Comparative Analysis of Gnomeo and Juliet and Romeo and Juliet

Comparative Analysis of Gnomeo and Juliet and Romeo and Juliet March 27, 2022 William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet was written in 1594 and is one of his most renowned works. Despite the fact that it was written so long ago, it is still well remembered today. Kelly Asbury was inspired by the play to direct Gnomeo and Juliet in 2011. Due to the conflict between their families, Romeo and Juliet is about two star-crossed lovers who end their own lives in order to be together, whereas Gnomeo and Juliet follows the same narrative line but employs garden gnomes to imitate the humans. In the film, both families must learn to put their differences aside as the lead characters fall. Strong themes of love, vengeance, and conflict are portrayed in both stories. Gnomeo and Juliet, on the other hand, is a children's film targeted for a much younger audience, with a cheerful conclusion rather than a tragic one. In both media, the subject of love is stressed as the most significant aspect. The two met at a Capulet feast in Romeo and Juliet, and it was love at first sight. They were terribly upset when they discovered they were from different houses and that they couldn't be together since their families were feuding. Juliet proclaimed her love for Romeo and expressed her unhappiness at the fact that he was a Montague. “Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo. Deny thy father and refuse thy name; and I will no longer be a Capulet” (Romeo and Juliet: Entire Play, 2019). This sadness is depicted in both the play and the film. "What's in a name?" a rose by any other word would smell as sweet” (Romeo and Juliet: Entire Play, 2019). Juliet is indicating that Romeo would still be the guy she loves even if he went by a different name. Although Juliet's famous words appear in both the play and the film, they are presented in distinct ways. In Gnomeo and Juliet, instead of using a rose to express her feelings for Gnomeo, Juliet remarks, "I mean, what's in a gnome? Because your blue, my father sees red and because I’m red, I’m feeling blue… and, in any case, that should not be the thing that keeps us apart” (Asbury, 2011). Juliet is torn in both media since she can't be with the one she loves because of the family rivalry. Kelly Asbury opted to end Gnomeo and Juliet with a joyful conclusion in which the two marry. This is in stark contrast to Shakespeare's choice to have Romeo and Juliet take their own lives and end tragically. Both ends, however, ironically put a end to the family feuds. Although Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet in the play, it has no effect on the other characters or the plot because no one knew about the marriage except Friar Laurence, Juliet's nurse, and, of course, Romeo and Juliet. When Lady Blueberry and Lord Redbrick witness the damage they've inflicted as a result of the rivalry, they declare "the feud to be finished," indicating the conclusion of the feud between the red and blue gnomes. Revenge appears on several occasions throughout the play and film. In certain cases, vengeance is shown in a similar manner. In the play, Tybalt seeks vengeance on Romeo and Mercutio for interrupting the Capulet's feast. He initiates a battle with Mercutio and stabs him, killing him in the end. Mercutio curses both Romeo and Tybalt's households with "a plague, a plague on both your houses," since he feels the enmity between the Montague's and the Capulet's is what killed him. Romeo seeks vengeance on Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio by stabbing and murdering Tybalt (Romeo and Juliet: Entire Play, 2019). However, it is not strictly Gnomeo's fault that Tybalt dies in the film; when Tybalt was fighting Gnomeo on a lawnmower, Gnomeo gets off and alerts Tybalt that he is about to hit a wall, "what, you really think I'm going to fall for that... what wall?" (Asbury, 2011). Unfortunately, the lawnmower collides with the wall, and Tybalt flies off the lawnmower, exclaiming, "Oh, that wall," and smashes into bits, only to be patched back together later in the film (Asbury, 2011). Despite the fact that the main conflict in both media is between the Montagues and the Capulets in the play and the Red and Blue gnomes in the film, there is also a quarrel between Miss Montague and Mr. Capulet in the film, t he feuding neighbors who loathe one other. Their animosity stems from who has the prettier garden; their fight is what inspires emulation among the Red and Blue gnomes, who will go to any length to damage the other's garden. Miss Montague and Mr. Capulet are quick to blame one other for the devastation of their gardens when the Red gnomes demolish the Blues' garden or vice versa. The rivalry between the Red and Blue gnomes is shown by situations in which one of them attempts to harm the other's garden, such as the Blues graffiti on Tybalt's well or the Reds' destruction of the Blues flower bed. Miss Montague's animosity with Mr. Capulet is the fundamental cause of the Reds' and Blues' feud, as well as the reason why Gnomeo and Juliet are unable to be together. In conclusion, there are numerous parallels between the play Romeo and Juliet and the film Gnomeo and Juliet, such as the plot and Juliet's famous remarks to Romeo expressing her love. However, there are major distinctions between Romeo and Juliet and Gnomeo and Juliet, the most notable of which being Romeo and Juliet's tragic ending as opposed to Gnomeo and Juliet's happy ending and marriage. Love, vengeance, and war are prominent themes in both arts. The family feuds are resolved in both texts, and the tensions and differences are laid to rest, reinforcing the universal theme of reconciliation in the face of conflict, and that love wins over vengeance and hatred.