"Why are we making this?" Disney Animation creative chief John Lasseter infamously said about Gnomeo and Juliet, just prior to killing the project in 2006. However, the CGI animated film somehow managed to stay alive through Elton John's Rocket Pictures imprint, and it's scheduled for release early in 2011.
Now the first official trailer for the flick has hit the Interwebz and the inevitable question becomes: why did anyone agree to make this?
James MacAvoy, Emily Blunt, Patrick Stewart Star in Touchstone Pictures' Gnomeo and Juliet
The film is, as you might have guessed, an animated adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, as seen through the wild and exciting world of garden gnomes. James McAvoy (Wanted) and Emily Blunt play the star-crossed lovers, but count on – take a deep breath – scripters Rob Sprackling, John R. Smith (Tortoise vs. Hare), Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley (Slacker Cats) and Mark Burton (Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit) to kludge a happy ending onto this flick.
Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2 co-director) is directing Blunt and McAvoy, with Jason Statham, Maggie Smith, Dolly Parton, Julie Walters, Michael Caine, Patrick Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne filling out the cast. James Newton Howard (The Last Airbender) is composing the score, and Elton John will contribute both new and old songs to the flick.
Based on what we've seen in the trailer, to say this flick lacks originality, or humour, is an understatement. The plot's cribbed from Shakespeare and the jokes look like they were pulled from Bazooka Joe gum packs, when they're not referencing The Matrix or Borat. Like Toy Story 3, the gnomes only come alive when the humans aren't around and, based on the trailer, expect plenty of jokes about how the gnomes conceal their activities when someone shows up unexpectedly.
From what we've seen in the trailer, the animation is about on par with DisneyToon's direct-to-DVD Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue: great for home video but it may look cheap on the big screen, especially since – like all animated feature films these days – Gnomeo and Juliet is getting the 3-D treatment. Unfortunately, 3-D tells no lies: just ask the folks behind Lionsgate's Alpha and Omega.
Despite its will to live, it's clear that Disney doesn't have a lot of faith in Gnomeo and Juliet. They're releasing it in the January-February 'dump period' so that it won't have a lot of competition against stronger animated films.
Gnomeo and Juliet hits theatres on February 11, 2011.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
Join the Conversation