Ha! The title is a pun!
Synopsis: When Gnomeo and Juliet first arrive in London with their friends and family, their biggest concern is getting a new garden ready for spring. When everyone in the garden suddenly goes missing — there’s only one gnome to call — Sherlock Gnomes. The famous detective and sworn protector of the city shows up with his sidekick Watson to investigate the case. The mystery soon leads the gnomes on a rollicking adventure as they meet all-new ornaments and explore an undiscovered side of London. (Rovi)
Starring: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, and Johnny Depp
Writer: Ben Zazove
Director: John Stevenson
Rating: G (Canada)/PG (United States)
Running Time: 86mins
Trailer:
For showtimes and more, check out Sherlock Gnomes on movietimes.com.
Let’s get this out of the way now, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why this film should even exist. Most animated children’s films find success by appealing to children and in some cases, the adults who take them to the theatre. The problem with this film is that its appeal is extremely limited, surely alienating adults and some children. The recycled story and humor both become extremely tiresome very fast and those unfamiliar with the character of Sherlock Holmes will be lost. Most adults probably already know about Holmes but the younger audience may not be as lucky. Unfortunately for them, this film is definitely not the place to start.
Now in a new city, Gnomeo (McAvoy) and Juliet (Blunt) along with their other garden friends and family were focusing on getting their new garden ready for the upcoming spring. Once all the other garden inhabitants go missing, it is up to them and also Sherlock Gnomes (Depp) and his trusty sidekick Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to solve the case. From that point, nothing should come as much of a surprise as their subsequent adventure will be familiar to anyone who has seen any animated children’s film ever. To some viewers, this will be enough but others will surely be bored as the film’s twists and turns are visible from a mile away.
Despite all the mediocrity, what could have been the film’s saving grace was the characters and not even that happened as they were either dull and/or unlikable. Their only purpose was to try and force the film’s obvious message in a cheesy way, trying to force the film’s lazy and unfunny humor, and/or trying to force Sherlock Gnomes onto us. Gnomes was simply insufferable to watch and his story and Gnomeo and Juliet’s story did not fit together at all to the point that it felt like watching two different films. At least with a running time of under 90 minutes, it is done before you know it.
The best part of the film was the animation and the voice acting. The animation was nowhere close to the higher quality films but had both the characters and environments had a decent range of color and detail. The film also boasted an impressive cast full of great actors, however in any animated film, it doesn’t matter what it looks like or who voices the characters if the film itself is mediocre and incredibly dull.
Overall, this was an incredibly dull and inept animated film that has no business existing. It’s recycled story and humor and lazy characters become extremely tiresome to watch. Those unfamiliar with the character of Sherlock Holmes will be lost and unfortunately, this film is definitely not the place to start. At least it’s over before you know it.
Score: 3/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
