The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Adventure, humour
and friendship seem to be the common themes in almost all animation films;
they’re always there. Gnomeo and Juliet is a 3D animation that follows
the lead of popular films; except this time the lead characters aren’t your typical
animals, they’re garden
gnomes!

Directed by
Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2), Gnomeo and Juliet tells the story of a
doomed love story between Gnomeo (McAvoy) and Juliet (Blunt). With only a wall
separating the two gardens, they can’t declare their love because their neighbouring
families have been at war for years. After a disputed lawnmower race between the
two families, hard-done losers Gnomeo and his friend Benny (Lucas) sneak into
their enemies’ garden to seek revenge against the cheating Tybalt (Statham).
They bump into a disguised Juliet, and she fights-and-flirts with Gnomeo over a
sacred lawnmower chord, then they’re both struck by the love-bug of course.

Yes, as you
might notice, the film shares more than just a likeness in its name to the epic love story of Romeo and Juliet. We
also choose to believe that the respective colours of the two warring factions
– red and blue – have been deliberately chosen to mirror those of two other
warring factions: LA gangs the Bloods and the Crips.

Despite the
obvious parody, the film has its own persona and there are other sub-plots that keep the
film light and upbeat, though they aren’t entertaining enough to appeal to an
older audience. Most of the comic scenes rely heavily on puns and obvious jokes
that you’ll see coming miles away. The humour is blatant and easy to grasp,
which will work well with a young audience.

It’s also good
to see a different choice of characters other than animals, green ogres or
toys, though admittedly the producers really pushed the ceramic figures to
their limits with well-played Shakespeare puns. However, this film may not be that memorable
in the long run. With the predictable endings and basic humour, this film holds
no surprises or intriguing twists to keep you entertained.

At the end of
the day, Gnomeo and Juliet is a film that kids will love for its pranks and
cute characters, but it won’t appeal to the adults who grasp the Romeo and
Juliet parallel plot yet find it lacking in substance and entertainment. For
a parody of a famous love story, Gnomeo and Juliet could have done a lot
better.