Advertisement

Movies & TV

Gnomeo And Juliet

GNOMEO AND JULIET (eOne, 2011) D: Kelly Asbury, w/ James McAvoy, Emily Blunt (voices). Rating: NNN DVD package: NNN Rating: NNN


If, like me, you find garden gnomes inherently funny and have known about their secret lives since childhood, give this a look.

Gnomeo And Juliet is fast, funny light entertainment that’s beautifully animated (the garden setting is lush and detailed) and bops along on well-used Elton John tunes.

The gnomes’ blockiness and air of angry determination makes them ideal vehicles for the story of feuding families brought to crisis when the son of one side and the daughter of the other fall in love. They’re cutesified, but not so much that they turn into Smurfs.

The real problem the movie faces is the ending. Everybody knows that the original Romeo and Juliet die. It’s to their credit that director Kelly Asbury and his army of writers deal with this at all. How they do it is smart, funny and adds a light touch of thematic and meta-fictional resonance.

Famous voices are everywhere, including Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Jason Statham and Hulk Hogan. They’re all well cast – even Dolly Parton – and clearly having fun.

The deleted scenes are worth a look, and Asbury’s brief introduction to each provides a glimpse of the animators’ process.

EXTRAS Deleted and extended scenes. Widescreen. English, French audio and subtitles.

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted