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The greatest love story ever told, starring...garden gnomes?
In the upcoming animated comedy adventure “Gnomeo & Juliet,” Shakespeare’s revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall makeover. Directed by Kelly Asbury (“Shrek 2”) and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, the film features the voices of James McAvoy (“Wanted,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”) and Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada”) as Gnomeo and Juliet, who have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and thrilling lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?
Julie Walters (“Harry Potter” movies) and Richard Wilson (TV’s “Merlin”) give voice to the human feuding neighbors, Miss Montague and Mr. Capulet; Ozzy Osbourne portrays Tybalt’s sidekick, Fawn; Dolly Parton plays the country gnome Dolly who starts the mower race; and Hulk Hogan lends his voice to the unapologetic beast of a lawn mower, the Terrafirminator.
“Gnomeo & Juliet” is produced by Baker Bloodworth, Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish. The film is executive produced by Elton John, whose classic songs are featured in the film along with new songs written with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin and featuring special guest performances. The original score is by James Newton Howard and Chris Bacon.
The original “Romeo and Juliet” was penned by William Shakespeare in the late 1500s. The tragic tale of two teenage lovers endures today with countless interpretations—from Georg Benda’s operatic adaptation in the 1700s to the popular 1950s stage musical “West Side Story” to 1996’s MTV-inspired “Romeo + Juliet.” In 2010, Twitter premiered “Such Tweet Sorrow”—an improvised tweeted version of the play presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Mudlark Production Company.
And now we have garden gnomes, in Touchstone Pictures' animated comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet.”
The filmmakers were instantly drawn to the irony of the film’s premise. Says producer David Furnish, “The concept of the film gave us the opportunity to take a classically well-known story and turn it on its head—reinvent it for a modern audience in a very funny way. The sheer fact that we have the high art of Shakespeare, the most revered playwright of all time, and the kitschy garden gnome gives us so many fantastic opportunities for comedy.”
The challenge, says producer Steve Hamilton Shaw, was making the fun premise into an interesting big-screen movie. “It’s important that while this movie makes people laugh, it also presents a world the audience can believe in; they need to feel the characters’ emotions. We needed to give it the heart and soul that would allow people to emotionally engage with the movie, so that the comedy plays that much better.”
Enter Kelly Asbury, a director whose comedic experience and artistic roots made him a natural fit for the project. Asbury’s directorial credits include the Oscar®-nominated “Shrek 2” (2004) and “Spirit—Stallion of the Cimarron” (2002). He also worked as an artist on such notable films as “Shrek” (2001), “Toy Story” (1995), Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) and “Beauty and the Beast.” The producers felt Asbury had a proven ability to showcase a comedic character’s emotional side.
Says Asbury, “If you’re going to make an animated feature for a big audience to enjoy, you have to have a little bit of laughter, you have to have a little bit of tears—but I think the main thing is sincerity.”
But is it safe to transform one of Shakespeare’s most beloved tragedies into an animated comedy suitable for the whole family?
James McAvoy, who provides the voice of Gnomeo, considered the question. “It’s strange, isn’t it, because it probably shouldn’t work,” says McAvoy. “But you know what? In most Shakespeare plays these days, the director goes out on a limb to set it in some new environment. We’re probably not that far away from seeing a version in the West End or on Broadway where the actors are garden gnomes anyway. This is just getting there ahead of time. We’re trailblazers here.”
Aptly set in Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon, “Gnomeo & Juliet” highlights the heated rivalry between neighbors Mr. Capulet and Miss Montague, who’ve taken their zeal for gardening to a whole new level. Their gardens overflow with kitsch plaster garden gnomes who, when the humans are out of sight, have taken up their respective owner’s non-neighborly behavior. The feud has taken on an even more personal nature with the gnomes, where simply being a Red from the Red Garden or a Blue from the Blue Garden comes with a host of prejudices that most don’t understand, yet fail to question.
“Why gnomes?” asks producer Baker Bloodworth. “Why not gnomes? This story is worth telling; it’s relevant. I think the artwork is joyous and vibrant and colorful and it has Elton John tying it all together.”
Fortunately for the garden gnomes, in addition to an extraordinary soundtrack featuring both new songs and classics from the Elton John-Bernie Taupin library, this version offers an all-new third act—replacing Shakespeare’s tragic conclusion. “I think this is definitely the ending that people always wanted from Romeo and Juliet,” says Emily Blunt, who lends her voice to Juliet (and actually kicked off her career on stage as a more traditional Juliet at the 2002 Chichester Festival).
“The theme of the movie is that love can overcome hate; that’s universal,” adds Bloodworth. “It plays to everybody. We aim to entertain people and to send them out the door with something to think about.”
But what would Shakespeare think?
“He was a great storyteller,” says Bloodworth. “I expect he’d have good fun with this.”
Opening soon across the Philippines in Digital 3D and regular format, “Gnomeo & Juliet” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.
James McAvoy Breathes Life to "Gnomeo" in Shakespeare Tale Spoof
British actor James McAvoy (“Wanted,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”) explores his romantic side as he provides the voice of the love-struck Gnomeo in Touchstone Pictures’ new animated comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet” in which Shakespeare’s revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall makeover.
Directed by Kelly Asbury (“Shrek 2”) and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, “Gnomeo & Julliet” also features the voice of Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada”) as Juliet, who with Gnomeo have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and thrilling lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?
For the voice cast of the film, becoming a gnome isn’t a walk in the garden, so to speak. Each actor works individually, hitting the recording studio at various times during the process, and filmmakers tie it all together.
“At the beginning it was particularly hard, but then it got easier,” says James McAvoy. “Emily [Blunt] would come in to record and that informed my character. What we did informed the writing and then they’d come back with a script that was slightly evolved. Even though we’re not there together as actors, the implications of what we did individually now exist on screen. It’s really odd, but it’s fun.”
Gnomeo is the star gardener of the Blues—a gnome who knows how to make things happen. He’s the loyal son of Lady Bluebury and best friend to Benny. But being top gnome is not everything it’s cracked up to be. There are duties, responsibilities, expectations—and Tybalt, a Red who’d love to knock Gnomeo right out of his award-winning garden. But gnomes don’t leave their gardens…or do they? It’s during a rare outing that Gnomeo meets her—Juliet—a Red. And everything changes forever.
“He’s the perfect Gnomeo,” says director Kelly Asbury of McAvoy. “He has texture to his voice and he brings a real sincerity to the character.”
Though this might be challenging, considering said character is a gnome. “Gnomes—they’re quite cute,” says McAvoy of his garden persona. “Gnomeo does look like a classic garden gnome, but he’s got a little bit of something extra. It’s nice to imagine that all gnomes have something extra. They’ve all got something that they’re hiding from you and when the lights go out, it comes out.”
McAvoy previously starred alongside Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie in “Wanted,” directed by Timur Bekmambetov and based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar. He next stars in the upcoming X-Men prequel “X-Men First Class” and provides the voice of the character of Arthur in the Sony Pictures 3D Animation “Arthur Christmas.”
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Emily Blunt Provides the Voice of Juliet in "Gnomeo"
For Emily Blunt who provides the voice of the feisty and independent Juliet in Touchstone Pictures' animated comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet,” becoming a gnome isn’t a walk in the garden, so to speak.
“Acting is acting,” says Blunt, adding “the approach to this film is not unlike others. When you’re doing a comedic version of one of the greatest love stories of all-time, I think it always has to be ingrained in some kind of truth because people don’t laugh if they’re not invested. We all very much wanted to play real people in this.”
She’s beautiful, delicate and pristine—at least according to her father, Lord Redbrick, the head of the Reds. As such, Juliet's place is aptly atop a grand fountain pedestal. “But she’s also very fiery,” says Blunt of her character, “and very much her father’s child, so I was really thrilled to see that they’ve made her kind of a tomboy.”
But Juliet is just not cut out for life on a pedestal. She longs to get her hands dirty in the garden alongside the rest of the Reds. She wants to contribute, but her father won’t allow her off her pedestal—he’s afraid she’ll get chipped. When Juliet spots a beautiful orchid beyond the garden’s walls, she decides to venture out to retrieve it. That’s when she meets him. She doesn’t realize Gnomeo is a Blue until it’s too late. Juliet’s in love. And she doesn’t really understand just why it’s so wrong to love a Blue—even if you are a Red.
Reflecting on their comic re-imagining of the classic Shakespeare tale, Blunt attests “It is very, very funny and it's a very heightened world to invest in, but I really feel that the core of what is so sweeping and romantic about Romeo and Juliet is still there. This truly captures the essence of forbidden love and it really captures the teenage frustrations that we’ve all felt. It's a very human story at the end of the day and quite an emotional one. And I think this is definitely the ending that people always wanted from Romeo and Juliet.”
Emily Blunt shot to international prominence with her lead role in the multi-award-winning romance from Pawel Pawlikowski “My Summer of Love.” Later, an adaptation of the hugely popular Lauren Weisberger novel “The Devil Wears Prada” features Blunt as the intensely neurotic Emily Charlton. Co-starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, the film opened to great acclaim, earning more than $320 million worldwide.
Blunt plays Britain’s Queen Victoria in the early stages of her life in “The Young Victoria.” The Martin Scorsese-produced biopic gave her Best Actress nominations at the 2010 Golden Globe® Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Her other films include “The Wolfman,” “Gulliver’s Travels,” and “The Adjustment Bureau.” Up next for Blunt is “The Muppets” for Disney, which is slated for a holiday 2011 release. Directed by James Bobin, “The Muppets” also stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams.
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Jason Statham is the Voice Behind Tybalt in "Gnomeo & Juliet"
Action superstar Jason Statham (“The Transporter” and “Crank” film series) provides the voice of Tybalt, in Touchstone Pictures' new animated comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet” in which Shakespeare’s revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall makeover featuring garden gnomes as principal characters.
Directed by Kelly Asbury (“Shrek 2”) and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, “Gnomeo & Julliet” also features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt as the lovestruck gnomes who have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and thrilling lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?
Juliet’s cousin Tybalt is a big, teenage bully of a gnome. This passionate Red is Gnomeo’s arch rival; he hates the Blues and will stop at nothing to get his way, no matter what the collateral damage. A thug, liar and cheat, Tybalt has no respect for even Lord Redbrick’s authority.
He’s completely unaware of his own incompetence, however, which makes Tybalt not only unlikable but a bit laughable. “He’s an oaf in our story,” says Asbury. “Tybalt is not a nice guy and it catches up with him.”
“Jason is a great action star with this tough-guy image that I really loved,” says the director, “and I thought Tybalt should be that. Jason gave us a really great textural voice for that character and it plays beautifully.”
Jason Statham was born in Sydenham, England, and initially made his mark as one of the top divers on the British diving team, eventually placing 12th in the world. While he trained at the famed Crystal Palace National Sports Center in London, film crews and photographers pursued him as new talent and he eventually met the executive producer of the film “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.” Statham then had a meeting with director Guy Ritchie, who gave him his first role as one of the stars of the film.
Statham went on to work with Ritchie again in “Snatch,” in which he starred opposite Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro. In 1992, Statham was cast by French filmmaker Luc Besson in the title role of Frank Martin in “The Transporter.” Following, he starred as Handsome Rob in the 2003 summer blockbuster “The Italian Job,” directed by F. Gary Gray, and as the adrenaline-compromised action hero of “Crank.” Statham reprised his role of Frank Martin in “Transporter 2” and re-teamed with Jet Li in “War.”
In 2008, Statham starred in Roger Donaldson’s “The Bank Job,” the critically acclaimed true story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery in London. Statham also starred in the remake of “Death Race” before returning for the third installment of “The Transporter” franchise and the second “Crank” film, “Crank 2: High Voltage.”
Most recently, Statham had a starring role with an ensemble of action stars in this past summer’s hit “The Expendables,” also starring and directed by Sylvester Stallone.
