Gnomeo et Juliette

I had initially heard good stuff about this animated movie, so I decided to give it a go! The story, well sure it is loosely based on the Romeo & Juliet story, but it is more than just that. There is also a bunch of comedy in the story, along with some really interesting characters.

The CGI animation looked really cool and were nicely made. Lots of really great details in the scenes and the in each characters. It was obvious that lots of efforts had been put into this.

As for the best part of the movie, well that would simply have to be the list of voice actors/actresses. Holy moly! There is such a bunch of really good names on this list, James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart and a bunch others. There were also some really cool cameo appearances by Hulk Hugan and Ozzy Osbourne.

That being said, then the movie was somewhat shallow. Sure it had enough entertainment value for one watching, but I doubt it highly that I will ever be watching this movie ever again. For an animation of 2011 it didn't quite reach up to the likes such as "How to Train Your Dragon", "Megamind" or "Despicable Me". The movie is beautifully made, but it just lacks something vital.

A good enough movie for an evening of entertainment, but it is about as far as it goes.

No other writer lends himself to so many different film interpretations as William Shakespeare, whose plays have spawned musicals (West Side Story), teen comedies (10 Things I Hate About You), even cartoons (though not credited as such, Hamlet is an obvious source of inspiration for The Lion King). The latter genre is used again for a peculiar take on Romeo and Juliet, put together with CGI under Disney's Touchstone banner.

The film takes place in the present day, where Montague and Capulet no longer are two warring families, but simply two next-door neighbors who just don't get along. This animosity is also found in their adjacent gardens, where the gnomes, much like the toys in Toy Story, come to life when no one's watching. The blue gnomes, led by Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith), belong to Mrs. Montague, while Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine) and his red acolytes belong to Mr. Capulet. Their mission is to find new ways to make the enemy garden look bad, and it all goes well - so to speak - until a full-scale war erupts, and star-crossed lovers Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) find themselves caught in the middle...

The material is an unusual choice for Disney, which traditionally favors straightforward adaptations of popular stories (albeit with necessary alterations) over postmodern riffs that combine tribute and spoof. This take on Shakespeare's tragedy would probably be better suited for a Dreamworks treatment, as they make no mystery of having older audiences in mind. Disney, on the other hand, is torn between pandering to younger viewers and giving Bard aficionados the fun yet intelligent picture they crave and deserve. Sure, there are in-jokes galore (the house numbers 2B and Not 2B are the standout), but the third act is particularly underwhelming, with too much screen-time for the mandatory talking animal sidekick (an annoying flamingo, voiced by Disney mainstay Jim Cummings) and a climax that has inevitably been altered - presumably - to keep the kids from crying.

When it works, however, Gnomeo & Juliet is an absolute joy: the opening send-up of the play's prologue set the tone quite nicely, Elton John's contribution to the soundtrack is faultless, and the voice cast is a hoot. Aside from the filmmakers having the nerve of putting Jason Statham and Ozzy Osbourne in the same film as Smith and Caine (surely a once in a lifetime kind of thing), the idea of incorporating Shakespeare himself as a character (voiced by Patrick Stewart) and having him criticize the film's plot detours is the self-mocking stroke of genius there should be more of throughout the movie.

All in all, this is a nice little film that is worth watching for entertainment value. It suffers from some lazy writing and questionable gags (shouldn't the Terrafirminator be voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger instead of Hulk Hogan?), but it contains enough Shakespearean wit and invention to make for a fun 82 minutes.

This movie is simple and joyful. Starting with the story, taken from Shakespeare, which is much better that concocting an unsatisfying script just in order to be original. I like that the story is what it is, and a lot of the humour comes from playing with this idea of borrowed action and characters. Plus, the kids have a way of finding out about the original writer and play, if not by asking earlier, at least when Old Will's statue appears as a character. Then the gnomes, individualised in a successful and comic manner (honorable mention for the "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" gnome!).They are kitschy pieces of garden landscape, but still they can be nice, in a hip manner. They are mocked and sort of self-mocking themselves, as the plastic flamingo manages to do brilliantly.

And the music is absolutely super, it adds to the general atmosphere of fun. As much as I personally remain not interested in the Lady Gaga show, I could still appreciate her and Elton John's song - it sounded great.

It is a simple pleasure to watch the movie, even if in the end I wonder what made me become childish and sort of feel guilty to have liked so much a colourful and loud movie about garden gnomes. And the kids seem to love it, too.

I read a few comments that didn't do it any justice, almost avoided it because of them. But it's better that other animation of this year seen so far, for example the much praised Rio. And it's a happy movie! It's tiring that "sad streak" that maintained in the Disney movies and that was passed on to other American animations, why does anyone considers that movies for children need a tragic spot? This one plays a bit with the drama, but finally let everybody be happy.

Gnomeo (James McAvoy) is a blue gnome, and Juliet (Emily Blunt) is a red gnome from next door. Neither side gets along including the human owners. One night, Gnomeo and Juliet meet and they fall in love before they realize they're on opposite sides. Now they must deal with their battling families.

It's an animated story of Romeo and Juliet produced by Elton John. It's notable for the many Elton John songs. However there isn't much truly funny moments. The comic relief lack real comedy. And the lead voices don't have anything special. They make the mistake of using their regular voices. They really need to develop their cartoon voices. The story is fair and watchable. It doesn't have the memorable characters needed.

Cut the pretentious crud. This film is obviously intended to entertain a younger audience, and it does a good job at doing that, while somewhat tactfully putting in some jokes for the parents. No, it's not spectacular. If you watch this movie expecting something "Grade A", you're not going to get much out of it.

The plot: generic, predictable. But obviously so, considering it's called "Gnomeo and Juliet".

The cast is an oddball compilation of respectable actors, with the exception of the obscure addition of Ozzy. But what is really keeping this movie going is the cuteness of it. That is the selling point, and what makes it most appealing. If you go into this movie expecting something more, you will be left disappointed. So I suggested you loosen up, look for a laugh, and you'll enjoy it more. It's not a bad film.