MOVIE REVIEW: Gnomeo & Juliet

Posted by Mary Jo Published in Movies & Television

In a playful fantasy romp, the star-crossed lovers of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet come to animated life as garden gnomes in a re-telling of the classic story in Gnomeo & Juliet.

Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Juliet (voiced by Emily Blunt) are the representatives of the feuding Blue Gnomes and Red Gnomes, respectively. They meet serendipitously, fall in love, battle their family stereotypes and feuding, and eventually convince both the red and blue gnomes to live in peace and harmony for the good of all. In between there are plenty of silly puns, slapstick humor, and lawnmower races to keep the kids interested in what is, at its essence, a tragic love story.

In this version however, everyone lives happily ever after, dancing along to Elton John music circa 1970-80’s. One new song is features, a duet with Lady Gaga, titled “Hello, Hello.”

Who will like Gnomeo & Juliet:

Younger kids laughed at the gnome antics, brought to a standstill any time a human appears on the scene, as well as the action scenes of the lawnmower races and the lightweight violence of a tomato feud. They may be a little bored by goo-goo eyes of the gnomes as they fall in love, and they won’t relate at all to the Elton John songs, popular long before you they were born.
Mid-aged kids seemed to be the ones most restless in the audience, perhaps finding the races and animation a bit too corny and the love story a bit too silly.
Teens and adults in the audience seemed charmed, and I overheard lots of chatter afterward about how “cute” it was. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it is, perhaps, a cute little movie to enjoy with someone special.

Rated G. There is some gnome violence, with one having his gnome hat cracked off and one death by shattering, the latter appearing glued back together later in the movie. One gnome wears a mankini-thong type of thing, of the sort seen on Borat, which exposes a round little gnome butt.

Gnomeo & Juliet is a nice little movie, nothing earth shattering, and in may not instill a love for Shakespeare in the kids. But, it’s a pleasant escape into a world divided into red and blue; a world where gnomes eventually unite because to do else wise is destruction for all. Reality check, anyone?