Brody Beaudet
Studies in English
When I was assigned this essay, I had a hard time figuring out what I was going to do and then it hit me. One of Romeo and Juliets main themes is tragedy/death mainly being caused from violence. So, with an adaptation like Gnomeo and Juliet, a kids movie where a lot of this has been removed, how does the lack of tragedy change the source material’s message?
To start, why don’t we compare our two main characters introductions. In Shakespeare’s original play Romeo is introduced after the street brawl between the Montagues and the Capulets. He is found moping around after being heartbroken by Rosaline and begins talking about how love is so beautiful and at the same time painful, giving hints at him being romantic and seeking love. His speech during this is highly poetic, speaking in long drawn out sentences that could’ve been shortened but wouldn’t convey the same message he would’ve wanted.
On the other hand, Gnomeo is introduced in a lawnmower race. Being portrayed as a confident and possibly thrill-seeking gnome. Astronut1 of the Shakespearean student wrote in a review that: “Gnomeo is a cocky, self-assured gnome who first looks for adventure before finding love.” Showing that Gnomeo and Romeo are both able to be their own characters while being incredibly similar. He has short and sweet lines of text and isn’t as concerned about love as Romeo was. His main focus was to win against Tybalt who was representing the reds. His mother Lady Bluebury saw him before the race began and he thought she would stop him but was instead encouraged when she said, “All I wanted to say was good luck.”
at the very start of the original play and the movie there is a “fight” between the Capulets and the Montagues (or in Gnomeo and Juliets case the reds and the blues) both forms of media show them differently, with the play having a legitimate fight between the two. Immediately introducing the viewer to the idea of their being conflict. While with Gnomeo and Juliet it starts with a lawnmower race. It is clear from the start that there is some sort of tension, one that feels more like a rivalry than anything as if it is less of a feud and more of an attempt at proving that one side is superior to the other.
The next main event that happens is the introduction of the two Juliets. First off, Shakespeare’s Juliet is introduced in her room with her mother and her nurse talking about the possibility of marrying Paris. Throughout the entire conversation Juliet is very polite, and when the idea of marriage was brought up, she said, “It is an honor that I dream not of.” Saying that she doesn’t want to marry, but later says “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move.” Saying that she will give it a chance if her family so wishes. Even when she is against the idea of marriage, she is willing to give it a chance for her parents, showing how selfless and caring she is.
While Gnomeo and Juliets Juliet is a little different, Juliet is first introduced as Lord Redbrick’s daughter. Her mother has passed away and because of this her father is afraid of losing her, treating her as if she is a weak, fragile statue meant to sit atop a pedestal. He even calls her is “fragile flower.” Juliet wants to prove to her father that she isn’t this fragile perception that he has of her, and sneaks out to get a rare flower and show her father that she is more than capable of protecting herself. In the same review from Astronut1 he/she (Don’t know the authors gender) said that: “Juliet is even more of a spitfire than her human counterpart, and is able to perform midnight catburgling into a nearby greenhouse.” Showing the stark difference from Shakespeare’s Juliet and Gnomeo and Juliets. Much more independent, fearless, adventurous, etc. She didn’t wait for permission to leave and took it upon herself.
Why is this important to the story? I personally believe it was to make it easier to connect the story with children. Both of the main characters were portrayed as adventurous, fun loving people. Something that would be very easy for children to connect and resonate with. Gnomeo and Juliet does a very good job at balancing the romance of the movie with the adventure/action of the movie, keeping the younger audience engaged while keeping the idea of love in their minds. Astronut1 reinforces my prior statement by leaving in their review: “It’s their desire for fun and adventure that makes these two compatible, and makes their love easy for even a child to understand.”
The next most notable moment, and possibly one of (if not) the most important parts in each medium respectfully is the first meeting between Romeo/Gnomeo and Juliet. In the original play Romeo and Juliet meet at the Capulet ball, where everyone is wearing a costume and or a disguise. Initially, Romeo came to the ball to find Rosaline, the girl he had feelings for that she was not reciprocating. While searching for her he runs into Juliet, both wearing costumes and both immediately falling for each other, love at first sight. Soon after the ball Romeo and Juliet figure out they are on opposite sides of a long battle.
In Gnomeo and Juliet, when they meet they are both wearing disguises (namely Juliet in spy clothing trying to get a flower, and Gnomeo in a camo outfit trying to wreak havoc on the red side.) when they meet Gnomeo and Juliet go back and forth around the greenhouse, fighting over the flower for fun where eventually they end up outside on top of a twig over water, the moon shining a spotlight around them where they pause face to face, painting the actual love at first sight moment where they fight over the flower for one last time and stop to kiss before the twig breaks and they both fall into the water. The water removing whatever paint and costumes from the two, revealing that one is a red and the other is a blue.
After their true identities were revealed both of the pairs were filled with dread, wondering how this could ever work between them until they eventually decided they would keep it a secret. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet this is established in the balcony scene, where Romeo and Juliet acknowledge that they shouldn’t do this, and Romeo leaves after confessing his love for her.
Whereas in Gnomeo and Juliet their way of meeting was by going to the same spot they met for the first time, the greenhouse where they fought over the flower. They both acknowledge that they shouldn’t do this, and in my opinion do a better job explaining it than the original although the language used is also quite literally years ahead of the originals time. Gnomeo and Juliet plan to meet at the greenhouse over and over again.
Next, In the original play and in Gnomeo and Juliet both Juliets use the “nurse” character (In Gnomeo and Juliet its Nanette) to communicate with their respective partners as both in Shakespeare’s version and in Gnomeo and Juliet both the nurse and Nanette support them and their love.
The next big event with both mediums is the fight between Romeo and Tybalt. In Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeos best friend. Without a second thought Romeo seeks out Tybalt and eventually kills him in revenge. While in Gnomeo and Juliet, Tybalt breaks Benny’s hat (I’m assuming Benny is meant to be Gnomeo’s Mercutio? It’s heavily implied especially since it’s a similar line of events.) signifying a tragedy (Mercutio’s death) and in retaliation Gnomeo and Tybalt fight and Gnomeo wins. He offers mercy to Tybalt, and he chooses to push the conflict, ending in him getting smashed, signifying his death. Different from Romeo and Juliet, both sides (red and blue) witness it, and I mean literally every single person. The reds assume that Gnomeo just killed Tybalt, and the blues assume the same thing but are obviously going to defend him. Both sides assumed he did it as they arrived too late to witness the whole fight.
After this, Gnomeo and Juliet stray from the original slightly by having Gnomeo also “die” along with Tybalt. After Tybalt’s death and both sides approaching Gnomeo he is forced into the road where he avoids cars until there is a sound of broken glass, when the camera pans back there is nothing but shards. Later, it is revealed to be a glass from inside of the truck that “ran him over” but everyone assumes he is dead except for Shroom (a dog more or less.) While in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Romeo was instead banished. Everyone knew he was alive instead of him needing to fake his death or anything.
After these events, Both Juliets were “locked away.” In Gnomeo and Juliet, Juliet was glued on top of her “pedestal,” signifying Juliet being Locked into her room by her father in Shakespeare’s version. Although, in Gnomeo and Juliet she wasn’t forced to marry Paris like in Shakespeare’s version.
At this point in the stories, the climax is fast approaching. Gnomeo is found by Shroom and Featherstone (a plastic flamingo) who bring him back to the backyard. While they are on the way back Benny orders the “Terrafirminator” and uses it to break down the fence between the two sides attempting to demolish the red side, the reds and blues go into an all-out war. Paris is shot with blueberries repeatedly until he can’t move (supposed to be his death,) and Juliets pedestal takes significant damage as Gnomeo arrives. Gnomeo jumps down attempting to save her, but the glue is too strong and the pedestal crumbles. Everyone stops fighting, looking towards the rubble assuming that they are dead. The smoke slowly clearing as rocks begin to shift, a hand sprouts from the rubble, Gnomeo and Juliet erupt from the remains of the pedestal. Lady Bluebury and Lord Redbrick decide to stop the feud. Leading Gnomeo and Juliet to live happily ever after.
While the complete opposite happens in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliet faked her own death by drinking a potion that makes her appear dead. When Romeo arrives, he sees her “lifeless” body and drinks poison dying next to her. When she awakens, she sees his corpse and takes her own life joining him on the other side.
So, to answer my statement of “How does the lack of tragedy in Gnomeo and Juliet change the source material’s message?” I believe that for most of the story it doesn’t do much, I say this because (Gn/R)omeo and Juliet fall in love in disguises, Tybalt still dies, the feud still ends, etc. But at the very end the lack of tragedy speaks volumes. A review from the New York Times stated: “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. The source material, after all, is a romantic tragedy. Fiddling with the ending to make it a brighter family-friendly lark has its cost.” In Gnomeo and Juliet both of the main characters live, while in Romeo and Juliet they both perish. I feel that the lack of tragedy at the end of the film heavily impacts the message the viewer is left with. As for how the movie did overall, Rotten Tomatoes says that the movie overall has a 3.4 out a 5 stars, and one reviewer from The Independent Critic said, “A decent film that could have been so much more, the star-crossed lovers in Gnomeo and Juliet may survive this time around but, unfortunately, their film is dead on arrival.”
Sources:
Movie Review – ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’ – ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’ Sets Ceramic Hearts Afire – NYTimes.com
astronut1. (2021, May 13). Review: Gnomio and Juliet. The Shakespearean Student. https://shakespeareanstudent.com/2021/04/30/review-gnomio-and-juliet/
“Gnomeo and Juliet” Review. The independent critic – “Gnomeo and juliet” review. https://theindependentcritic.com/gnomeo_and_juliet
Sprockets and Springes 