Gnomeo & Juliet

Did You Know?

• The film was Touchstone Pictures' first animated film since 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas and its only film to receive a G rating from the MPAA.
• The duet of Elton John and Lady Gaga for 'Hello, Hello' was featured in the film but the soundtrack version only features John; the duet was leaked online on May 4, 2011.
• A sequel, Sherlock Gnomes, was released in 2018 by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, unlike the original which was distributed by Disney.

Plot

In Stratford-upon-Avon, two elderly neighbors, Miss Montague and Mr. Capulet, cannot stand each other. Whenever they step away from their yards, their garden gnomes and other lawn decorations spring to life. The Montague yard features blue-hatted gnomes under Lady Blueberry, while the Capulet yard is filled with red-hatted gnomes led by Lord Redbrick. The human feud carries over into a rivalry between the two gnome groups.

One day, during a lawnmower race in an alley, Gnomeo, Lady Blueberry’s son, faces off against Tybalt, a Red gnome who smashes Gnomeo’s mower. That night, Gnomeo and his buddy Benny sneak into the Red garden to wreck Tybalt’s mower, but Benny ends up painting a wishing well and setting off a security alarm. While fleeing, Gnomeo wanders into an abandoned garden and meets Juliet, Lord Redbrick’s daughter, who is picking a rare Cupid’s Arrow orchid.

They fall for each other until they tumble into a pond, washing off their disguises and revealing they come from enemy gardens. Juliet runs away and later tells her frog friend Nanette about it. Despite the bad blood, Gnomeo and Juliet keep meeting in the abandoned garden, encouraged by Featherstone, a plastic flamingo who spent 20 years locked in a shed. After the Reds destroy the Blues’ prized wisteria, Gnomeo tries to poison the Reds’ tulips, but Juliet catches him.

They argue, then make up after Featherstone explains how his human owners divorced and left him trapped. Benny spots them together and runs into Tybalt, who smashes Benny’s hat. A fight between Gnomeo and Tybalt ends when Tybalt’s mower hits a ditch and sends him flying into a wall, killing him. The Reds strike back, shoving Gnomeo into a busy road, where he seems to be run over by a truck hauling teapots.

A broken blue teapot convinces everyone Gnomeo is dead. Lord Redbrick glues Juliet’s feet to her tower to keep her confined, while the Blues mourn. Gnomeo actually survived by leaping onto the truck’s grille.

Voice cast

The voice cast of Gnomeo & Juliet includes James McAvoy as Gnomeo, the son of Lady Bluebury and the romantic partner of Juliet, a character inspired by Romeo Montague. Emily Blunt plays Juliet, the daughter of Lord Redbrick and Gnomeo’s love interest, based on Juliet Capulet. Matt Lucas voices Benny, Gnomeo’s closest friend, who draws from both Mercutio and Benvolio; notably, his hat gets smashed by Tybalt just before the film’s climax, echoing Mercutio’s fate.

Ashley Jensen portrays Nanette, a Scottish plastic pond spitter frog who is Juliet’s best friend and Paris’s love interest, modeled after the Nurse. Michael Caine is Lord Redbrick, the widowed leader of the Red gnomes and Juliet’s father, based on Lord Capulet. Maggie Smith voices Lady Bluebury, the widowed leader of the Blue gnomes and Gnomeo’s mother, inspired by both Lord and Lady Montague. Jim Cummings plays Featherstone, a lonely plastic flamingo with a Spanish accent, based on Friar Laurence.

Stephen Merchant voices Paris, a nerdy red gnome arranged to marry Juliet, who also becomes Nanette’s love interest, based on Count Paris. Jason Statham plays Tybalt, the nemesis of Gnomeo and Benny, based on the same Shakespearean character. Kelly Asbury voices the Red Goon Gnomes, miniature servants to Lord Redbrick, based on Gregory, Sampson, Anthony, and Potpan. Ozzy Osbourne voices Fawn, a miniature deer statue and Tybalt’s best friend.

Julie Walters plays Ms. Montague, the elderly owner of the Blue garden, while Richard Wilson plays Mr. Capulet, the elderly owner of the Red garden. Patrick Stewart voices a statue of William Shakespeare. Dolly Parton voices Dolly Gnome, a country girl gnome who announces the lawnmower race. Hulk Hogan voices the Terrafirminator V.O., the voiceover for the Terrafirminator lawnmower advert.

Production

The film originated from a spec script by Rob Sprackling and John Smith, sold to Disney through Rocket Pictures. Disney studio chairman Dick Cook greenlit the film under Miramax Films in 2006, after previously turning it down as a Walt Disney Animation Studios project. Miramax was sold by Disney in 2010, but Disney retained the rights. Starz Animation produced and animated the film.

Disney released it through its Touchstone Pictures banner. Australian director Adam Elliot was approached but rejected the offer due to the film's incompatibility with his style and his lack of experience with CGI. Kelly Asbury joined in 2006, attracted by the opportunity to work with Elton John. Asbury and Hamilton Shaw rewrote the film 'sort of from scratch'.

A challenge was differentiating the ending from the original play to 'keep daggers and poison and suicide out'. Asbury cast actors based solely on their voices, not knowing who was auditioning until he felt they were right. Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet were originally to voice Gnomeo and Juliet before James McAvoy and Emily Blunt were cast.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Gnomeo & Juliet holds an approval rating based on reviews from critics, with the site's consensus reading: 'While it has moments of inspiration, Gnomeo & Juliet is often too self-referential for its own good.' On Metacritic, it has a score of 53 out of 100, indicating 'mixed or average reviews'. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of 'B+'. Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal gave a positive review, calling it 'really entertaining'.

Ty Burr of The Boston Globe said it 'has its own bizarre charms and a breezy confidence'. Justin Chang of Variety described it as 'a welcome dose of honest silliness'. Tasha Robinson from The A.V. Club criticized the film for 'far too much' devotion to 'eye-rolling pop-culture gags and long montages set to recycled Elton John songs'. The film grossed approximately $100 million in North America and $94 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $193.9 million.

It outperformed Mars Needs Moms. It opened in 2,994 theaters, earning $6.2 million on its first day and $25.4 million over its opening weekend, finishing third. It set a record for the largest opening weekend for an animated feature released during the winter months. During its second weekend, it topped the global box office with $29.8 million.

It became the highest-grossing winter-released animated film at the time, until The Lego Movie surpassed it in 2014. In the UK, Ireland, and Malta, it opened at number one with £2.9 million and grossed $25.3 million in the UK.