Gnomeo & Juliet MPAA Rating: G Entertainment: +3 Content: +3

Director: Kelly Asbury. Actors: Voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Ashley Jensen, Jim Cummings, Ashley Jensen, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith. Musical score by Elton John.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Just a fun, colorful 1 ½ hours, Gnomeo & Juliet has what kids love: action, humor, imaginative sets and lively music. Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this animated feature changes tragedy into romantic comedy. Gnomeo and Juliet (voiced by McAvoy and Blunt) each live in neighboring gardens as decorative gnomes that come to life when the humans are away. Like the human occupants, Lord Redbrick and Lady Bluebury (voiced by Caine and Smith), the garden neighbors are arch rivals. They engage in lawn mower races, garden sabotage, etc., creating havoc in the well-manicured gardens. When Gnomeo and Juliet meet by chance, the rivalry turns from competition to all-out war.

PREVIEW REVIEW: Juliet is no shrinking violet. She knows what she wants, impressing the less aggressive more sensitive Gnomeo. One of the subtle points made is that boys can be very appealing as less aggressive and vice-versa for girls. Portraying women as “ladies” in TV, films and books is sooo not cool in today’s world. They can be the chaser not the chased, the villain instead of the victim. That’s not all bad, but a little more balance would be nice so it’s more about diversity, not competition. Lovely gardens destroyed in the attempt to prove superiority illustrate the danger of rivalry escalating to destruction. Although the action scenes are fun to watch and no one is physically harmed, reality steps in and the need for peaceful co-existence wins over adversity. Getting along feels better than getting revenge.

There’s no foul language or taking the Lord’s name in vain. Some of the humor is directed for more mature viewers, but there’s nothing really offensive. Gnomeo and Juliet may do better on DVD than in the theaters because it’s a movie that young children can watch without adult supervision.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures