Loosly based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Gnomeo and Juliet are two garden gnomes whereby each clan (the Red and the Blue) has a long bitter feud despite they live so close to one another - the lawns of two neighbours, Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet (who like the gnomes are at loggerheads with each other).Delicate and well protected, Juliet yearns for an adventurous life and her one night adventure sends her towards Gnomeo's path. Attracted to each other, Gnomeo and Juliet didn't realise of their positions until their disguise are off. However, this doesn't deter them from not seeing each other again. And with the help and advice from a discarded pink plastic flamingo named Featherstone, the twosome decided to overcome all obstacles even if they risk being broken (they are all made from ceramic).
Gnomeo & Juliet first caught my attention when I saw its advertisement on a magazine. Attracted by the bright and colourful illustrations and that it's a retelling tale of Romeo and Juliet, I figured this would be a fun movie to watch. And truthfully, I wasn't disappointed and my daughter loved it. There are many hilarious moments amid the heated exchanges and actions between the blue and red gnomes and their fights involving a lawnmower race are just some of the highlights of the film.
The characterisations are great too. Supporting roles like Nanette (who is a frog and is Juliet's good friend) and Featherstone (the pink plastic flamingo who reminisce about his lost love to Gnomeo and Juliet while encouraging them to embrace instead of hiding their love) add entertainment to the overall plot. I have to say their roles are more outstanding partly because they are funny and yes, likeable too.
While I think the plot is good, I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. No, I wasn't referring about the happily-ever-after instead of a tragedy ending (after all it is a G-rated film), but it is simply in my adult mind I was hoping for a more complex scenario. Anyway, what most matters is that we had had a wonderful time and that seeing the joy on our daughter's face and hearing her laughter is suffice for us.
