Intro - Gnomeo and Juliet, quite clearly (judging from the title), is based on William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, which focuses on two star-crossed lovers, except it doesn't stay completely faithful to the play. And it's a lot less tragic.
Act 1 – The voices of Gnomeo and Juliet consist of a popular cast mostly made up of Britons – James McAvoy as Gnomeo, Emily Blunt as Juliet, Michael Caine as Lord Redbrick, Matt Lucas as Benny, and Jason Statham as Tybalt plus the voices of Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osborne, and Maggie Smith.
Act 2 – Also quite clearly as an animation, this film was created for a young target audience. Perhaps to give a basic understanding of Romeo and Juliet to the children if they were to ever study Shakespeare. If that was the purpose of this film, then it fails as most of its content is filled up with the content needed for a children's film instead of what was needed for an animated re-enactment. It gives a rather remote understanding of the play by occasionally sprinkling references throughout (not following it point by point), keeping the theme of rivalry between the families (represented as Reds versus Blues) and of course, by keeping some of the original names – well precisely, it only keeps two names, Juliet and Tybalt. Any viewer that already has studied Shakespeare's play in one way or another (whether having seen the 1996 film or seen a stage production) would often wonder during Gnomeo and Juliet why it took the original name almost wholly, giving the impression to all who would go into the theatre thinking that they would be in for an animated take of the revered play.
Act 3 - On the other hand, if the purpose of the filmmaking was to provide entertainment, which is what an animated film needs to satisfy its child audience, then Gnomeo and Juliet succeeds. This world powered by warring indoor and outdoor gnomes with its playful way of depicting a feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is a delight for children to watch, especially with a few belly laughs in for them. As for the adult audience, it's interesting to see that this is a unique animated twist of the story but the entertainment is limited, as the comedy is intended for the audience. The gnomes in the film come to life when out of the way of humans, like the toys did in Toy Story. This is exciting for those who enjoyed Toy Story, to see similar characters but certainly not as likable (alas), but to others it may just be considered a B grade rip-off.
The final Act - Either one of two reactions could be predicted from everyone going to see Gnomeo and Juliet. The first would be "This is broken Shakespeare" which is most likely to come from adults disappointed of the outcome (likely because of their incorrect first thoughts of the title). The second one is "Wow, I want to see that again!" which would obviously come from anyone who enjoyed it. Judging from the reactions of the children in the same theatre, the latter reaction is the more likely one, and in that case Gnomeo and Juliet is actually a good film for the kids, which is honestly what it intended to be.
Verdict: It isn't really Shakespeare, but does the young target audience care if it isn't?
Act 1 – The voices of Gnomeo and Juliet consist of a popular cast mostly made up of Britons – James McAvoy as Gnomeo, Emily Blunt as Juliet, Michael Caine as Lord Redbrick, Matt Lucas as Benny, and Jason Statham as Tybalt plus the voices of Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osborne, and Maggie Smith.
Act 2 – Also quite clearly as an animation, this film was created for a young target audience. Perhaps to give a basic understanding of Romeo and Juliet to the children if they were to ever study Shakespeare. If that was the purpose of this film, then it fails as most of its content is filled up with the content needed for a children's film instead of what was needed for an animated re-enactment. It gives a rather remote understanding of the play by occasionally sprinkling references throughout (not following it point by point), keeping the theme of rivalry between the families (represented as Reds versus Blues) and of course, by keeping some of the original names – well precisely, it only keeps two names, Juliet and Tybalt. Any viewer that already has studied Shakespeare's play in one way or another (whether having seen the 1996 film or seen a stage production) would often wonder during Gnomeo and Juliet why it took the original name almost wholly, giving the impression to all who would go into the theatre thinking that they would be in for an animated take of the revered play.
Act 3 - On the other hand, if the purpose of the filmmaking was to provide entertainment, which is what an animated film needs to satisfy its child audience, then Gnomeo and Juliet succeeds. This world powered by warring indoor and outdoor gnomes with its playful way of depicting a feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is a delight for children to watch, especially with a few belly laughs in for them. As for the adult audience, it's interesting to see that this is a unique animated twist of the story but the entertainment is limited, as the comedy is intended for the audience. The gnomes in the film come to life when out of the way of humans, like the toys did in Toy Story. This is exciting for those who enjoyed Toy Story, to see similar characters but certainly not as likable (alas), but to others it may just be considered a B grade rip-off.
The final Act - Either one of two reactions could be predicted from everyone going to see Gnomeo and Juliet. The first would be "This is broken Shakespeare" which is most likely to come from adults disappointed of the outcome (likely because of their incorrect first thoughts of the title). The second one is "Wow, I want to see that again!" which would obviously come from anyone who enjoyed it. Judging from the reactions of the children in the same theatre, the latter reaction is the more likely one, and in that case Gnomeo and Juliet is actually a good film for the kids, which is honestly what it intended to be.
Verdict: It isn't really Shakespeare, but does the young target audience care if it isn't?