Movie Review: Gnomeo and Juliet

Wow. Three animated films in three weeks: Hop, Rio and then this. Animation overload? Not really. I enjoy watching animated flicks just because they're fun and refreshing, and Gnomeo and Juliet was no exception. In fact, it's the most delightful of the three.

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I found it to be an imaginative and delightful spin on a timeless classic. The idea in itself sounded horrible on paper and the concept seemed bit absurd, but how it was handled by the people behind it was pretty impressive. It was still pretty generic and predictable - obviously so, considering it's called Gnomeo and Juliet! - but I thought the writers made it shockingly fresh and unique.

I also found this one quite hysterical. I like that the film's humor ranged from daft jokes to wordplay, visual puns,  character humor, situational humor and sight gags - I giggled consistently all the way through. For once, the jokes, I thought, were really funny!

Of course, the visuals were great. There was nothing groundbreaking by any means, but it didn't feel like a dime a dozen animation at all. The colors were bright, the setting was pretty neat and the editing was kind of fun. I did like the character designs quite a bit. I loved how the gnomes were fragile and their texture were pretty spectacular. I was amused by the fact that there was actually a tiny "tink" sound when the gnomes would walk or touch each other.

The soundtrack was also quite unexpected. I mean, I was pleasantly surprised that even Sir Elton John got into the act as his music enhanced the score of the film and they took liberty with his lyrics to add some additional laughs.

Now, the A-list voices was also a top draw on this animated flick. I found both leads - James McAvoy and Emily Blunt - to be quite charming and charismatic. The characters were very cute and they all did sterling work in support of the bright and colorful visuals.

One minor quibble would be the cheesiness overload, but that I could possibly disregard. Just nitpicking maybe. Haha.

Ultimately, this animated flick was a chock-full of fun visuals with a ton of great one liners and quotes that pulled even the slightest chuckle from me. And yes, that's already saying a lot. It's not the best animated film ever and it never tried to be, but it's absolutely delightful. So, just loosen up, look for a laugh, and you'll probably enjoy this as much as I did.