The Film
The idea of a movie about garden gnomes seems, well... kind of strange. Apparently not to Elton John or the folks at Disney's Touchstone Studios. They have combined Shakespeare and ceramic garden decorations to make a film that actually works on several levels and is sure to entertain the wee folk in your own home (and garden!).
Sir Elton has lent his music (in exchange for an executive producer credit) to Gnomeo & Juliet, an animated take on the timeless classic Romeo & Juliet. However, these star-crossed lovers are, in fact, garden gnomes. Miss Montague (voiced by Julie Walters) and Mr. Capulet (Richard Wilson) are the feuding neighbors, but the real competition here is out in the yard, where red gnomes cringe at the sight of blue gnomes and vice versa.
These gnomes don't just make great lawn ornaments. They also know how to love, laugh, and "kick some grass," when necessary. Some of those moments are surprising for this G-rated movie.
Gnomeo & Juliet is part Toy Story and part Mamma Mia. The antics and the songs will keep the kiddies entertained, along with the pretty colors and the lawnmower races. That said, does the G-rated audience even know what a garden gnome is anyway? That number probably outweighs the amount that are familiar with Shakespeare's storyline or Elton John's music.
Well, the movie does rely on some of that for entertainment. Parents may appreciate another take on the story, the pop culture references, and the famous voices, which include James McEvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Hulk Hogan, Dolly Parton, and Ozzy Osbourne, among others. The kids, on the other hand, will ooh and ahh over the colorful parade of characters bopping to kiddie-fied classic rock songs that you now need to burn or at least bury in the back of your A/V cabinet. It's hard to expect much out of a movie with gnomes, but you could definitely find a worse way to spend 82 minutes.
Want to know-meo more about Gnomeo & Juliet? Read Beth McCabe's theatrical review of Gnomeo & Juliet.
The Picture
Wherefore art thy 3D Gnomeo? Besides the opening credits, the film lacks the 3D punch we were expecting. The effects do add a little bit of depth to the movie and solidify the sometimes photo-realistic effect of the animation. However, it's hardly worth the premium. The good news is that these 3D effects don't take away from the film's absolutely stunning image. There are some seriously gorgeous colors in this 1.85:1 transfer. The entire film takes place inside the garden, which means lots of lush greens, beautiful flowers, and even nice textures and visible signs of wear on the gnomes. Even in darker scenes, with the 3D, this film has a nice sharpness and good detail. The overall image quality rates 4 stars, but the slightly less effective use of 3D knocks off a half a star overall in my book.
The Sound
Music is a major element to Gnomeo & Juliet, which is probably why Disney gave this release a full blown 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track. It's put to pretty good use, too. Besides the music, this film offers up a ton of atmospheric sounds. The surrounds stay focused mostly on atmospheric details of what's going on in and around the garden, with chirps from birds, bugs, and other critters. However, there are plenty of moments where the soundfield goes big, most notably during the lawnmower races and the "Terrafirminator" commercial.
The Extras
All of the film's extras are featured on the 2D Blu-ray, which means no additional 3D goodies. In general, these special features aren't as special as we've seen on some other recent animation titles, and will probably be of limited interest to the film's target audience. An alternate ending shows a different happy ending. (Were you expecting an ending that stayed true to the original tragic tale?) It's cute, but it's also just a rough drawing, just like the included eight deleted/alternate scenes. The most interesting piece is "Elton Builds a Garden." It's an extremely short promo piece that doesn't offer a whole lot of details about the production, but it's all about Elton John, and the guy does deserve your attention for the short's almost 6-minute runtime. There's also a blip with Ozzy Osbourne, "The Fawn of Darkness." Unfortunately, they never mention how the filmmakers managed to make him so coherent for the movie. They certainly didn't use those same effects on this 89-second short.
Final Thoughts
Disney isn't reinventing the lawnmower or anything, but Gnomeo & Juliet is a quick, cute little movie. The kids will most likely want to see this repeatedly, making the Blu-ray a must-own. The 3D, on the other hand, is sort of a disappointment, lacking the wow factor of some other 3D titles such as Tangled. That said, Amazon currently has the Blu-ray 3D combo pack, which has everything from the 2D version, plus the 3D Disc, priced only a few dollars more than the 2D-only version, making it a no-brainer.
Product Details
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