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Gnomeo & Juliet

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Director           Kelly Asbury
Cast                 James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Ashley Jensen, Matt Lucas, Jim Cummings, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, Julie Walters, Patrick Stewart, Richard Wilson
Year                2011
Genre              Animation

I am an amateur critic and would probably not understand the finer nuances of animation.  But in my not so expert opinion, I think Disney has given us a lovely movie yet again.  This time with director Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2; Spirit : Stallion of the Cimaron) they give us an adaptation of a The Bard’s classic and make no bones about it when they start the movie by saying “The story you are about to see has been told – A LOT”.  It is definitely just another Romeo and Juliet movie but it is told a bit differently and Disney has ensured that it doesn’t turn out to be insulting to a classic like Rob Letterman did to Gullivers Travels.  In fact it is an extremely entertaining animation movie for both adults and kids alike.  And rest assured, the kids will totally love it.

In Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birth place) stay an elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Capulet (Richard Wilson) and an equally elderly lady called Ms. Montague (Julie Walters).  They are forever at loggerheads with each other. But this enmity is not restricted to just them. Even their ceramic garden gnomes come to life when there are no humans around and take the fight way too seriously for their own good. In the Blue corner is a team of gnomes led by Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith) and her son Gnomeo (James McAvoy) along with their trusted ally Benny (Matt Lucas).  In the Red corner is Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), Tybalt (Jason Statham), Fawn (Ozzy Osbourne) and the extremely cute martial arts expert, Juliet (Emily Blunt).  Their fights range from ruining the opponents garden to their favourite “national” pastime – Lawn mower racing.  The not so obvious twist in the tale is when Gnomeo meets Juliet and it is love at first sight.  Of course they take a few minutes to figure out what they are getting into but as Juliet’s frog nanny – Nanette (Ashley Jensen) puts it – the relationship is DOOMED from day one.  And things only get worse when Tybalt decides to raid the Blue Lawns and destroy a flower that Gnomeo’s late father had lovingly planted and the Blue Army had tended to all these years.

A slew of corny one lines and references to Shakespearean classics do not prevent this movie from being great fun to watch.  Stuff like Juliet being stuck to her pedestal with the “Taming of the Glue” or the fact that the warring elderly couple stay on Verona Drive or Nanette telling Gnomeo’s pet mushroom “You look like a fun gi”.  And it is garnished with Elton John songs from the past 3 decades.  The voice overs are excellent.  The distinctly identifiable ones are those of Michael Caine, Ozzy Osbourne and surprise surprise Hulk Hogan as the Terrafirminator – the mean lawn mower that sets you back by a 1000 pounds of hard earned money only to cause the complete destruction of the back yards.  The resulting product spread over just under 85 mins is a lovely way to spend a weekend afternoon.  And it would not matter if you don’t see it in 3D coz the effects are quite bland.  A very entertaining flick but on second thoughts, may not make it to the Oscars this year.  Guess there were many other animation movies that were better off.  I give this a 6 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi854264089/
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