Think back to your junior high school days. Do you remember when your teacher would force you to read books that you had absolutely no interest in? Back in the day classic books like Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony and The Pearl were torture to read. Don’t even get me started on Jane Eyre! Oh how I loathed that story. Back then I had no interest in those books. Fast forward to my adult years when I read the books again I was better able to appreciate them.
There were a few books that I really enjoyed reading in school. Stories like Call of the Wild and The Outsiders were really interesting. Another story also caught my attention, Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet, for a young teen, is a pretty crazy story. You have two feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Two children, one from each family, meet each other and fall in love. Mix in elements like fighting, sex, suicide and death and you have the making of a pretty interesting story.
I remember after we read the story our teacher showed us the movie Romeo and Juliet that starred Olivia Hussey as Juliet. Unbeknown to our teacher there was a nude scene in the movie. After Romeo and Juliet consummate their relationship you get a brief glimpse of Romeo’s bare butt and Juliet’s breasts. Our teacher was mortified! I guess it was the first times he saw the movie. As you can imagine there was a lot of nervous giggling going on in the classroom during that scene.
Romeo and Juliet is one of those stories that stick with you. Every time I think about the story I am compelled to start reciting lines.
Oh Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
Several months ago I learned that Touchstone was making a new version of Romeo and Juliet. The movie was also going to be played out by garden gnomes, not people. Garden gnomes? Out of all the things in the world, why garden gnomes? Frankly I used to find garden gnomes rather creepy. Maybe the movie was going to be a horror flick? Garden gnomes that come to life and kill people? LOL. It wasn’t until I saw an early trailer for the film that I realized this was going to be a funny movie. I grew even more excited when I learned that Sir Elton John’s music was going to be featured throughout the film. I’d go and see any movie that featured Elton’s music. It could be a documentary about how they make toilet paper and I would go and see if just to hear Elton’s classic songs. Ha Ha.
A few weeks ago myself and 19 other mommy bloggers were lucky enough to interview the talent from Gnomeo and Juliet; Sir Elton John, Emily Blunt, James McAvoy and the film’s director, Kelly Asbury. After listening to their responses to questions about the film I realized that they had the same thoughts I did when it came to bringing the story of Romeo and Juliet to life in a family film, considering that the story features sex, death, suicide and other issues I rather not bring my children to see.
We learned in those interviews that they were able to get around those issues, while still holding true the the story of Romeo and Juliet. Gnomeo and Juliet IS a family friendly movie. It’s rated G!
Gnomeo and Juliet is the story of two feuding sets of garden gnomes. The red gnomes are found in Mr. Montague’s garden and their nemesis the blue gnomes are found next door in Ms. Capulet’s garden. Mr. Montague and Ms. Capulet live in a duplex. Their homes are side by side. Conveniently they reside on Verona street. Verona is the city in Italy where Romeo and Juliet lived.
The red gnomes are known for their beautiful tulips and the blue gnomes have an exquisite Wisteria plant proudly displayed in their garden.
Both gnome families hate one another. They take out their anger and frustration by orchestrating lawn mower races in the alley between their homes. Tybalt from the red gnome family (voiced by Jason Stratham) and Gnomeo (James McAvoy) from the blue gnome family are the best lawn mower racers from each family.
Juliet is the daughter of Lord Redbrick who is in charge of the red gnome garden. Gnomeo is the son of Lady Blueberry, the ruler of the blue gnome garden.
One day Gnomeo and Juliet accidentally meet. Even after finding out that they were from the feuding families their attraction couldn’t keep them apart. They wanted to be together and start their own garden that was filled with love, not hate. But how could they get their families to understand?
I won’t give away the entire story. You just have to go and see it for yourself.
I have seen this movie twice so far and I have enjoyed each and every minute of it. The characters in the film are very likable and relatable. I love how Juliet is portrayed as a strong, independent girl. Ozzy Osbourne voices the character called Fawn (deer). Fawn cracked me up with the things that he said. Benny was another character that I enjoyed. Not only was he adorable but he did the silliest things in the movie.
Gnomeo and Juliet is a move the entire family can enjoy. I have a ‘tween and teen at home and I honestly believe they will both enjoy the movie. I know my husband will laugh his socks off. When I saw the movie at the red carpet premiere the audience was laughing throughout the film.
The music in Gnomeo and Juliet is AWESOME! There are so many classic Elton John songs throughout the movie. The music really fit in perfectly with the film. At one point you can even see a gnome version of Sir Elton John!
In the movie you will hear the duet that Sir Elton John did with Lady Gaga called Hello, Hello. So far the movie is the ONLY place you will hear their duet. The song is on the movie’s soundtrack but only Elton John is heard singing the song.
Elton John has another brand new song in the movie called Love Builds a Garden. I must say that during that scene in the movie I did get a little misty eyed.
This movie has it all; action, adventure, humor, great music and of course the timeless tale of forbidden love.
Another fun aspect of the film was looking for all the references to Shakespeare and his version of Romeo and Juliet. Tomorrow I will post some fun facts about the movie. You’ll be surprised at just how many references there are to the classic story and Shakespeare himself. There are many more then the ones I picked up on.
I think once people get a chance to see this fun movie there will be a new appreciation for garden gnomes. Don’t be surprised if your child asks for a garden gnome for their birthday or Christmas. I’m sure you’ll start seeing gnomes popping up all over, even at your place of business! I also feel that a whole new generation will be introduced to the classic songs of Elton John. Don’t be surprised if your 8 year old asks you to download Your Song from iTunes.
Gnomeo and Juliet opens in theaters nation wide TODAY – Friday, February 11, 2011.
When you go and see the movie I would love to hear your thoughts about it. Please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the movie. I’m excited to hear what my readers have to say.
If you really love the movie feel free to show the director, Kelly Asbury, some love and tweet him a message on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/KellyAsbury).
If you would like to read the interviews with Kelly Asbury, Sir Elton John, James McAvoy and Emily Blunt you can find them at these links on my site. They will give you more insight to the making of this fun movie.
Interview with Kelly Asbury: https://www.shescribes.com/2011/01/who-is-kelly-asbury.html.
Interview with Sir Elton John: https://www.shescribes.com/2011/02/an-interview-with-the-one-and-only-sir-elton-john.html.
Interview with James McAvoy and Emily Blunt: https://www.shescribes.com/2011/01/interview-with-james-mcavoy-gnomeo-and-emily-blunt-juliet.html.
If you would like to read more Gnomeo and Juliet reviews you can visit the other mommy bloggers who were on the trip with me. Simply click on the blog name to visit their site.
My Sentiment Exact Lee
Babble.com
Not So Average Mama
Rockin’ Mama
About.com
Classy Mommy
The Night Owl Mama
Spanglish Baby
A Mom’s Impression
LilSugar.com
Mama Latina Tips
New York Chica
Southern Bella’s Ways To Save
Simply Being Mommy
Deals4Dummies
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Janice Crespo says
I am so excited to watch this movie (yeah, little kid in me) – the previews have had me laughing – think I’m going to go with my daughter (she’ll bring Dave’s kids so we have an excuse) – LOL
karahelen says
After reading your interviews and earlier comments I was interested in this movie, but after this post I’m really looking forward to seeing it. I love Shakespeare, but I love animation and humor even more so it’s a win all around for me!
Roberta says
Love the story line and after reading your great post about it I can not wait to see it with my kids. Looks like a fun movie and the characters are adorable!
Virginia from That Bald Chick says
This one is on my list to see!
Lisa says
What a wonderful review of the movie. Although we’ve seen it twice already, I can’t wait to see it again but this time with the kids.
Shawn Ann @ Shawn Ann's World says
That sounds like a really cute movie! I’ve seen a couple previews for it on TV and my son (almost 6) has commented about wanting to see it.
Val Pearson says
This looks like a really good movie that I simply must see. I have teenage girls and they really love these kinds of movies (even though they may not admit it publicly!) I want to keep them little as long as I can and it’s refreshing when you find a movie that is good for the whole family.