Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

The neighboring gardens of Montague and Capulet are at war, but the gnomes, Gnomeo and Juliet, are in love.

Director:

Kelly Asbury

Writers:

Rob Sprackling (story), Johnny Smith (story) (as John R. Smith)

Stars:

James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Maggie Smith

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James McAvoy	...	Gnomeo (voice)
Emily Blunt	...	Juliet (voice)
Ashley Jensen	...	Nanette (voice)
Michael Caine	...	Lord Redbrick (voice)
Matt Lucas	...	Benny (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Featherstone (voice)
Maggie Smith	...	Lady Bluebury (voice)
Jason Statham	...	Tybalt (voice)
Ozzy Osbourne	...	Fawn (voice)
Stephen Merchant	...	Paris (voice)
Patrick Stewart	...	Bill Shakespeare (voice)
Julie Walters	...	Miss Montague (voice)
Hulk Hogan	...	Terrafirminator V.O. (voice)
Kelly Asbury	...	Red Good Gnomes (voice)
Richard Wilson	...	Mr. Capulet (voice)

Storyline

Garden gnomes Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?

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Plot Keywords:

garden | gnome | flamingo | neighbor | garden gnome | 

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Taglines:

A timeless feud. A forbidden love. An epic battle.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gnomeo y Julieta

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,945,627 (United Kingdom), 13 February 2011, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,356,909, 13 February 2011, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$99,967,670

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$193,967,670

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures,Rocket Pictures,Arc Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS Dolby (Dolby Surround 7.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sold as a speculative script to Rocket Pictures, which was then picked up by Disney in the late 1990s. However, no one seemed to know how to progress the project, so, when John Lasseter was made chief creative officer of Disney animation, he shut it down in 2006. A year later, the rights reverted to Starz Animation, who actively pursued production.

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Goofs

When Featherstone starts to reflect on the memory of his mate, the female flamingo is on the left, however, when the moving van arrives to move the female, the female flamingo is on the right.

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Quotes

Juliet: Oh, Gnomeo, Gnomeo, are we really doomed to never see each other again? Why must you wear a blue hat? Why couldn't it be red like my father, or green like... like a leprechaun... or purple like, ummm, like some weird guy - I mean what's in a gnome? Because you are blue, my father sees red, and because I am red, I am feeling blue. Oh, at any rate that shouldn't be the thing to keep us apart, should it?
Gnomeo: No, no, it shouldn't! I couldn't have said it better myself!
Juliet: Oh, my giddy aunt, did you just ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The end credits come with animated backdrops.

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Alternate Versions

Also released in a 3D version.

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Connections

Featured in The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012)

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Soundtracks

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
Written by Fred Heatherton (joint pseudonym of Elton Box, Desmond Cox and Irwin Dash)

User Reviews

Was pleasantly surprised

Gnomeo and Juliet is the latest re-imagining of Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet . I will admit that I didn't go into this film with high hopes, but while its not an instant classic, I was pleasantly surprised.

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean...

The film begins with an amusing homage to these lines, before we really get into it. The garden gnomes of two neighbouring backyards, the Red Gnomes and the Blue Gnomes, have an ongoing rivalry as to who's garden is best. They constantly try to sabotage each other and dislike each other immensely. After a lawnmower race in which Tybalt the Red gnome (voice of Jason Statham) beats the Blue gnome Gnomeo (voice of James McAvoy), Gnomeo and sidekick Benny decide to sneak in by night and vandalise the Red's garden. Meanwhile Juliet (Emily Blunt), protected and thought too fragile by her father Lord Redbrick, is desperate to prove she is otherwise. Gnomeo and Juliet meet, and the rest is history as they say.

Of course, the film can't follow the original play exactly - this is a kids movie! It's not a tragedy, it's a comedy. This is where I expected to be let down - I honestly didn't think I would find it funny, but I'm glad to say for the most part, I found this film charming and funny. It could have been funnier, but the younger audience will love it, which is the important thing I suppose.

Shakespeare fans will have fun spotting the little references to the Bard's works (including a cleverly worked in quote from Macbeth of all plays). I did. For instance, the owner of the Blue Gnomes is Miss Montague (Romeo's family in the play), while the owner of the Red's is Mr. Capulet (Juliet's last name). The owners themselves hate each other. Spotting the celebrity voices is fun too. Michael Caine is Lord Redbrick, Maggie Smith is Lady Bluebury (I didn't notice this) - I particularly enjoyed Patrick Stewarts brief appearance as a statue of Shakespeare, with whom Gnomeo has a brief conversation. Shakespeare was a smug guy. The voices were all well cast, and the animation is of a good quality.

Complimented with a fun Elton John soundtrack (he was an executive producer, go figure), this film is enjoyable, and a good one for the kiddilinks.