Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss

Before I went into watching this film I read a bit about it from other viewers and based on what they said I had pretty low expectations for it. But after viewing the whole thing I've come to the realization... it's not that bad. The animation is really well done and the story is filled with Shakespeare jokes that any thespian or theater buff will get a good chuckle out of. Not that there aren't problems with it though. The voice acting and singing can often range from good, mediocre, or just plain bad. The characters themselves are all moderately enjoyable except for one in particular... a fish called Kissy(you'll know her when you see her and you'll either love or hate her).

If you're looking for a movie to entertain your kids or to just kill some time I'd recommend this to you but be forewarned, this is the kind of movie you'll either hate or like.

I give Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss a 6.5/10 leaning towards a 7.

seriously, the singing and voices are really annoying! what's the point on letting young children watch a film about two seals that fall in love and talk stuff, it is REALLY annoying, i just wish i forgot about this film forever, that and 'time bandits (1981)' there's also a fish that talks like a baby and a fat seal for an antagonist, why concern these things when nobody understands that awkward films aren't my number one! i hated it, IT'S THE WORST FILM EVER EXISTING ON THIS TURNING PLANET OF Africa, ASIA, AND FREAKIN' America!!!!!!!! as for the director, he doesn't care, all he cares is his arctic drama ideas that everyone hates, spread the word, kids: SEALS ARE BAD FILMMAKERS!!

Sealed With a Kiss is a traditional fully-animated film, with seals doing Shakespeare. I admit that like many others, I wasn't totally sold on the concept, but then when you get down to it The Lion King was basically Hamlet with lions, and few seemed to have a problem with that. Turned out to be quite a fun little movie.

While the dialogue is modern, the film has a few of the characters quoting famous Shakespearian lines, but in a way that shouldn't alienate children. It's more of a comedic thing. The story gets going straight away, with rivalry between the 2 groups of seals. This is part about racism, but for the most part, an old-fashioned feud. I was worried going in that the romance would be forced and sappy. Well maybe it is a little sappy, but it's sweet, and sincerely handled. As in the play, it's love at first sight. Two of the songs near the start were, I thought rather weak, but they at least progressed the story. As the film gets going, there are fewer songs.

Unlike the play, the film is light in tone and has many comedic elements. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments but some of Mercutio's puns are groan inducing(even the characters in the film seem to think so). As you would expect, liberties are taken (most notably the ending), and it isn't weighed down like some adaptations. To be honest, I fully expected it to be Romeo & Juliet in name only, and sure enough a great many story elements have no relation whatsoever to what Shakespeare wrote, but I was surprised that the core of what is here is more or less true to what I remember of the original.

I was particularly interested to see how the animation turned out, as it has emerged that this film is that rarest of things: a one man animated film. Phil Nibbelink wrote, directed and animated every frame of the film over the course of 5 years. Despite this, it is remarkably well animated. Well drawn fluid cartoony animation. It's not quite of the level of a top notch Disney animated film, but it comes very close, indeed far closer than I would have ever dreamed possible for a one-man effort. A few shortcuts are taken, but there are a surprising number of scenes animated on ones (which takes twice as many drawings as is usually necessary). This means the animation can be that extra bit more fluid. Some shortcuts can be seen in some of the background characters and effects animation, but this is generally where it matters least. The important stuff, the character animation, is top notch, what you would expect from a strong Disney animator (which is what Nibbelink spent a decade working as). The backgrounds are soft-focus simple and uncluttered to frame the character animation. In a few cases these are perhaps a little rushed, but all in all, they set the atmosphere and do the job.

Even with the lighter tone, it still manages strong dramatic moments. Despite the villain of the piece being a doofus played mostly for laughs, he nevertheless adds menace to the proceedings. There's nothing here that should bother small children, and they should have no trouble following the storyline. While the film aims at a young audience that may not yet be ready for this kind of romance, there should be enough action and comedy to keep them entertained.

No, it isn't Disney, and it isn't even quite Shakespeare (the almost too clever but crafty subtitle "Sealed With A Kiss" tells us that), but as a throwback to one and a light introduction to the other, this very little (77 minute) film deserves to find an appreciative audience.

The one-man, single cell "flat" animation is smoothly done and handsome. While the brown and yellow Romeo and Juliet seals (to distinguish between the Montague and Capulet herds) are closer to the look of Casper the Ghost and friends than the more detailed "flat" animation from the corporate giants at Disney, Pixar or Bluth, it is several steps ahead of the still popular (among the undemanding young) work associated with Rankin-Bass. The standard Nibbelink maintains is consistent and impressive. Even the Elephant Seal "Prince" who stands in for Shakespeare's Duke who threatens any who would disturb the streets of his Venice does not recall the visual sloppiness of the broad lines Ursula, the evil witch in Disney's LITTLE MERMAID was rendered in.

The script might have tried a little harder (it omits more Shakespearian characters than it had to - where's the nurse? - and while it feels free to drop in "famous" Shakespearian quotes from other plays at any convenient turn for the amusement of the adult audience, it could have used a few more in the actual plot without turning off the younger set), but it is coherent and even in "smoothing out" the rough edges of one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies for overly sensitive parents, it preserves the essence of most of Shakespeare's lessons (at least as interpreted these 400 years later).

Charm is the key word here - it is a charming film, and a very nicely done one, even if it were from a major studio. From a one-man operation it's close to a miracle that any student of film or animation should put on their "must-discover" list. Even before the kids are ready for MONSTERS INC. or SHREK 1, 2 or 3, this ROMEO AND JULIET, Sealed With A Kiss would be a very good choice for a wise parent.

While William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet is one of the writer's most popular works of art, the film adaptations have varied in quality over the years. Arguably one of the most infamous takes on the source would have to be the arctic seal focused Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss. Directed and entirely animated by former Disney animator Phil Nibbelink through his own independent company, the film has been heavily criticized over the years for being a poor take on the source material and has more so been cherished amongst the internet as something to poke fun at. In regards to how it was made, one can see why.

The film follows two star-crossed seals, Romeo and Juliet who fall in love in spite of the warring hatred their families face against each other. With that basic theme of love triumphing over blind sighted prejudice, the story has little to no engagement going on beyond its basic storyline. Despite a lot of tension between the two seal families against each other, there is hardly much development on either side to gain sympathy or genuine resentment towards. Even the presumably tyrannical prince elephant seal isn't fully realized enough to determine if he is a genuine threat to our leads or if he's a blubbering buffoon. To make matters worse, the attempts at comedy are annoying with Romeo's trouble making friend Mercutio, who never shuts up in his depressing attempts at yucking up the scenery. You know your characters range from annoyingly bland to downright annoying when whatever stakes that do pop up feel more like a blessing than something to feel concerned about. One has to wonder why any of the characters are seals when the whole setting could have taken place anywhere in the first place.

Now to give credit where credit is due, considering that this entire movie was made by Nibbelink himself, it is impressive how he was able to craft the whole feature from scratch. Despite some unappealing cutesy character designs and some occasionally dated compositing, the character animation is highly expressive and full of energy around the arctic environments. Even some of the color choices are appropriately chosen to fit the tonal shifts, complete with some well drawn backgrounds and creative effects animation. That being said, one can tell when the animation switches from frame by frame to rigged in the blink of an eye. Outside of that, that's where the positives end, as even the best animation can't save this snoozefest of a Shakespearre tale. On top of stereotypically generic voice acting that feels more like cartoon impressions than genuine performances, it is often painfully obvious whenever you hear stock production music throughout the background. I understand utilizing the most of your resources, but people will forgive bad visuals long before they'll forgive bad audio.

In summary, Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss fails as both an alternative take on the Shakespeare tragedy and a stand alone introduction to the material thanks to its paper thin story, cloying characters and obvious small production values. However, it might be best to acknowledge this feature as an early footnote to independent animation produced by industry veterans when we are seeing more and more personal projects coming to light. No matter how poorly made a first attempt may be in that regard, products like this are worth appreciating for the good they do in the long run.