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It took one man to pen Romeo and Juliet, a timeless classic that has endured for more than 400 years. But it somehow required eight screenwriters to devise this cringeworthy update, which will be lucky to still be remembered when its Happy Meal toys first show up on garage sale tables. That’s not counting the contributions of executive producer Elton John, who contributes a pair of treacly new songs and a score largely composed of orchestrated versions of his older hits. The major point of inspiration comes from finding a rhyme for “gnome” in the title and devising an adaptation based on feuding clans of lawn ornaments. Shakespeare references abound, but Gnomeo is far less indebted to the Bard than it is to its far superior animated predecessors. The irreverent take on fairy tales is borrowed from Shrek (director Kelly Asbury also helmed the second installment in that series), the adventurous inanimate objects from Toy Story, the irritating comic relief character with the funny accent (in this case a gregarious pink flamingo) from movies too numerous to name. This being a kid’s movie, double-suicide is obviously out for the ending; the only tragedy here is the witless script, stuffed with dated pop culture references and creaky puns, that beleaguered parents will be forced to endure. —Shaun Brady

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Official Site: gnomeoandjuliet.com

Rating:	G
Director:	Kelly Asbury
Cast:	James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant, Matt Lucas, Jim Cummings
Release Date:	February 11, 2011 (Nationwide)
Running Time:	84
Distributor:	Touchstone Pictures
Producer:	Baker Bloodworth, David Furnish, Steve Hamilton Shaw
Genre:	Animation, Family, SciFi/Fantasy