The Storyline
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Gnomeo & Juliet in case you haven't already guessed is the greatest love story ever told, starring garden gnomes. The classic Shakespeare tale has had a comical makeover starring a bunch of garden gnomes and other garden animals. Gnomeo and Juliet are in love with each other but have many obstacles to overcome when they are caught up in a feud between neighbours. With plastic pink flamingos and lawnmower races will the young happy couple find lasting happiness?

Actors in the Film
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Gnomeo is played by James McAvoy, known for his roles in X-Men, Narnia, Wanted and more. Emily Blunt does the voice of Juliet and has starred in The Adjustment Bureau, Looped, Young Victoria and more. Other famous actors such as Michael Caine, Matt Lucas, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Julie Walters, Hulk Hogan, Richard Wilson and more also voice characters in the film. For some of the characters you can actually tell who voices them such as Jason Statham voicing Tubalt and Julie Walters voicing Miss Montague.

The Film
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The film starts off with us seeing the neighbours coming out of their houses which are next to each other. As soon as the neighbours leave we see the gnomes in their gardens come to life fishing, exercising and going about their daily duties. Juliet is parts of the red which is in one neighbour's garden and Gnomeo is part of the blue which is in the other neighbour's garden. Juliet wants to go out and explore a little but her father says she is too delicate to go exploring. We see one of the red and one of the blue gnomes race each other riding lawn mowers. During this race some music is played which is quite upbeat to match the race in the film. There is a rather cute bunch of small gnomes which all talk in sequence and they have large hats covering their faces so you can just see their noses sticking out from underneath their floppy hats. Not only do the gnomes come to life but the other garden animals such as the mushrooms and deer also come to life. Juliet has seen a beautiful flower that she wants to get so she sneaks out during the evening to try to get the flower. Juliet has a female frog as a very good friend and I find the frog rather amusing at times. Whilst Juliet goes to get the Orchid she meets Gnomeo where they have some fun together pinching the orchid off each other and end up falling in the pond. It's then that they both realise that they are on different sides of the neighbour and Juliet runs off. Gnomeo and Juliet realise that they like each other can't be together due to the red and blue gnomes being on opposite sides. During the film we also hear the neighbours argue with each other, how they think each other have been vandalising each other's gardens. Whilst Gnomeo and Juliet are making themselves look nice they play Elton John's, don't go breaking my heart. I find the flamingos particularly amusing and funny in the film. Gnomeo and Juliet have to try keep meeting up with each other in secret so the others don't find out. Gnomeo has to leave when he smashes one of the red gnomes and he is soon alone and everyone else thinks that he has died. The blue's realise Gnomeo is in fact not dead and try to help him and Juliet to reunite. With the gnomes constantly fighting and destroying each other's gardens it makes it difficult for Gnomeo and Juliet to see each other. I love the end of the film where all the gnomes and characters dance on the screen to crocodile rock.

Music
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There is quite a lot of music through-out the film and this ranges from songs to instrumental music. I particularly like the instrumental music as it mixes in with the theme and the feel of the film. There are quite a few Elton John songs in the film which match the different scenes in the film and also bring some humour to the film as well.

Where to buy the DVD
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I actually watched the film via rental from LoveFilm but you can purchase it from various places such as Amazon, Play.com and HMV. Prices may vary so you may want to compare prices on each of these websites before purchasing it (I often find HMV quite pricey in comparison to these other sites). You can purchase the DVD from Amazon for £4.49; Blu-Ray is likely to be a little bit more expensive.

Special Features
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Deleted Scenes & Alternative Scenes
Elton Builds a Garden - This tells you how involved Elton John was with the film.

Overall Opinion
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The film did have some funny scenes to it and I did enjoy it, how-ever I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I would probably watch this again with my nephew as I think he may enjoy this film and all the characters in it. I do like the way they have called the film Gnomeo and Juliet and although it is based on a bunch of Gnomes in a garden is it quite enjoyable. I did think the ending of the film was a little rushed, how-ever if the film was any longer I thought I probably would have got bored. I love that the film has quite a bit of music to it, especially some Elton John classics which makes you bop along to the music as you are watching the film. I think kids and younger children would really like this film and would also find it funny and rather enjoyable. As I thought the film was going to be much better than it was I'm only going to give it 3 out of 5 stars.


(review may also appear on ciao)