Red Good Gnome:The story you about to see has been told before. A lot. We're going to tell it again. But different.
A young man falls in love with a woman named Juliet, but why must he suffer the pressure of his peers, while struggling to be with his true love born of a rival family? Through the impossible, he faces obstacles without fail, with the help of his midget sidekick... and... plastic... flamingo... ornament? Oh. Right. This man's name is Gnomeo. And the characters are living ceramic garden gnomes in a back yard. Get it?Gnomeo & Juliet takes the most famous love story of all time and places it in the back yards of neighboring English households. Disney released this film under Touchstone Pictures in 2011, on Valentine's Day weekend. Elton John executive produced this 3D CGI animated film and even contributed a few songs to the soundtrack. Starz Animation and Rocket Pictures created the animation.The film got mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. It holds a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. There is currently a sequel in development entitled Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes, slated for release in 2013.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The two neighboring houses are painted in red and blue colors. The two sides of the war are red gnomes and blue gnomes, both with the respective colors on their outfits. The characters even refer to themselves as Reds and Blues. In case it wasn't clear enough.
And some things that are shared, like the Cupid's flower and the lawnmower at the end, are purple—red and blue combined.
Dark Reprise: Listen for a slow, orchestral version of the guitar riff from "Saturday Night's (Alright for Fighting)" in the scene just after Tybalt dies.
Death Is Cheap: After all the fuss and drama made over Tybalt and Gnomeo's (supposed) deaths, in the Dance Party Ending Tybalt is glued back together and aside from the odd limb dropping off is PERFECTLY FINE!
Development Hell: The final film is basically a last-ditch effort after John Lasseter shut down production about five years before its release, when it was going to be animated by Walt Disney Feature Animation. You wouldn't know it looking at the finished product.
Disney Death: Occurs not once, but twice during the movie:
The first is when Gnomeo is apparently hit and smashed by a passing truck; the wreckage is actually from a blue ceramic dish that fell out of the vehicle.
Second time occurs during the finale when Gnomeo is trying to save Juliet from the Terrafirminator: Dust clears, everyone gapes in shock, the rubble begins to shake ... and then someone else crawls out, subverting this. More shock, then it begins to shake as the display tower activates, to reveal Gnomeo and Juliet safe and sound, making a double subvert.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: A gnome's hat-height. Made even more blatant when an envious Tybalt (with a small hat) smashes Benny's large... hat.
Held Gaze: A very very obvious one when Gnomeo and Juliet first encounter each other after they put grab hold of the flower. It causes them to look into each other's eyes and they hold each other's gazes for a looong moment.
Karma Houdini: Benny. Despite destroying both the Reds and the Blues' gardens and very nearly killing both of the main characters, he never seems to get any sort of punishment and ends up getting a happy ending along with everyone else.
Knight Templar Parent: Lord Redbrick. His over-protectiveness almost kills Juliet when she can't run away from the lawn mower.
Last Kiss: Invoked when Gnomeo stays with Juliet on her pedestal, as it appears they're going to be killed by The Terrafirminator. Subverted however, as they turn out to be fine.
Lock and Load Montage: Gnomeo gets one (with duct tape, garden stakes, mud, and a spray nozzle) before his first raid into the Red yard.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Played straight with the Red and Blue gnome clans. The reds in general are more agressive, with Tybalt's anger countering Gnomeo's collected style, and Lord Redbrick being more confrontational than Lady Bluebury. However this gets flipped after Gnomeo "dies" and Lord Redbrick and the reds becomes more somber and Lady Bluebury and the blues becomes more emotional.
So many William Shakespeare references everywhere it'd make your head spin. The feuding neighbor's houses are 2B and not 2B for starters... The movers are named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. There is also a truck labeled Tempest Teapots and the "Taming of the Glue" brand seen later in the movie. And that's just scraping the surface!
When Juliet first tries to leave the garden "Out out!" then the dog's owner calls out "Damn Spot! Over here, boy!"
Side Effects Include...: The ad for the Terrafirminator ends with a list of side effects, including dry mouth, voices telling you to burn things, tightened hamstrings, and persistent feelings of awesomeness. In rare instances some people may explode when viewing the Terrafirminator.
Talking Is a Free Action: While the Terrafirminator is flying through the air at them (in slow motion), our main characters have a brief chat, at normal speed.
Testosterone Poisoning: The ad for the Terrafirminator plays it up like the ultimate man's mower.
Benny's idea of a costume for an 'ultimate stealth' mission involves dressing as a daisy and strapping a blue spray can (that rattles as he moves) to his back.
The spray can was part of the mission, he used it to vandalize the well in the Red garden.
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