Gnomeo & Juliet

Wherefore Art Thou?

The lite-version for kids, part of the fun here is the identification of the actual Romeo and Juliet references from names used right down to the incidents based upon William Shakespeare's most romantic tragedy, because it is quite ingenious of the entire team of scriptwriters (the many cooks here not spoiling the broth, thankfully) to have taken key elements and painting quite a different, uplifting film if you will, since this is after all something for the young ones to appreciate.

Taking place between garden gnomes of adjacent gardens of bickering neighbours, the Reds (Capulets) and the Blues (Montagues) have this long standing fued that will make the romance of their children Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) quite impossible, if not for the lovers to meet in secret. Expect plenty of comedy scattered throughout, which surprisingly is more adult, so accompanying the minors will not make this one boring affair. The A-list voices will also be top draw, although animation may look a little stiff since it's modelled to perfection the porcelain clay that the gnomes are possibly made out of.

Elton John's music got touted out loud throught the film's marketing machinery, but frankly they don't really stand out unlike a musical since they were mostly used in the background, nor were inventively utilized such as those in the mold of Across the Universe which had plenty of The Beatles' tunes gelled together seamlessly into the narrative.

You can read my review of Gnomeo & Juliet at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.