We all know the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and we also know the many renditions and adaptations of this tragedy- high school plays, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet the Broadway musical, West Side Story, etc. These adaptations range from fresh and original to mimicked and boring. Initially, I thought that Kelly Asbury’s Gnomeo and Juliet was going be “zany” or “wild.” After all, the characters are garden decorations. Instead, this film disappoints with its overstated self- reflexivity and shallow development of plot, characters and visual style.
Gnomeo and Juliet does not stray too far from the general story of Romeo and Juliet (except for the ending, which is compensated by the telling of the original ending from a William Shakespeare statue (Patrick Stewart)). Juliet Capulet (Emily Blunt) is an unscarred gnome with an overprotective father, Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), the leader of The Reds. The lawn next door bears The Blues, whose leader is Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith), mother of Gnomeo (James McAvoy). Of course, Gnomeo and Juliet fall in love and along the way, meet Featherstone (Jim Cummings), a plastic pink flamingo (the only character with a developed backstory), who helps them defend their love for each other. The rivalry between the garden gnomes intensifies after Tybalt (Jason Statham), an obnoxious Red, dies during a lawn mower race against Gnomeo. Everything escalates from there, but is eventually resolved.
But is it a perfect ending? This film questions the intelligence of young children. Many of us grew up with Disney’s The Lion King, a Shakespeare adaptation of Hamlet. Although some elements may have been scary for children, the end result paid off. The emotions of the characters felt genuine and warm, and the messages were clear. The subtlety (in expressions, colors, etc.) was expressed with finesse. On the flip side, almost everything is too straightforward in Gnomeo and Juliet. The story is simplistic; expressions were extremely exaggerated; the colours were too bright and reminded me of preschool. This film targets those with short attention spans.
This film had promise. The voice cast is solid. Some scenes (i.e. the meeting of Gnomeo and Juliet) are pleasantly released. The basis is obviously strong. However, the film takes advantage of its potential for cheap laughs, especially when it heavily references Shakespeare and pop culture. It is a charming story, but it’s not for everybody.
