Gnomeo and Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet? With gnomes? Hmm. It's not exactly a case of 'how come no one hasn't thought of this before?' but director Kelly Asbury's (Shrek 2, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron) animated take on Shakespeare's play is a lively and cute affair with a barrage of celebrity voices. Joining the above roll call are Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Julie Walters, Ozzy Osbourne, Patrick Stewart, Stephen Merchant and Hulk Hogan (but Caine's is the only recognisable one).

Gnomeo (McEvoy) is the handsome son of Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith), the matriarch to Miss Montague's (Julie Walters) garden gnomes. On the opposite side of the fence, in a garden owned by the grumpy Mr. Capulet (One Foot In The Grave's Richard Wilson), are the Blueberry's sworn enemy - the Redbricks. Lord Redbrick's (Caine) daughter Juliet (Blunt) is an adventurous one: one night while trying to secure an orchid from atop a greenhouse, she bumps into Gnomeo and the terracotta twinkles (if terracotta can actually twinkle that is). But can they find true happiness with their families at constant war?

Fans of Toy Story (that's all of us, then) will get a kick out of these charming garden ornaments who come alive when their owners are not around, while the sound department (usually are forgotten in reviews) really bring the characters to life with attention to how a gnome would sound if it could move. That said, there's nothing in the characters to imply they're gnomes: Toy Story's characters ARE toys - they couldn't be anything else, acting and thinking like toys - but the characters here could just as easily be bugs or animals or anything. Not that the children will give a hoot. Littered with Elton John songs (Saturday's Alright For Fighting, Your Song and Don't Go Breaking My Heart are used to good effect), Gnomeo And Juliet breezes through the story, cutting whole junks of the play so things run smoothly and coherently as it keeps it mind its young audience. The 3D isn't necessary, however.

For some reason - maybe it was the animated gnomes that distracted me, or that the young Gnomeo sports a white beard - but I completely forgot that the play ended in tragedy. It gives the run-in an added zing as the guessing games begin - how will they finish it up? Fun and sweet, Gnomeo and Juliet won't win any prizes but it's entertaining fare.