors - Miss Montague and Mr. Capulet. Both have prized gardens in their backyard, which are home to a wide variety of ceramic lawn ornaments (gnomes, deer, frogs, etc.) that carry on the war when the bickering humans are not around. The blue gnomes (who live in the Montague garden) frequently battle the red gnomes over on the Capulet side. The Blues, led by the grandmotherly Lady Blueberry (voice by Maggie Smith), frequently plot for ways to sabotage the enemy garden, while the Reds, led by Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), plan elaborate lawnmower races in order to humiliate the Blues in competition.

The most daring of the Blues is Lady Blueberry's son, Gnomeo (James McAvoy). He frequently engages in heated lawnmower races with the resident red gnome bully, Tybalt (Jason Statham - great casting). Gnomeo has been born and bred to hate the Reds indiscriminately, and feels them all to be inferior to his kind. But one fateful night, he lays eyes on Lord Redbrick's beautiful daughter, Juliet (Emily Blunt), and it's instant love. As for Juliet, she's a sheltered girl who has (literally) been placed on a pedestal by her father. When she ventures from home and finds forbidden love with the blue Gnomeo, she begins to feel for the first time. As the two lovers plan secret meetings in an abandoned yard across the street, things escalate between the Reds and the Blues, to the point that both gardens are placed in danger. Will love prevail? Will the two young gnomes meet the same fate as the similarly-named lovers in the classic play that the film borrows from?

Considering that this is a G-rated kid's comedy, you probably already know the answer to that last question, and it's not a spoiler to reveal that this movie ends a little bit differently than Shakespeare's version. However, at least the movie does pay tribute to the original ending, by having the Bard himself (in the form of a statue with the voice of Patrick Stewart) show up at one point to defend the play's more tragic ending. Gnomeo and Juliet also has some fun with Shakespeare's other works, such as when the owner of an unruly dog cries out, "Out, out, damn Spot"! I also enjoyed some of the film's offbeat supporting characters, such as a nanny-like ceramic frog (Ashley Jensen) who watches over Juliet, or the goofy pink flamingo ornament, Featherstone (Jim Cummings), who lives in the abandoned yard where Gnomeo and Juliet have their secret meetings, and teaches them that love is stronger than hatred by sharing his own tale of lost love. Both of these characters get some of the best lines in the film.

I mentioned earlier that the film is brightly colored and well drawn, which it certainly is. The animation is nothing groundbreaking, but it gets the job done, there's some good detail, and kids are sure to appreciate all the little visual gags that the animators have thrown in, while adults will enjoy the frequently sly dialogue. In fact, the only thing that holds the film back from joining the recent great animated movies is some of the stunt casting. Aside from the names mentioned above, Dolly Parton, Hulk Hogan, and Ozzy Osbourne show up in cameos. The movie quickly turns into a distracting game of "guess the celebrity voice". But, at least the script (credited to no less than 7 different writers, with 2 more "based on an original screenplay" credits) is clever enough, so that famous voices aren't the only thing the movie has to fall back on.

Even if it's not a great film, Gnomeo and Juliet is smart and funny enough for kids and adults. Shame that it had to be released in 3D, though. As usual, the extra cost is just not worth the experience. This will be a great movie to watch on DVD, with the colors all vibrant. In fact, it might work even better on the small screen. It's sure to become a favorite with kids, and might even get them interested in Shakespeare. That's not so bad, is it?

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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