Gnomeo and Juliet

The works of William Shakespeare wouldn't quite strike me as family-friendly material. I couldn't really imagine the playwright's well-known plethora of gruesome tragedies putting young bums in cinema seats, as knowledgeable adults would anticipate having to constantly shield their children's eyes from the murderous occurrences depicted on-screen. But director Kelly Asbury's computer-animated "Gnomeo and Juliet" has found a way round this: make all the characters garden gnomes.

That's right: garden gnomes. The kind of gnomes you put in your front lawn for purposes of decoration. In this film, they can walk, they can talk, and they can drive lawnmowers. Much like the toys of the "Toy Story" trilogy, they pose lifelessly whenever human beings are nearby. They have their own community, their own ways of life, and are close with one another. Well, sort of.

In case you hadn't guessed from the pun-tastic title, "Gnomeo and Juliet" is based on "Romeo and Juliet," arguably Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. But do not fret, concerned parents; it doesn't end with self-poisoning or knife-inflicted suicide. There's a bit where a gnome walks around with his ceramic brains exposed, though.

Much like in the original play, we have the Montagues and the Capulets, neighbouring households of humans we never see the faces of. Both of their front gardens are filled with typical gnomes -- the Montague house has the blue-hatted gnomes, while the Capulet house has the red-hatted gnomes.

These two side-by-side communities are in an unexplained feud, essentially sworn enemies who live right next to each other. Gnomeo (James McAvoy, "Wanted") is of the blue crowd, while Juliet (Emily Blunt, "Gulliver's Travels") is of the red crowd, which makes for a difficult situation when they unexpectedly meet one night and fall in love with each other.

The star-crossed lovers decide to keep their blossoming romance a secret as they sneak around and, err, hug and kiss. However, with the rivalry between the blues and reds growing more and more hostile, their hidden relationship begins to tremble, looking to soon be exposed to everyone else.

"Gnomeo and Juliet" makes good on its promise of being a family film that's both adorable and amusing, more so for the younger spectrum of the audience. It's a lighthearted little romp that's sure to keep delighted toddlers smiling and laughing until the multicoloured end credits. Oh, and good news for parents with restless offspring: the film is only 74 minutes long.

Mums and dads may get a fair amount of enjoyment out of this, too -- "Gnomeo and Juliet" doesn't forget about the more "mature" members of the money-paying audience. Film references (including "Forrest Gump" and "American Beauty") offer some smart giggles, as well as a few nods to the other works of Bill Shakespeare. This is not on the level of "Shrek" in terms of being an adult-friendly film as well as a kiddie-friendly flick, but grown-ups shouldn't find themselves bored in the theatre.

Elton John fans should get a kick out of this as well, cos the soundtrack consists 100% of his greatest hits. He's the executive producer while his partner, David Furnish, is a producer, and there's barely a minute of this film in which his singing voice or piano riffs aren't playing in the background. To be honest, it's a bit distracting and can seem slightly unnecessary, making one question why James Netwon-Howard's regular mood-setting score wasn't used more.

It's also baffling as to why the film has seven screenwriters (Kelly Asbury, Mark Burton, Kevin Cecil, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Andy Riley, and Steve Hamilton Shaw), because the script is a little shoddy. It can be sweet and rightfully silly at times, but there are so many lines of dialogue that seem sluggish and written without much care -- gnome-related wordplay can only go so far.

Nonetheless, the film's sense of fun is helped by its splendid CG animation. Asbury is no stranger to computer animation, having previously been one of the trio of directors on "Shrek 2," and it certainly shows here. The battling and swooning gnomes are rendered so as to appear like their normal ceramic states while still seeming flexible when moving around. It's an impressive mix that's directed with much visual energy and colourful vibrancy, which youngsters will surely appreciate.

Some may be offended by the Shakespeare-twisting of "Gnomeo and Juliet," but I see it as harmless goofiness. It's not going to be gnominated (sorry) for Best Animated Feature anytime soon, but it's a nice way to spend almost an hour and a half. The voice-work is soothing, the animation is sublime and the film overall is just cute and charming. It ain't Shakespeare, but the kiddies will have a smashing good time.

6/10