Sherlock Gnomes

Summarize Fact Check

At London's Natural History Museum, detective gnome Sherlock Gnomes and his assistant, Dr. Gnome Watson, foil their longtime nemesis Moriarty, a pie mascot, who appears to be killed when he is crushed by a dinosaur skeleton. Meanwhile, the garden gnome families, including Miss Montague and Mr. Capulet, relocate from Stratford-upon-Avon to a neglected garden in London. Lady Bluebury and Lord Redbrick appoint Gnomeo and Juliet as new leaders, but the relationship between the gnome couple becomes strained as Juliet focuses on revitalizing the garden. Gnomeo's friend Benny calls him, stating that there is a monster in their garden. The two race back only to find everyone gone. Suddenly, Sherlock and Watson arrive and find a clue card. Juliet and Gnomeo urge the duo to tell them what is going on, and Sherlock reluctantly agrees to let them tag along.

A clue from Moriarty, whom Sherlock believes survived their last encounter, leads them to Chinatown. They find the next clue at Curly Fu's Emporium, and escape a group of guards whom Sherlock had previously offended. They arrive back at the Natural History Museum, where Gnomeo suggests they look inside but Sherlock decides to visit an art gallery instead, as it helps him think. Gnomeo tries to convince him otherwise, but is shocked and hurt when Juliet sides with Sherlock. The couple argue and Gnomeo storms off to the museum with Watson in pursuit. Gnomeo realises that he should not have left Juliet; before he can get back to her, he is kidnapped by a stone gargoyle, who apparently kills Watson. Gnomeo is brought to the rest of the gnomes and informed they will be killed during a fireworks celebration the following evening. Meanwhile, Sherlock figures out the next clue is at the royal park. He and Juliet disguise themselves as a squirrel to get the clue from a pug, and manage to evade the dog on a lawnmower.

Gnomeo attempts to free the gnomes, but only he and the Red Goon Gnomes are able to escape before the gargoyles arrive. The next clue leads Juliet and Sherlock to a doll shop where they meet his resentful former fiancée, Irene, who kicks them out, but allows Juliet back in after she distances herself from Sherlock. Irene gives Juliet the clue, which leads her and Sherlock to Traitor's Gate at the Tower of London. They discover Watson, apparently the true mastermind, who reveals that he pretended to be Moriarty to get through to Sherlock, who never showed respect or appreciation for him, and supposedly has the gnomes in custody, only to find them all missing.

Moriarty is revealed to have survived and plans to crush the gnomes by trapping them in the towers of Tower Bridge, and raising the bridge during a fireworks display. Sherlock, Juliet, and Watson race to the bridge, where they reunite with Gnomeo and thwart Moriarity's plan. Sherlock throws himself at Moriarty, knocking them both over the bridge. Watson narrowly saves Sherlock with his cane grappling hook, where upon Moriarty lands in the water and helplessly floats away.

In the aftermath, the gnomes celebrate their restored garden the following spring, and Sherlock and Watson set off on their next case, having reconciled.

• Johnny Depp as Sherlock Gnomes, a gnome who is Dr. Gnome Watson's friend, and Irene's ex-fiancé. He is the counterpart to Sherlock Holmes.
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Dr. Gnome Watson, a gnome who is Sherlock Gnomes' friend and assistant. He is the counterpart to Dr. John Watson.
• James McAvoy as Gnomeo, a blue gnome who is Lady Bluebury's son, Juliet's husband, and Benny's best friend. He is the counterpart to Romeo Montague.
• Emily Blunt as Juliet, a red gnome who is Lord Redbrick's daughter, Gnomeo's wife, and Nanette's best friend. She is the counterpart to Juliet Capulet.
• Jamie Demetriou as Moriarty, a pie mascot and Sherlock Gnomes' nemesis. He is the counterpart to Professor James Moriarty.
• Michael Caine as Lord Redbrick, the leader of the red garden gnomes and Juliet's widowed father, who is overprotective of her. He is the counterpart to Lord Capulet.
• Maggie Smith as Lady Bluebury, the leader of the blue garden gnomes and Gnomeo's widowed mother. She is the counterpart to Lady Montague.
• Ashley Jensen as Nanette, a plastic garden frog who is Juliet's best friend, Paris' former girlfriend, and Benny's current girlfriend. She is the counterpart to Nurse.
• Matt Lucas as Benny, an impulsive gnome who is Gnomeo's best friend, Call Me Doll's former boyfriend, and Nanette's current boyfriend. He is the counterpart to Mercutio and Benvolio.
• Stephen Merchant as Paris, a nerdy red gnome who was arranged to marry Juliet. He is the counterpart to Count Paris.
• Mary J. Blige as Irene, a plastic doll who is Sherlock Gnomes' ex-fiancé. She is the counterpart to Irene Adler.
• Ozzy Osbourne as Fawn, a garden deer and counterpart to Peter.
• Julie Walters as Mrs. Montague, the elderly owner of the garden.
• Richard Wilson as Mr. Capulet, the elderly owner of the garden.
• Julio Bonet as Mankini Gnome, a red gnome who wears a mankini.
• Gary Bradbury as Barry, a gnome who sits on a toilet.
• Kelly Asbury as Red Goon Gnomes. They are counterparts to Gregory, Sampson, Anthony, and Potpan.
• Dan Starkey as Teddy Gregson, the counterpart to Tobias Gregson.
• Dexter Fletcher as Reggie, a gargoyle.
• Javone Prince as Ronnie, a gargoyle.
• James Hong as Salt Shaker
• John Stevenson as Big Boy Gorilla
• Stephen Wight as Bridge Operator
• Eve Webster as Mrs. Udderson, Sherlock Gnomes' cow

Development

In March 2012, it was reported that a sequel to Gnomeo & Juliet was in development at Rocket Pictures. Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil—four of the nine writers of the original film—were attached to write the screenplay. Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish returned as producers, with Elton John serving again as executive producer and contributing new songs. The sequel would introduce Sherlock Gnomes, described as "the greatest ornamental detective", hired to investigate the mysterious disappearance of gnomes.^[2]

In September 2012, John Stevenson, co-director of Kung Fu Panda (2008), was announced as the director.^[3] Kelly Asbury, who directed the original film, was unavailable due to his commitments on Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) for Sony Pictures Animation. However, he remained involved as a creative consultant and voiced the Red Goon Gnomes.^[4]

Casting

In November 2015, Johnny Depp was announced as the voice of Sherlock Gnomes, with the film scheduled for release on January 12, 2018.^[5] James McAvoy and Emily Blunt reprised their roles as Gnomeo and Juliet, respectively.^[6]

Animation

Unlike its predecessor, which was animated by Arc Productions, Sherlock Gnomes was animated by Mikros Animation in London and Paris, with additional work by Reel FX Animation in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Montreal. The animation was produced using Autodesk Maya, and character models from the first film were reused. Approximately 60% of the animation crew was based in London, with the remainder in Paris. At peak production, the film employed between 80 and 100 animators. Animation director Eric Leighton cited George Pal's Puppetoons as an influence on the gnome animation style.^[7] Human characters were animated using motion capture, while the end credits sequence was created by Studio AKA in London.^[8]

Music

Chris Bacon returned to compose the score, as he had on the first film. James Newton Howard, who co-composed the original score, did not return due to his work on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), though he contributed as a music consultant. The film's soundtrack was released by Virgin EMI Records.

Sherlock Gnomes was initially scheduled for release in the United States on January 12, 2018, but in May 2017, it was delayed to March 23, 2018.^[9] In the United Kingdom, the film was released on May 11, 2018.

Marketing

On November 3, 2017, seven teaser posters were unveiled, coinciding with the official shortening of the film's title from Gnomeo & Juliet 2: Sherlock Gnomes to Sherlock Gnomes.^[4] The first trailer was released on November 7, 2017.^[10] To promote the film, several parody posters were also released spoofing notable 2017 films such as Darkest Hour, The Disaster Artist, The Greatest Showman, The Post, I, Tonya, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, All the Money in the World, Wonder Woman, and The Shape of Water, each reimagined with gnome-themed titles and characters.^[11]

Home media

Sherlock Gnomes was released on Digital HD on June 5, 2018, followed by Blu-ray and DVD on June 12, 2018.^[12]

Box office

Sherlock Gnomes grossed $43.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $47.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $90.4 million, against a production budget of $59 million.^[1]

In North America, the film was released alongside Pacific Rim Uprising, Midnight Sun, Unsane, and Paul, Apostle of Christ. It was projected to earn $13–18 million from 3,600 theaters during its opening weekend,^[13] but debuted with a lower-than-expected $10.6 million, finishing fourth at the box office.^[14]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Sherlock Gnomes holds an approval rating of 28% based on 65 reviews with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Sherlock Gnomes is sadly, utterly stumped by the mystery of the reason for its own existence."^[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted score of 36 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[16] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.^[14]

Critics largely panned the film for its unoriginal humor and underwhelming plot. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film one and a half stars, calling it "a dull and pointless sequel" and noting that "only the youngest viewers might be distracted enough not to notice how lifeless it is."^[17] IGN's David Griffin rated the film 4.5/10, writing, "Sherlock Gnomes tries to mix action and slapstick with detective mystery but ends up solving little except how to lose an audience's attention."^[18]

Variety's Peter Debruge found the film lacking in energy and coherence, stating, "Even kids might find this lazy sequel's jokes and logic tiresome."^[19] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian awarded the film one star out of five, describing it as "a joyless and charmless exercise that lacks the wit or warmth to engage either children or adults."^[20]

Deadline Hollywood criticized the film's "uninspired voice performances" and over-reliance on Elton John's music catalog, which it described as "needlessly shoehorned into scenes."^[21] Common Sense Media reviewers noted that while the film features familiar characters and bright visuals, the story falls flat, and the messaging around teamwork is undermined by weak character development.^[22]

BBC Radio 1's Ali Plumb described Sherlock Gnomes as "visually competent but narratively cluttered," adding that "while some gags may earn a chuckle, the film largely plays it too safe to leave any real impression."^[23]

• Gnome Alone, another garden gnome film that was released in 2017