Gnomeo & Juliet 2011

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: This lively little film, a comic take on Shakespeare's tragedy, is really entertaining. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: What is there to say about a movie that beats its eccentric premise to the ground in the first scene, and doesn't stop? Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: ...this primary-colored parable about feuding lawn-ornament clans is easy on the eyes and good for some laffs. Ducking tragedy, [it] still dives into some surprisingly dark waters. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: If the movie, which starts out shakily, improves in the second half, it is a discombobulated grab bag of jokes peopled with characters who have little emotional resonance. Read more

Nick Schager, Time Out: A Disney toon seemingly born solely from a bad pun, this computer-animated trifle pieces together its Bard adaptation from the spare parts of superior Shakespeare-for-kids predecessors. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Are we in such a hurry to introduce preschool kids to "Romeo and Juliet" that they need to see a computer-animated, bowdlerized version featuring garden gnomes and a happy ending? Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Far too much of the film is devoted to eye-rolling pop-culture gags and long montages set to recycled Elton John songs. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: "Gnomeo & Juliet" isn't a great movie but it's fun. Can't wait to see what they do with "Turtles Andronicus." Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: As enjoyable as non-Pixar kiddie flicks get, a high-spirited, high-end comic revamp of Big Bill's eternal tragedy. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: If only the 3-D hadn't been wasted on the claustrophobic trappings of a backyard feud. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Every movie about cuddly dwarf statues in an English garden should have music this big. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: Sadly, the music is largely wasted on the material, as somehow gnomes racing a lawnmower doesn't organically translate to a song about fighting and getting a little action in. Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: Despite the novel approach to Shakespeare's oft-told tale of doomed love, this 3D animated garden gnome variation never fully comes to life. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: 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. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Uneven is the course, as the Bard might say, but the ride is plenty of fun. Read more

Ken Marks, New Yorker: "Toy Story" goes Shakespearean in this animated retelling of the tale of the star-crossed lovers of Verona. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Seriously, have most small children here even seen a garden gnome? Outside of a website commercial, maybe, or the cover of Grandpa's old "All Things Must Pass" album? Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: [A] delightfully silly animated flick, which doesn't wear out its welcome. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: It's a sorry spectacle, watching garden gnomes being robbed of their dignity. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Gnomeo & Juliet stays too low to the ground to become an animated classic, but if there's a fairer midwinter's tale, wherefore art thou? Read more

Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times: What makes the film most endearing is its unabashed eccentricity. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Given the size of the writing staff, it's no surprise the script feels like a committee job, overstocked with a high ratio of groan-to-grin quips. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: There's nothing here as clever as you find in Pixar fare, or Dreamwork's successful Shrek franchise, although co-writer/director Kelly Asbury did helm the Oscar-nominated Shrek 2. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Defiantly derivative and groaning from joke overload, this Disney pickup takes more than half its running time to find a distinctive tone, a reason for being. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Even if it doesn't quite gel, it's admirable that a film made of such weird ingredients is even vaguely palatable. Read more

USA Today: Much of the play's dialogue is updated. Jokes fall flat. And a ceramic gnome by any other name is still a kitschy little figure. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Shakespeare with lawn ornaments turns out to be an unexpectedly winning proposition in Gnomeo & Juliet. Read more

Sean O'Connell, Washington Post: Creator Kelly Asbury has discovered imaginative ways to freshen up the timeless material and introduce it to the next generation. Read more