I’m not sure if Gnomeo and Juliet was intended to get young moviegoers interested in Shakespeare, but in actuality, the movie is more a satire of Shakespeare, showing how ridiculous the story is. Though the garden gnome angle is definitely a fresh one. From the opening scene on, the allegory is often hard to follow. Being that I am older than the target audience, I understand that children would have an easier time taking the film at face value. But the play on words title set the standard.
Gnomeo’s voice cast is a cornucopia of British talent. The genre-crossing cast has classically trained actors like Michael Caine, young stars like Emily Blunt and some who are a bit surprising in the G-rated film, like Jason Statham. But even in a cartoon, Statham plays the most badass part, which is the villain Tybalt. Filling in the gaps are some very accomplished voice actors, known better for their voices than their faces. There really can’t be any complaints about the actors and the characterization they provide their animated counterparts.
Much has been said about Elton John’s role in this project as executive producer and main musical contributor. He even did most of the press, appearing on the talk shows and such. But the repeated use of his songs throughout the feature is repetitive to the point of rolling your eyes. If children like a song they’ll learn to sing along quick. We don’t need to hear “Bennie and the Jets” 15 times.
Even with the monster process Gnomeo and Juliet went through before hitting theaters, including tons of re-writes, the concept is interesting enough to spawn similar projects. The brutal parts from the original were cleaned up, so I see no reason why other Shakespeare plays or classic stories couldn’t be done in the some vein. It’s nice to see a kids film out there that doesn’t find the need to give kindergarteners nightmares for the next month. I’m looking at you Toy Story 3. (7.7 out of 10)
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