Gnomeo & Juliet is a British 2011 3D computer-animated family film based on William Shakespeare's
play Romeo and Juliet.
The film was directed by Kelly Asbury, and the two main characters are voiced by James
McAvoy and Emily Blunt.
The film was released on February 11, 2011.
It also marks Jason Statham's first voice role outside of video games.
Despite mixed reviews, the film was a sleeper hit in the box office and a sequel, titled
Gnomeo and Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes, is in production under the direction of John Wayne
Stevenson.
Plot Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet are two elderly
neighbors who despise each other.
When they leave the garden, their garden gnomes come alive.
The Montague garden is filled with blue-hat gnomes, and the Capulet garden has red-hat
gnomes.
Like their human gardeners, the gnomes also despise each other.
The gnomes hold a back alley lawnmower race, with Gnomeo driving for the blues and Tybalt
for the reds.
Tybalt cheats to win the race, destroying Gnomeo's lawnmower.
Gnomeo and his best friend, Benny, are disappointed to see Mrs. Montague ordering a new "kitty"
lawnmower.
That night, Gnomeo and Benny infiltrate the red garden in black disguise.
Benny sprays Tybalt's well and accidentally triggers a security light.
During the escape Gnomeo ends up in a nearby garden where he bumps into a disguised Juliet,
the daughter of the red gnomes leader Lord Redbrick.
Juliet is attempting to retrieve a unique orchid, and the two romantically fight over
it.
They each discover the other's color before fleeing the garden.
When they both go back to their own gardens, Juliet tells her frog-sprinkler friend Nanette
about her newfound love.
Nanette states that the relationship is romantically tragic.
Gnomeo and Juliet have secret meetings in the nearby garden, where they meet a pink
plastic flamingo named Featherstone who encourages their love.
Gnomeo's mother and the blue gnomes leader Lady Bluebury, is distraught after the reds
infiltrate the garden and destroy the plant nurtured by Gnomeo's deceased father.
The blues want Gnomeo to take revenge on the reds, and he realizes that he cannot refuse
unless he tells his secret.
Just as he is about to spray the prized tulips of the reds, Juliet sees him and he backs
out of the attack.
When he and Juliet meet up again, they argue until Featherstone stops them, telling them
he lost his wife when the two people living in the house, where the garden is, broke up
and never saw each other again.
Benny sees them and runs into the alleyway, where Tybalt is waiting with his lawnmower,
attempting to run Benny down and chops off his hat.
Gnomeo intervenes, and he and Tybalt fight on the red lawnmower until the lawnmower runs
into the wall.
Gnomeo jumps off last minute, but Tybalt crashes into the wall, destroying himself.
The reds attempt to attack Gnomeo, thinking that Tybalt died because of him, but Juliet,
to the surprise of her clan, defends Gnomeo, saying that she loves him.
Gnomeo ends up on a road, and everyone believes he was run over by a truck.
Lord Redbrick glues the heartbroken Juliet to her fountain because he does not want to
lose her like he lost her mother.
Gnomeo is still alive, eventually reaching a park where he climbs onto a statue of William
Shakespeare and tells him his story.
Shakespeare tells Gnomeo that his story is very similar to Romeo and Juliet and that
it is likely Gnomeo's will have a sad ending as well.
Benny gets onto Mrs. Montague's computer and changes her lawnmower order to a powerful
Terrafirminator unit, intending to get revenge on the reds.
However, the Terrafirminator goes out of control and destroys most of the two gardens while
the gnomes wage a full scale war.
Gnomeo makes it back to Juliet with the help of Featherstone.
However, when he arrives, the Terrafirminator then frees itself, sending it flying.
He tries to try to un-glue Juliet, but he is unable to.
She tells him to go, but he refuses.
The two share a passionate kiss just as the lawnmower crashes into the fountain, self-destructing
in the process.
When everyone believes that both are dead, Lord Redbrick and Lady Bluebury decide to
end the feud.
Miraculously, Gnomeo and Juliet emerge from the ruins and the two clans celebrate.
The film ends happily with the red and blue gnomes finally coming together to celebrate
their newfound peace.
Tybalt is revealed to still be alive having been glued back together, Featherstone is
reunited with his wife after Benny finds and orders her online, Gnomeo and Juliet are married
on a purple lawnmower, which symbolizes the new union of both gnome clans.
Cast James McAvoy as Gnomeo; a blue gnome counterpart
to Romeo Montague.
Emily Blunt as Juliet; a red gnome counterpart to Juliet Capulet.
Michael Caine as Lord Redbrick, the leader of the red gnomes and Juliet's overprotective
widower father; counterpart to Lord Capulet.
Jason Statham as Tybalt; a red gnome counterpart to Tybalt.
Maggie Smith as Lady Bluebury, the leader of the blue gnomes and Gnomeo's widowed mother;
counterpart to Lady Montague.
Patrick Stewart as the statue of William Shakespeare.
Ashley Jensen as Nanette, a plastic garden frog and Juliet's best friend; counterpart
to Nurse.
Matt Lucas as Benny, Gnomeo's impulsive and tall-hatted best friend; counterpart to Benvolio
Stephen Merchant as Paris, a nerdy red gnome who was arranged to marry Juliet; counterpart
to Count Paris.
Ozzy Osbourne as Fawn, a garden deer and Tybalt's best friend; counterpart to Peter.
Jim Cummings as Featherstone, a lonely plastic flamingo with a thick Spanish accent; counterpart
to Friar Laurence.
Hulk Hogan as Terrafirminator Announcer.
Julie Walters as Ms. Montague, the elderly owner of the Blue garden.
Richard Wilson as Mr. Capulet, the owner of the Red garden.
Kelly Asbury as Red Goon Gnomes; counterparts to Gregory, Sampson, Anthony, and Potpan.
Shroom, a silent mushroom and Gnomeo’s friend/pet; counterpart to Romeo's servant Balthasar.
The Bunnies, a group of small, cement bunnies that act as servants for Lady Bluebury and
others in the Blue Garden; counterparts to Abram and other miscellaneous servants of
the Montagues.
Dolly Parton as Dolly Gnome, the lawnmower race announcer.
Julia Braams as Stone Fish, a stone fish that attached to the Fishing Gnome.
In the end, it is seen being dragged by Gnomeo and Juliet's purple lawnmower.
James Daniel Wilson as Fishing Gnome, a red gnome.
Tim Bentinck as Conjoined Gnome Left, a red gnome.
Julio Bonet as Mankini Gnome, a red gnome.
Neil McCaul as Conjoined Gnome Right, a red gnome.
Maurissa Horwitz as Call Me Doll, Benny's newfound girlfriend.
John Todd as Dancer.
There is no counterpart for Mercutio, as stated by James McAvoy in an interview with NBC,
”Gnomeo in this is a little bit of amalgamation between Romeo and Mercutio.
We don’t have that Mercutio character in this.
We don’t have that leader of the pack, which Romeo isn’t but Gnomeo is a little bit."
Production Gnomeo & Juliet is directed by Kelly Asbury.
The original screenplay, inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, was written
by John R. Smith and Rob Sprackling.
Asbury, Mark Burton, Kevin Cecil, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Andy Riley, and Steve Hamilton
Shaw worked on the final screenplay.
Prior to the casting of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt, the roles of Gnomeo and Juliet were
to be voiced by Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet, respectively.
The film was the original idea of Sprackling and Smith, who sold the spec script to Disney
through Rocket Pictures.
Initially, the film was going to be produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, but was
shut down by its new chief, John Lasseter, after the Pixar acquisition.
Miramax Films picked up the project and guided its production until the division closed down.
Australian director Adam Elliot was approached and asked to direct the film, but he rejected
the offer due the film's incompatibility with his style, as well as his lack of experience
with CGI.
The film later was picked up and produced by Starz Animation in Toronto.
It was released under the Touchstone Pictures banner on February 11, 2011, becoming Touchstone's
first animated film since 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas and also Touchstone's first
and only film to receive a G rating from the MPAA, despite some mild language being used
in some bits of the film.
The film's worldwide premiere was at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on January
23, 2011.
The film was distributed in the United Kingdom and Canada by E1 Entertainment, and the film
was released in 3D.
Elton John and director Asbury presented 10 minutes of the film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Starz Animation Toronto produced all of the animation for the film, including the stereoscopic
version.
In addition, this film reunites veteran British actors Maggie Smith and Michael Caine, from
the 1978 Neil Simon comedy California Suite, in the roles of Lady Blueberry and Lord Redbrick,
respectively.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on February 8, 2011, three days before the film's initial
release.
It features music by Elton John, Nelly Furtado, Kiki Dee, and selections from the score composed
by Chris P. Bacon and James Newton Howard.
The soundtrack was supposed to feature a much anticipated duet between John and Lady Gaga
titled "Hello, Hello"; however, the version of the song featuring Lady Gaga only appears
in the film, and on the soundtrack, the song features only John.
Reception Critical reaction
Gnomeo & Juliet received generally mixed reviews; review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported
that 55% of professional critics gave positive reviews based on 117 reviews with an average
rating of 5.6/10.
Its consensus states "While it has moments of inspiration, Gnomeo & Juliet is often too
self-referential for its own good".
Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave the film a 53% rating based on 28 reviews
on its review scale.
Box-office Gnomeo and Juliet earned $99,967,670 in the
North America and an $94,000,000 in other countries for a worldwide total of $193,967,670.
Gnomeo & Juliet was ultimately a sleeper hit for Disney, outperforming the much higher-budgeted
Mars Needs Moms the studio released a month following Gnomeo & Juliet.
On its first weekend, the film had a worldwide opening of $30,680,933, finishing in second
place behind Just Go with It.
However, on its second weekend —Presidents' Day weekend— it topped the worldwide box
office with $29,832,466, ahead of Unknown which ranked second.
It opened in 2,994 theaters in North America on Friday, February 11, 2011, grossing $6.2
million on its first day and ranking third behind Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and
Just Go with It.
It then finished the weekend with $25.4 million in third place.
However, it scored the largest opening weekend ever for an animated feature released during
the winter period.
It also made the largest debut on record for a minor animated movie, according to Box Office
Mojo.
With a $99.97 million total it stands as the highest-grossing animated feature among those
released in winter.
In the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta, it topped the weekend box office by earning
£2,945,627 on its opening.
In total it has grossed $25,283,924, making the UK the only market, except North America,
where it grossed more than $10 million.
Accolades Home media
Gnomeo & Juliet was released on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 24, 2011.
The film was produced as three different packages: a 1-disc DVD, a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack,
and a 3-disc Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD combo pack.
The 3-disc package also includes access to a digital download of the film.
Both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the release include the music video for Elton John and
Nelly Furtado's version of John's "Crocodile Rock", as well as the extras "Elton Builds
a Garden" and "Frog Talk" with Ashley Jenson.
In addition, the Blu-ray version also has several deleted and alternate scenes, as well
as a feature with Ozzy Osbourne called "The Fawn of Darkness".
Sequel In March 2012, it was reported that a sequel
titled Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes is in development at Rocket Pictures.
Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil, two of the seven writers on the first film, are writing the
script for the sequel.
Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish are producing the film, and Elton John, an exec
producer, is again composing new songs for the film.
The film will feature Sherlock Gnomes, "the greatest ornamental detective" hired by the
characters from the first film, who will try to solve the mystery of disappearing gnomes.
In September 2012, it was reported that John Stevenson, the director of Kung Fu Panda,
has been set to direct the sequel.
References
External links Official website
Gnomeo & Juliet at the Internet Movie Database Gnomeo & Juliet at AllMovie
Gnomeo & Juliet at Box Office Mojo Gnomeo & Juliet at Rotten Tomatoes
Gnomeo & Juliet at Metacritic