GNOMEO & JULIET IN 3D [2011] [3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray] [UK Release]
An Epic Tale On A Tiny Scale! A Little Adventure Goes A Lawn Way!
From ‘SHREK 2’ director Kelly Asbury comes your chance to step into the secret world of garden gnomes and experience ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D.
Perfect for the whole family, this fresh and funny makeover of one of the world’s most timeless stories and features from Sir Elton John, and voice talents of: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Dame Maggie Smith, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant, Matt Lucas and Ozzy Osbourne. Be prepared for a shedload of fun and adventure around every plant pot in stunning awesome 3D!
Complete with hilarious never-before-seen bonus features, ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D is an out-of-the-ordinary animate comedy your entire family will love.
FILM FACT: Award Nominations: 2011 Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio: Nominated: Film Award for Best Animated Film. 2011 National Movie Awards, UK: Nominated: National Movie Award for Best Animation. 2011 Women Film Critics Circle Awards: Nominated: Best Screen Couple for James McAvoy and Emily Blunt. Nominated: Best Animated Female for Emily Blunt. 2012 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for Elton John (music) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics) for song: "Hello Hello." 2012 Alliance of Women Film Journalists: Nominated: EDA Female Focus Award for Best Animated Female for Emily Blunt for "Juliet." 2012 Annie Awards: Nominated: Directing in a Feature Production for Kelly Asbury. Nominated: Storyboarding in a Feature Production for Nelson Yokota. Nominated: Voice Acting in a Feature Production for Jim Cummings for playing "Featherstone." Nominated: Writing in a Feature Production for Kelly Asbury (story/screenplay), Kevin Cecil (story/screenplay), Andy Riley (story/screenplay), Emily Cook (screenplay), Mark Burton (screenplay), Rob Sprackling (story/original screenplay), Johnny Smith (story/original screenplay), Steve Hamilton Shaw (screenplay) and Kathy Greenberg (screenplay). 2012 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: Win: Top Box Office Film for Chris Bacon, Bernie Taupin and James Newton Howard. 2012 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Nominated: Critics Choice Award for Best Song for Elton John (performer/writer), Lady Gaga (performer) and Bernie Taupin (writer) for the song "Hello Hello."
Voice Cast: James McAvoy (Gnomeo), Emily Blunt (Juliet), Ashley Jensen (Ashley Jensen), Sir Michael Caine (Lord Redbrick), Matt Lucas (Benny), Jim Cummings (Featherstone), Dame Maggie Smith (Lady Bluebury), Jason Statham (Tybalt), Ozzy Osbourne (Fawn), Stephen Merchant (Paris), Patrick Stewart (Bill Shakespeare), Julie Walters OBE (Miss Montague), Hulk Hogan (Terrafirminator V.O.), Kelly Asbury (Red Good Gnomes), Richard Wilson (Mr. Capulet), Dolly Parton (Dolly Gnome), Julia Braams (Stone Fish), James Daniel Wilson (Fishing Gnome), Tim Bentinck (Conjoined Gnome Left), Neil McCaul (Mankini Gnome), Julio Bonet (Conjoined Gnome Right), Maurissa Horwitz (Call Me Doll) and John Todd (Dancer) (uncredited)
Director: Kelly Asbury
Producers: Baker Bloodworth, David Furnish, Igor Khait, Kara Lord, Matthew Teevan, Sir Elton John and Steve Hamilton Shaw
Screenplay: Andy Riley (story), Johnny Smith (story), Kelly Asbury (story), Kevin Cecil (story), Rob Sprackling (story), Steve Hamilton Shaw (story), Andy Riley (screenplay), Emily Cook (screenplay), Kathy Greenberg (screenplay), Kelly Asbury (screenplay), Kevin Cecil (screenplay), Mark Burton (screenplay), Steve Hamilton Shaw (screenplay), Johnny Smith (original screenplay), Rob Sprackling (original screenplay), Arthur Brooke and William Shakespeare (play)
Composers: Sir Elton John (original songs), Chris P. Bacon (original score composed) and James Newton Howard (original score composed)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 84 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Touchstone Pictures / Entertainment One
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and has become a timeless classic, and certainly one of the author's most popular plays. It has been re-imagined many times for stage and screen, most notably in 1961 for ‘West Side Story.’ Now, once again, the tragic love story has been re-imagined by the folks at Touchstone animation Entertainment One in this newest 3D film, ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’
‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D was actually the brainchild of Sir Elton John, who served as Executive Producer on this film. It is my understanding he spent the last decade developing this children's re-telling with the idea of using Gnomes for the subject matter of this film. Personally, I think it was a brilliant idea as these highly-underrated garden sculptures have gone mostly unnoticed with, the exception of the more infamous Travelling Gnome that has been roaming around with Travelocity for all these years. Sir Elton John and the animators certainly had a wide playing field before them and they take every advantage of throwing in as many ceramic and garden puns as possible, though most of the humour that flies over children’s heads will bring a smile to adults.
The Montagues and the Caputlets are represented as feuding neighbours living in a London suburb, each with a gardened backyard filled with a variety of adorable gnomes who have taken on the lead characters of the Shakespearean play. These feuding Gnomes are represented as blue and red, segregated into separate gardens divided by a huge wall.
The blue painted Gnomeo [James McAvoy] falls in love with the red painted Juliet [Emily Blunt] and both must find a way to continue their relationship despite the escalating feud between the two families. Juliet's cousin Tybalt [Jason Staham] is faithfully represented as the main antagonist in the story, a hot-headed gnome who is bent on destroying Gnomeo and the rest of the blue gnomes. ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D take the source material, follows it mostly through, but takes a few added liberties to give the tragedy a happy ending and all with the blessings of William Shakespeare himself [Patrick Stewart]. After all, this is a children's film where tragedy should be turned to happiness.
Mostly, however, Gnomeo is interested in mimicking the William Shakespeare plot without taking anything too seriously. So if Gnomeo is the pride of the blues, it's the loutish Tybalt, the tough-guy actor Jason Statham who does the honours for the reds. As in the play, Gnomeo and Juliet meet without knowing they are from rival families. Once they discover the truth, it is too late, they are already in love, news greeted with morbid delight by Juliet's nurse, a frog with a Scottish accent named Nanette [Ashley Jensen] who all but squeals "it's a doomed love, that's the best kind! How romantically tragic!"
More helpful is Featherstone [Jim Cummings] the plastic flamingo with a heavy Cuban accent. Completely uninterested in these colour wars "I'm pink, who cares," Featherstone, like his ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D co-stars, is a force for love, innocence and old-fashioned fun. Playful, inventive and endearing, this 84 minute epic is smart enough not to overstay its welcome as it steers clear of the fatuous and the formulaic. As Shakespeare himself might have put it, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished, even if it took a pack of gnomes to make it happen. You'll instantly appreciate the cast of voices here from the likes of Dame Maggie Smith, Sir Michael Caine, Ozzy Osbourne, Dolly Parton and Hulk Hogan and all the voices seem to fit their characters really superb and it is a massive big hit with me and a joy to watch, especially in the stunning 3D effects.
GNOMEO & JULIET IN 3D MUSIC TRACK LIST
CROCODILE ROCK (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
TINY DANCER (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
ROCKET MAN (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT (For Fighting) (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
HELLO HELLO (Music by Elton John and Lady Gaga) (Lyrics by Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga]
THE TIKI TIKI TIKI ROOM (Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Wally Boag, Fulton Burley, Thurl Ravenscroft and The Mellomen]
YOUR SONG (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
DON’T CHA (Written by CeeLo Green and Anthony L. Ray) [Performed by CeeLo Green]
DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John and Kiki Dee]
THE BITCH IS BACK (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
YOUR SONG (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
I’VE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF COCONUTS (Written by Fred Heatherton, Elton Box, Desmond Cox and Irwin Dash)
LOVE BUILDS A GARDEN (Music by Sir Elton John) (Lyrics by Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
I’M STILL STANDING (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
BENNIE AND THE JESTS (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Sir Elton John]
CROCODILE ROCK (Written by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin) [Performed by Nelly Furtado featuring Sir Elton John]
3D Blu-ray Image Quality – The clincher in really appreciating this film was a near faultless viewing experience. This is a first-rate 3D Blu-ray and perhaps one of the best looking animated transfers in recent memory. Firstly, the transfer is exceptionally sharp and well detailed. This allows for the film's brilliant array of colours within the gnomes garden world to vibrantly saturate he screen. In fact, this is perhaps the most chroma-enriched animation that I have seen. The 3D is an immaculate transfer. I haven't been able to find out if the film was rendered specifically for 3D or up converted in post, but the end result is just average. There is definitely noticeable separation and at times you get that nice cardboard cut-out look (for those like me who prefer that kind of thing). I felt as if the animators could have made better use of placing their characters behind objects that would lend to a greater perception of depth. Another failing I found was that most all the 3D effects stay within the confines of the screen with the exception of a few poke-outs that include sticks, weed killer gun and a flamingo's beak. There are some overhead shots above rooftops that give a spectacular sense of depth but used only sporadically. There are some lost opportunities with falling flower petals and dandelion seeds that would have looked spectacular floating before the viewer's eyes, but yet, never reach out beyond the display. That's not to say that ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ is a total disappointment in 3D. I felt its use of the format definitely enhanced the viewing experience and it's just not anything anyone's going to display as demo material. It really disappoints me that when dealing with animation, you have the ability to do some really cool 3D rendering and in the end, you are not providing the audience with any "Wow" factor. Fortunately many of the scenes that take place under the veil of darkness do not suffer any ghosting issues. In fact, ghosting is practically non-existent here. Much like those earlier releases, the 3D here doesn’t have a lot of in your face gimmicky elements but instead seems designed to immerse the viewers into the world being presented. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
3D Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D features the music of Sir Elton John whose notable pieces of music are peppered throughout the film either as instrumental or original recordings. There is also at least one new song featured by Sir Elton John and his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin, though I have to admit it is pretty average. Still, for all you Elton John fans out there, the film plays like a "greatest hits" tribute with songs such as “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” “Rocket Man and Your Song.” Featured on this disc is a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and is brilliant to appreciate the visual ambience, I was quite taken back by the surround's ability to bring out the tiniest nuances in the effect sounds and The surround sound makes you feel as though you are in the middle of the backyard amongst the gnomes. During the lawnmower races you can hear the dust swirl around you and the advertisement for the mega lawn mower, the “Terrafirminator,” practically shook the room. I did enjoy the fact that you could hear the clink of the stone when the gnomes held hands. On top of all that, the excellent 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo imaging to be found also and I mean, you can hear the crack of every branch as the little gnome’s race across the yard. I feel like I could watch this animation film over and over and hear something new each time.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Alternative Endings with Filmmaker Introductions: Elton Builds a Garden [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:00] Takes a brief look at Sir Elton John and his studio’s involvement with the movie how his music was used. Alternate Endings with Filmmaker Introductions with Two different endings “All’s Well That Ends Well” and “Dance Routine” both are in storyboard form. Nothing here changes the story, just the routine at the end.
Special Feature: Frog Talk with Ashley Jensen [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:00] This is a behind the scenes look at Ashley Jensen and her voice acting performance as Nanette, the talking frog.
Special Feature: The Fawn of Darkness [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:00] Here we take a quick look at the casting of Ozzy Osbourne as the lawn deer character. Overall, this felt very short and I think it would have been interesting to get a deeper look at Ozzy Osbourne at work voicing the deer!
Special Feature: Crocodile Rock Music Video [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:00] This is the music video for the Sir Elton John Song “Crocodile Rock” featuring Nelly Furtado.
Theatrical Trailers: ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D trailer; ‘Astro Boy’ Trailer and ‘Furry Vengeance’ Trailer.
Finally, ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D with the extras is brilliant, the audio is solid and the picture is top notch, meaning the 3D Blu-ray is the right choice for anyone looking to purchase ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D includes a 2D version; and children’s re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet told with garden gnomes and an impressive voice cast that may not be the next ‘Toy Story,’ but provides a decent amount of entertainment, a few jokes even the adults can enjoy, and a painless introduction to the world of William Shakespeare. Overall, this home release of ‘GNOMEO & JULIET’ IN 3D will be most enjoyed by Sir Elton John’s biggest fans, who will love hearing his new tunes mixed in with classics throughout the film. The CGI animation is terrific and the gnomes really do look ceramic and there's enough fun here to keep young children and their parents entertained for the duration. It is definitely a gnome-run and I give it 10 out of 10 for effort and it has now gone pride of place in my ever increasing 3D Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
