Gnomeo and Juliet is a 2011 movie directed by Kelly Asbury who is also known for “Shrek 2” and “The Smurfs: The lost village”. This is a family-friendly adaptation of the Shakespeare classic, “Romeo and Juliet” told through animated garden gnomes.
Possible Spoilers Ahead!
In this movie, the characters of Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Julie (Voiced by Emily Blunt) are raised by opposing gardens known as the reds or Capulets and the Blues or Montagues. Mr Capulet and Mrs Montague (Human Characters), feud over whose garden is better, as do “Lord Redbrick” (Voiced by Michael Caine) and “Lady Blueberry” (Voiced by Maggie Smith)Most characters are garden gnomes that decorate each neighbours flower beds that continue the rivalry when the humans/owners aren’t looking acting similarly to characters from Pixar’s Toy Story” Collection- Which was released first in 1995.
The movie includes a few sub-plots including a tragic love story of two decorative flamingos in love, separated in what looks like a divorce, leaving one behind to impart his romantic wisdom on Gnomeo and Juliet as well as one interesting scene in which a smaller gnome by the name of “Benny” (Voiced by Matt Lucas, and presumably based on Benvolio from Shakespeare’s version) manages to use the owners computer to purchase a high-tech lawn mower called the “The Terrafirminator”. However, the main plot is based around Gnomeo and Juliet falling in love after meeting in a scene which depicts a late-night mission to collect a rare flower which includes a lot of back and forth between the two while they show off their unusual flexibility for porcelain garden decorations.
Despite their family feuds and Tybalt’s (Voiced by Jason Statham) efforts, the couple convince both side that it’s better together which leads to a few more previously controversial relationships and a party sound-tracked by Sir Elton John.
Warning: Personal Opinions ahead:
My favorite Character would have to be non-other than “Nanette” (Voiced by Ashley Jensen) She’s a green waterspout frog who is a loyal friend to Juliet and is later seen with “Paris” (Stephen Merchant) who was assigned by Lord Redbrick to watch over Juliet. Nanette is one of the main sources of comedy throughout the movie and has been classed as iconic among me and my sister who have watched the movie countless times.
I’ll leave you with one last warning: As amazing as this movie is, the sequel “Sherlock Gnomes” is nowhere near as good. In fact, I was quite disappointed by it.
Thanks for reading!
-Izzy
