I really regretted volunteering to review this movie. Upon reflection, a love story involving gnomes was a little too precious in a potentially Smurfy way, I thought to myself as I sat in the please-move-over-so-we-can-get-two-open-seats-together-filled-to-capacity theater. On top of that, I was beginning to worry that it would bore the bejabbers out of my teetering-on-teendom daughter, whom I dragged along with me.
Having somehow avoided commercials for the animated Touchstone comedy, I managed to gather from the Shakespeare-tweaking title that it was a love story angle, but I was unaware of the film's main conceit, which would have made all the difference in my attitude.
Because the gnomes in this film are garden gnomes (think of that roaming travel gnome from the TV commercials) - warring clans of red- and blue-hatted statues in well-manicured yards behind houses owned by the Montagues and the Capulets (get it?). They are tiny statues that spring to life when no humans are near.
"Gnomeo and Juliet" is like "Toy Story" with lower-tech toys. And although it doesn't carry the emotional heft of the best Pixar films, it's alarmingly charming and funny.
The swell-looking film finds blue-hatted Gnomeo and red-hatted Juliet falling hard for each other after he spies her wearing full-on ninja garb while she's on an illicit expedition to secure a beautiful flower for her garden. They must keep their love secret from their respective clans, who have suspicions and long-standing misconceptions about each other and work out their aggression via lawnmower races in a nearby alley.
"Gnomeo" was produced by Canada's Starz Animation, which has churned out a few Veggie Tales projects but seemingly nothing on this scale.
Nevertheless, it turns out that these concrete and clay creatures are perfect for Pixar-quality animation (the film was once a Disney project but was rejected by Pixar's John Lasseter when he assumed control of Disney's animation operation).
It makes no sense, of course, that cast concrete could move so fluidly, but the Starz animators make it look real.
The voice talent is uniformly good and wildly varied, encompassing high-brow stars including Maggie Smith and Michael Caine as well as younger, hipper James McAvoy and Emily Blunt. And then there are pop culture icons, including Dolly Parton, Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan. Hogan hilariously voices "Terrafirminator," a combination riding lawn mower/urban assault vehicle that boasts the slogan "Your grass will be afraid to grow!" A good deal of humor is provided via a hopelessly romantic ceramic frog and a pink, plastic lawn flamingo.
Kelly Asbury ("Shrek 2") directs, but don't let that scare you off. The animation is better here, and the funny and clever script mostly avoids pop-culture nods. The exceptions are multiple, winking allusions to Shakespeare (a passing truck bears the company name "Tempest Teapots") and an appearance by the Bard himself, courtesy of a Patrick Stewart-voiced park statue that insists the tale we're watching will be better if everyone dies in the end.
There's plenty of action, and it's all wrapped up in a retro soundtrack of Elton John's greatest hits including "Crocodile Rock," "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and "Rocket Man."
The 3-D is expendable and doesn't really add anything except a couple of bucks to the price of admission but, sadly, that's the norm for animated family fare these days.
It turns out that the girl and I had a lot of fun watching "Gnomeo and Juliet." As Shakespeare himself might say, all's well that ends well.
"Gnomeo and Juliet"
Our grade: B
Genres: Comedy, Adventure, Romance, Animated
Running Time: 84 min
MPAA rating: G
Release Date: Feb 11, 2011
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