Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

Good concept, poorly executed.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Obviously the basis of the story is Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" which would be unknown to its targeted kids audience. But unlike the serious original it's a light story with plenty of fun for children. For adults watching it with kids there are plenty of references to Shakespeare's other works to keep you guessing and amused. Kids and Adults alike will also enjoy the soundtrack which is composed of all Elton Johns music played in different ways.

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.

OK, lets get the negative stuff out of the way. As its detractors are so eager to point out, this isn't as good as Toy Story, or the vast majority of Pixar's outlet. It's not as good as Lion King, It's not as good as Shrek. And it does weirdly over-rely on the familiar songs of Elton John (who executive produced) as score.Fine. But that doesn't mean it can't be a cute, enjoyable, witty spin on Romeo and Juliet, with two backyards full of garden gnomes (and other garden features like frog fountains) at war with each other, and star-crossed lovers from each side falling in love in spite of it all.And who can dislike the voice cast? James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith - some of Britain's very best bring character and comedy to their parts -- as do, in their own weird way Ozzy Osborne and Hulk Hogan in cameo roles (For that matter who could resist any film that brought such a surreal bunch of voices together?).Yes, this isn't an all-time classic. But I think we've gotten so spoiled by being in a golden age of cartoon features that it's too easy to dismiss a good solid, fun effort like this.

Since my dad told me that he found the film to be far better than expected when he went to see it at the cinema with my brothers,I've been meaning to watch Gnomeo and Juliet for ages,but some reason have never had the chance.Taking a look on BBC iPlayer,I was happy to see the movie listed on catch-up,which led to me getting ready to finally meet Gnomeo and Juliet.The plot:Following the feud between their owners Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet,their living garden gnomes divide themselves,with the Montague side having blue hats,and the Capulet side having red hats.Getting stopped from winning a race by cheating Montague gnomes, Montague gnomes Gnomeo and Benny decide to get their revenge. Jumping over the wall.Gnomeo and Benny start spray painting the Capulet's place.Getting caught,Gnomemo and Benny start to run away.During the escape,Gnomeo runs into Juliet, (daughter of Capulet gnome leader Lord Redbrick) who both fall in love with each other at first sight. Despite knowing the hatred between their families,Gnomeo and Juliet are unable to put a wall between their love.View on the film:Playing around with the ending of Shakespeare's (who has a cameo!) Romeo & Juliet,the screenplay by co-writer(along with 8 others) director Kelly Asbury keeps things to a gentle, whimsical atmosphere. Avoiding the use of any major baddie,the writers heat up the feud with slick action slap-stick set-pieces,which go from a Death Race-style (with The Stath!) opening race,to a stealth mission to buy a killer lawnmower.Giving each of the gnomes their own sides, Asbury impressively give each garden a lush English countryside appearance,which is neatly counted by each gnome being given a rough stone/rock shine.Backed by a sweet soundtrack from Elton John, James McAvoy & Emily Blunt give terrific performances as the garden crossed lovers,with Blunt digging a romantic,gentle touch in Juliet,whilst McAvoy gives Gnomeo a rocky feeling of determination,as the two gardens get their own Romeo and Juliet.