Growing up, my mom loved and was very good at growing flowers, which is a trait she inherited from her mother. Every spring, we would plant them and watch as they would bloom all summer long. But one thing we never had was garden gnomes.
“Sherlock Gnomes” is the new animated film directed by John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda, The Polar Bears). With the voice talents of Johnny Depp (Blow, Pirates of the Caribbean), Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Serenity), James McAvoy (Split, Filth), Jamie Demetriou (SunTrap, Fleabag), Michael Caine (Victory, The Dark Knight), Mary J. Blige (The Help, Mudbound), Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids, Little Britain), Maggie Smith (Gosford Park, My Old Lady), Stephen Merchant (Logan, Table 19), James Hong, Blade Runner, Balls of Fury), and even Ozzy Osbourne (Trick or Treat, Little Nicky), it takes place in London as Gnomeo (McAvoy) and Juliet (Blunt) end up moving to the city with their fellow ceramic friends from the countryside. At the same time, Sherlock Gnomes (Depp) and his assistant Watson (Ejiofor) find out gnomes are being stolen from their gardens all over the city, which they feel is the work of his old nemesis, Moriarty (Demetriou). When the whole clan disappears, Gnomeo, Juliet, Watson and Sherlock Gnomes go on an adventure to save their friends and fellow gnomes.
The animation was visually stunning, with some scenes that looked like it was live action. We were able to screen it in 3-D, but I do not feel it enhanced the viewing that much where it is worth the extra cost. When it comes to the voice cast, they are good overall, but when it comes to the leads, I feel Depp does incredible in the title role as does Ejiofor as Watson. The rest of the cast does fine, and I did not feel that there was any character whose tone did not fit their character. Speaking of audio, I really liked how there was the constant sound of the ceramic material making contact to keep the illusion up.
My expectations were not that high, but I enjoyed the plot and movie a lot. At close to ninety minutes long, it not drag at all and is good for adults to enjoy along with children at the same time. This film passed my expectations and I will recommend it as a matinee showing.