In this CG-animated feature film Gnomeo and Juliet (parody of Romeo and Juliet), the garden gnomes of two elderly neighbors, Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet who dislike each other, come alive when they leave. Separated by a fence, blue gnomes live in one backyard, while the red gnomes live on the other one. The two groups of gnomes are constantly competing with each other. While trying to retrieve an orchid for her garden, Juliet (Emily Blunt), a red gnome, meets Gnomeo (James McAvoy), a blue gnome, and they fall in love. They try to keep their romance secret as there is a war between the blue and red gnomes.
I'm betting in order to really enjoy this film, one has to actually like these clay gnomes that frequently inhabit many gardens in the Western world. I personally don't like them myself, which perhaps didn't help to curb my lack of optimism for this film when I saw the trailer. I personally find these gnomes lifeless and kind of ugly. Imagine how creepy it seemed to me when they started moving around like they were possessed. Now, I never felt this way about Toy Story--when toys came alive they all looked very different from each other, moved and walked differently, and as a result, had their own unique personality which fit their shape, texture, and material. Majority of these gnomes have a similarity in look and like those glazed gnomes in real life, they have glassy eyes, which looked just about as lifeless. Admittedly, it was always a plus when I saw a character that wasn't a gnome. Now, don't get me wrong--I do appreciate kitschy ornaments, retro stuff in particular, such as the plastic pink flamingo, which was rather cool to see in this film. I wished I had seen more of the "other" kitschy ornaments--it may have brought in a little more character. Maybe throw in some rusty Coca-Cola memorabilia and other cool, retro geeky stuff. And, possibly dump this overused Shakespeare plot along the way, perhaps? Just a thought. Advertisement
Now, given that this film is based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I paid extra attention to the romantic aspect of this film. It's cute, but pretty typical, standard stuff. It's a little hard to imagine any warm, fuzzy kind of love between two stoney objects. Still, it is helped much by good voice acting and animation, even if I didn't think they were very attractive as a couple (at least in any way I'm used to). Their personalities were likable and believable despite their lack of subtlety in expressions.
Directed by Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2), there are many nods to modern pop culture, humor, and modern music throughout this film. For the most part, they are entertaining, even if they are not particularly laugh-out-loud material. Shrek 2 certainly had more of it. There are a good number of clever moments that play with the whole idea of these characters being clay gnomes, hampered by the material they are made of. They make hollow, clinking sounds when they move, they are fragile, and they often sink in water. I enjoyed the plastic pink flamingo character which skipped along with its wiry legs. As for the story, I couldn't help but feel this film was weighed down by the all too familiar aspects of the Romeo and Juliet plot, but I suppose this could be a good intro to the play for the kids. There is an amusing scene with Shakespearian actor Patrick Stewart lending his voice as a William Shakespeare statue.
This film may not quite reach the quality of Pixar, but it's entertaining, mostly. The idea of using garden gnomes as characters is an original idea, but I've been bored with the Romeo and Juliet plot for quite a while now, with all the teen romances these days. The film's character designs were not my cup of tea, but I'm sure they're more than adequate for others. The film felt a tad long as well, given my familiarity of the plot. The whole garden thing is a cool gimmick, but I think it may have worked better as a short film than a feature. But, that's just me. Kids will have much fun with this one, I'm pretty sure.
You can find more of my movie review updates on http://twitter.com/d_art
I'm betting in order to really enjoy this film, one has to actually like these clay gnomes that frequently inhabit many gardens in the Western world. I personally don't like them myself, which perhaps didn't help to curb my lack of optimism for this film when I saw the trailer. I personally find these gnomes lifeless and kind of ugly. Imagine how creepy it seemed to me when they started moving around like they were possessed. Now, I never felt this way about Toy Story--when toys came alive they all looked very different from each other, moved and walked differently, and as a result, had their own unique personality which fit their shape, texture, and material. Majority of these gnomes have a similarity in look and like those glazed gnomes in real life, they have glassy eyes, which looked just about as lifeless. Admittedly, it was always a plus when I saw a character that wasn't a gnome. Now, don't get me wrong--I do appreciate kitschy ornaments, retro stuff in particular, such as the plastic pink flamingo, which was rather cool to see in this film. I wished I had seen more of the "other" kitschy ornaments--it may have brought in a little more character. Maybe throw in some rusty Coca-Cola memorabilia and other cool, retro geeky stuff. And, possibly dump this overused Shakespeare plot along the way, perhaps? Just a thought. Advertisement
Now, given that this film is based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I paid extra attention to the romantic aspect of this film. It's cute, but pretty typical, standard stuff. It's a little hard to imagine any warm, fuzzy kind of love between two stoney objects. Still, it is helped much by good voice acting and animation, even if I didn't think they were very attractive as a couple (at least in any way I'm used to). Their personalities were likable and believable despite their lack of subtlety in expressions.
Directed by Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2), there are many nods to modern pop culture, humor, and modern music throughout this film. For the most part, they are entertaining, even if they are not particularly laugh-out-loud material. Shrek 2 certainly had more of it. There are a good number of clever moments that play with the whole idea of these characters being clay gnomes, hampered by the material they are made of. They make hollow, clinking sounds when they move, they are fragile, and they often sink in water. I enjoyed the plastic pink flamingo character which skipped along with its wiry legs. As for the story, I couldn't help but feel this film was weighed down by the all too familiar aspects of the Romeo and Juliet plot, but I suppose this could be a good intro to the play for the kids. There is an amusing scene with Shakespearian actor Patrick Stewart lending his voice as a William Shakespeare statue.
This film may not quite reach the quality of Pixar, but it's entertaining, mostly. The idea of using garden gnomes as characters is an original idea, but I've been bored with the Romeo and Juliet plot for quite a while now, with all the teen romances these days. The film's character designs were not my cup of tea, but I'm sure they're more than adequate for others. The film felt a tad long as well, given my familiarity of the plot. The whole garden thing is a cool gimmick, but I think it may have worked better as a short film than a feature. But, that's just me. Kids will have much fun with this one, I'm pretty sure.
You can find more of my movie review updates on http://twitter.com/d_art