‘Sherlock Gnomes’ Film Review

Grade: C

There really is not that much to say about ‘Sherlock Gnomes’, except that its animation, when compared to its predecessor ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’, is a breath of fresh air. That is saying something for an animated feature that could be passed off as something that feels more like a Direct-To-DVD movie than something meant for theaters. I did not hate ‘Sherlock Gnomes’, but I cannot stamp it off as great either. It is what it is.

The plot is pretty straightforward, Gnome lovers, Gnomeo (Voiced by James McAvoy) and Juliet (Voiced by Emily Blunt), along with the other variety of garden items, have been moved to the city of London. It seems that the Montague and Capulet humans have settled their differences since the last movie, when they were bickering neighbors, and settled down as a couple. Life seems perfect, until reports of missing garden gnomes have hit the news; and it seems that everyone in the Montague-Capulet garden is missing. But have no fear, because a duo of mystery-solving gnomes known as – Get this! – Sherlock Gnomes (Voiced by Johnny Depp) and Watson (Voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor) step in to solve the case. From there on, things run the way you expect them to.

Let’s be honest! There are two reasons that ‘Sherlock Gnomes’ was made: 1.) ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ was a surprise hit; making Beaucoup bucks at the box office. 2.) Its title is a pun of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’, the same way ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ is a pun based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’. While the title pun may be clever, that is all ‘Sherlock Gnomes’ has going for it.