Sherlock Gnomes imaginatively focuses on a mystery that needs attention. Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy), is a happy garden gnome who, along with his wife Juliet, live in a garden in London. Life isn’t bad, but when Juliet (Emily Blunt) starts paying more attention to the garden than to Gnomeo, he becomes upset. But when fellow gnomes start disappearing, he has to turn to detective Sherlock Gnomes (wonderfully voiced by Jonny Depp) to figure out what has happened to the others. Of course Sherlock Gnome’s faithful partner-in-crime, Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor), comes along to help.
“Sherlock Gnomes” is the sequel to “Gnomeo & Juliet” (2011). As in the previous Gnomes film, Elton John’s songs are a part of the movie though not as many are featured this time around. There are a few obvious inside jokes about Elton John, including Gnomeo’s code name, Tiny Dancer, which is, of course, the title of one of Elton’s hit songs.
There are a few jokes for adults and older kids; for example, when Sherlock Gnomes says he needs to find a ship, he is told, “No ships, Sherlock.” And one male gnome dances in a thong. In another scene, a gnome “toots” while in a mud puddle. So there is some potty humor as well as some fantasy violence, with several characters swatting one another. On the other hand, the music and story is entertaining, and kids will love it. Therefore, we are presenting our Dove 12+ Seal to the movie. It’s elementary, really. Sherlock Gnomes is entertaining, in a Saturday-morning-cartoon kind of way. And the music is great!