Pixarfication, Comedy and Earning the Happy Ending in <span class='italic'>Gnomeo & Juliet</span>

doi:10.1017/9781009200905.008

Chapter 7 - Pixarfication, Comedy and Earning the Happy Ending in Gnomeo & Juliet

from Part II - Extending Genre

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 October 2023

Benjamin Broadribb

Edited by

Victoria Bladen ,

Sarah Hatchuel and

Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin

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Victoria Bladen: Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Sarah Hatchuel: Affiliation:
University Paul-Valéry Montpellier
Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin: Affiliation:
University Paul-Valéry Montpellier

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Summary

This chapter presents an academic re-assessment of Gnomeo & Juliet, acknowledging its status as a Shakespearean adaptation for young children whilst also moving beyond this superficial evaluation. Whilst Asbury has his version of Shakespeare’s ‘star-cross’d lovers’ survive and unite their rival factions – a choice which clearly makes the story more palatable for children – the film earns this happy ending. It does so both through its echoes of and engagement with Shakespearean comedy (particularly A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and through its intertextuality with cinematic history, British culture and heritage and the Shakespearean canon. Asbury astutely makes his film appeal equally to three distinct audiences: young children, adults and Shakespeare aficionados – emulating the critically and commercially successful approach of Pixar Animation Studios in creating animated cinema which simultaneously connects authentically with multiple discrete demographics.

Keywords

Romeo and Juliet Gnomeo & Juliet Asbury animation ending

Type: Chapter
Information: Shakespeare on Screen: Romeo and Juliet , pp. 110 - 124

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009200905.008 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2023

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