There’s a current boom of family-friendly film fare inspired by beloved British literary characters, which makes this moment ripe for the animated “Sherlock Gnomes,” the sequel to 2011’s “Gnomeo and Juliet.” In terms of ranking these adaptations, “Sherlock Gnomes” is more pleasant than “Peter Rabbit,” but doesn’t touch the wonder of “Paddington 2.” It’s a serviceable animated feature, with a few inspired elements, and more than enough gnome puns to go around.
The beloved British literary characters are, of course, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, as well as Romeo and Juliet. They offer enough rich, recognizable lore to pad out this London-set mystery, directed by “Kung Fu Panda” director John Stevenson, written by Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley and Ben Zazove. As for the appeal of using garden gnome characters, well, it’s anyone’s guess.
It’s essentially “Toy Story” mashed up with “Sherlock Holmes,” with a dash or two of “Romeo and Juliet.” The garden gnomes and lawn ornaments come to life while their owners are away, ruling over their bucolic backyard domains. Gnomeo (James McAvoy), Juliet (Emily Blunt), and their garden menagerie have been uprooted from to the country to the city, and just as they’re settling in to London life, they learn the hard way about the harsh realities of urban crime.
When all the gnomes are kidnapped, Sherlock Gnomes (Johnny Depp), the guardian of all the gnomes in London, swoops in to investigate with his trusty, long-suffering helper/partner Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor), while Gnomeo and Juliet join up to help find their gnome clan. Sherlock instantly suspects his nemesis Moriarty (Jamie Demetriou), whom he thought he vanquished.