GNOMEO & JULIET
3 out of 5 stars

this one is cute and got the cheesy “we made it exclusively for the kids” vibe, so automatically it loses points b/c it lacks the sophistication... (just comparing it to the latest pixar and dreamworks films, that’s all!)

and that is just too bad... b/c i feel like if pixar or dreamworks took this one on, they would have made it great! well, this one is pretty straight-forward in terms of plot: on verona drive, there are two rival gnome households...the reds vs. the blues. the reds, lead by lord redbrick (voiced by michael caine) and his daughter juliet (voiced by emily blunt) are proud of their pedestal and tulips, where as the blues, lead by lady bluebury (voiced by maggie smith) and her son gnomeo (voiced by james mcavoy) are equally proud of their flowers and this flower tree lord bluebury planted. there’s also a tybalt (voiced by jason statham) as well as a “benny” AKA benvolio, even a neutral mercutio type AKA featherstone the plastic flamingo! obviously....gnomeo and juliet fall in love after one night out of their respective gardens, and of course, their love becomes too much to bear since it’s forbidden! (GASP) but like most kids’ movies, they can’t show the “true” ending to the ever-popular shakespearian play, so there’s the happy ending version... ;) (not to mention: the ELTON JOHN SOUNTRACK!) 

overall, it’s watchable for both kids and adults alike...however, the flamingo’s back story is the saddest and also the most random! it leaves you wondering why they included such a sad story, but i guess one can’t really take advantage of true love? or is it the fact that if one experiences a breakup, others suffer along with too? waaaaaay too deep for kids... hell, it’s even too deep for me, and i’m 25 years old! :P