There’s a current boom of family-friendly film fare inspired by beloved British literary characters, which makes this moment ripe for the animated “Sherlock Gnomes,” the sequel to 2011’s “Gnomeo and Juliet.” In terms of ranking these adaptations, “Sherlock Gnomes” is quite a bit more pleasant than “Peter Rabbit,” but doesn’t touch the wonder of “Paddington 2.” It’s a fairly serviceable animated feature, with a few inspired elements, and more than enough gnome puns to go around.
The beloved British literary characters are, of course, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, as well as Romeo and Juliet. They offer enough rich, recognizable lore to pad out this London-set mystery, directed by “Kung Fu Panda” director John Stevenson, written by Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley and Ben Zazove. As for the appeal of using garden gnome characters, well, it’s anyone’s guess. Perhaps the Travelocity Roaming Gnome was an inspiration?
It’s essentially “Toy Story” mashed up with “Sherlock Holmes,” with a dash or two of “Romeo and Juliet.” The garden gnomes and lawn ornaments come to life while their owners are away, ruling over their bucolic backyard domains. Gnomeo (James McAvoy), Juliet (Emily Blunt), and their garden menagerie have been uprooted from to the country to the city, and just as they’re settling in to London life, they learn the hard way about the harsh realities of urban crime.
When all the gnomes are kidnapped, Sherlock Gnomes (Johnny Depp), the guardian of all the gnomes in London, swoops in to investigate with his trusty, long-suffering helper/partner Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor), while Gnomeo and Juliet join up to help find their gnome clan. Sherlock instantly suspects his nemesis Moriarty (Jamie Demetriou), whom he thought he vanquished in a great museum caper.
Their race around London looking for clues follows the format of British crime films like “Snatch” as the team encounters various seedy characters of the dolls and ornaments underground.
Depp’s voice performance as the quirky Sherlock Gnomes is unrecognizable and rather uninspired. His character only takes off during fantasy sequences done in a lively black and white line-drawing animation style that illustrates his peculiar brain and ways of thinking. But the true standout among the voice performances is Demetriou as the demented, devious Moriarty, who takes the form of an adorable, but evil little pie boy figurine. This kind of surrealism is what “Sherlock Gnomes” is largely lacking in terms of personality, and the screen comes alive when Moriarty is on screen in a way that it doesn’t otherwise.
There are some fun bits and bobs to be found in the amusing enough “Sherlock Gnomes.” But the overall picture doesn’t have the kind of true wow factor that would make this one stand out from the rest of the pack.
MOVIE REVIEW
“Sherlock Gnomes”
Grade: C
Starring Johnny Depp, James McAvoy and Emily Blunt. Directed by John Stevenson.
Rated PG for some rude and suggestive humor. Check listings for theaters. 1 hour, 29 minutes.
Bottom line: It's cute, but lacks a wow factor
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