Two things I realized as I was finishing today’s comic:
- My version of Elton John looks a lot like a fat David Letterman.
- I realized too late that I should have done a comic about Valentine’s Day.
I can fix that second issue, though. I have a Valentine’s Day themed comic in mind for tomorrow. Nothing fancy. I should be able to knock it out pretty quick. So maybe you want to swing by the site tomorrow and check it out? Mark your calendars.
I don’t remember when I first saw the trailer for Gnomeo & Juliet, but I remember my reaction to it when I did. The premise – which looked horribly derivative – combined with the entry-level animation and cheap fart jokes convinced me this was some kind of direct-to-DVD movie. I was shocked to learn it was getting a theatrical release. Credit Elton John’s name being attached to the production, I guess. I can see no other reason why this was green-lit.
Apparently the rights to the screenplay were originally picked up by Disney before production was shut down by John Lasseter after becoming the head of Disney animation. Thank goodness. This movie looks as bad as Home on the Range – and the Disney gatekeepers should have done a better job of seeing through the premise.
Truthfully, this movie looks so placid, I can’t imagine who the audience is for. Maybe it’s just for kids. That’s okay. Not every animated movie has to be pitched at adults, too. But to me it looks like an animated movie made for your Great Aunt who owns too many cats and who thought Kung Fu Panda was “too ethnic.”
I means, garden gnomes! SERIOUSLY?!
I don’t know if there’s much more vitriol that I can conjure up for Gnomeo and Juliet. But I thought it would be fun to position the movie as the most bizarre vanity project of all time and poke fun at it.
Tomorrow, I’ll bring the love with a brand new comic. You bring the chocolates.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, EVERYONE!
I'd like to do a fresh take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet using my songs as the score!
...AND I WANT IT TO BE ABOUT GARDEN GNOMES.
IN 3-D.
Is he using cocaine again?
When I first saw a trailer for Gnomeo, I had about the same reaction. As I’ve seen it a few more times and a couple of different trailers now, I don’t know. It looks kind of cute. That of course doesn’t mean that it won’t be quite terrible, but I think it may be good. Enough that I’ll definitely watch it when it’s out on video, and might catch it on a matinee.
I have a friend who worked for Disney Animation during several years of Gnomeo’s production, and from what he told me, you’re bang on. The movie only exists as a vanity project for Elton John, and it was terrible from day one.
I find that extremely validating. Thank you.
Also, why do I not have friends who work for Disney? Life is unfair! 🙁
I thought the movie was cute. I was not at all aware going in that it was produced by Elton John and David Furnish…or that there’d be Elton John songs thruought. Elton John songs that have had the lyrics changed to being…gnome like… There was a also totally missed opportunity tho for the Dolly Parton gnome (seriously… Dolly is in it) to do a gnome version of her Romeo/Juliet song (it’s from the 90’s).
It’s a fun movie for kids and adults into Shakespeare would get a kick out of all the placement of names of his plays that are spread thru the movie.
It looks alright. I don’t see what your beef with garden gnomes is, though. Replace that with “balloons on a house, seriously!?” Don’t hate the premise, hate the execution. :p
Balloons on a house was at least original.
Garden gnomes that come to life when no one else is looking is straight out of Toy Story’s playbook.
Okay, okay. I know that trope has been around longer than Toy Story. But c’mon.
Hah, I thought of David the Gnome at first.
I heard good reviews for the flick, but I agree with your thoughts. “Garden Gnomes,” don’t really scream “Shakespeare” to me.
Also, taekwondogirl, Up was a sweet movie, not some poor adaptation of a reused story.
You’re not going to get me to argue against Up, I loved it. I think people are just being unfairly harsh on this movie.
Honestly, I thought that when I first saw an ad for it, but the trailer and cast definitely made me want to see it. The premise may be cheesy, but like taekwondogirl says, execution makes all the difference. 🙂
(Though I had no idea Elton John was involved other than that they were using his music for some reason, which I didn’t give much thought to…)
I cringed at the first trailer. Subsequent trailers made me go “well, that clip there is kinda cute” but the overall execution smelled bad. I mean, if you’re going to take a Shakespeare classic and make a strange comedic adaptation of it, at least give it the respect it deserves and give me something comparable with Steve Martin’s 80’s flick, “Roxanne.” Now that was a great movie.