'Gnomeo & Juliet' no garden variety 3-D comedy

This is not your garden variety, animated 3-D Shakespearean knock-off.

“Gnomeo & Juliet” may sound like a cheesy kids' movie, but it quickly establishes itself as a delightful, clever, musical reinvention of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy as experienced through the secret lives of gnomes.

Yep, garden gnomes. Those elfish, concrete/plaster characters you buy at home-improvement stores and then set out on the lawn to be forever dumped on by passing birds.

But like the main characters in the “Toy Story” movies, these gnomes spring to life when humans aren't looking.

The story takes place at Stratford-upon-Avon (the Bard's birthplace) where Mr. Montague (voiced by Richard Wilson) and Ms. Capulet (voiced by Julie Walters) carry on a scary war of words as feuding neighbors living in the same large duplex.

Naturally, their garden gnomes are also in eternal conflict, for reasons they don't remember and no longer care about.

The Montagues wear blue. The Capulets wear red. For American audiences, this adds an unsubtle political metaphor for the feuding Democrats and Republicans.

Gnomeo (voiced by “Last King of Scotland” star James McAvoy) appears as a weathered ornament constantly competing in lawn mower races with his red rival Tybalt (voiced by action star Jason Statham).

Juliet (voiced by Emily Blunt) becomes the obligatory independent daughter inexplicably endowed with martial arts moves (a rip-off of Princess Fiona from “Shrek”?).

Her red gnome father (voiced by Michael Caine) wants only to protect her, and goes so far as to actually glue her feet to the patio later in the story.

It took six people to come up with this story, then seven credited writers to crank out the screenplay. Usually, mass collaborations produce mediocre works by committee, but this one survives with plenty of wit and fun to spare.

(Hey, when the supporting cast includes a Spanish flamingo prancer, a statue of Bill Shakespeare himself, and Juliet's nurse as a frog lawn sprinkler, what's not to love?)

The expected cultural references (as in “Shrek”) have been thankfully kept to a minimum, although Bard enthusiasts may be greatly amused by numerous Shakespearean riffs in the screenplay.

“Gnomeo & Juliet” lacks the sass and bite of DreamWorks' original “Shrek” — whose all-out attack against Walt Disney animation added an extra layer of amusement — but it has been directed with sincerity, sweetness and craftsmanship by Kelly Asbury, director of the serviceable sequel “Shrek 2.”

Executive producer Elton John contributes several of his hits, plus a couple of original works, but these don't merely take up space on the soundtrack. He often integrates the songs into the plot.

Take the scene where red gnome Benny (voiced by Matt Lucas) tries to order a monster lawn mower online. He keeps hitting the wrong computer keys and creating error tones that gradually reveal themselves to be the opening notes from “Benny and the Jets.”

And if you listen carefully, deliciously bad gnome puns pop up in the lyrics of Sir Elton's favorite standards.

“Gnomeo & Juliet” was created in 2-D by a Toronto company called Rocket Pictures before being converted into unexceptional 3-D. Fortunately, the 3-D glasses don't darken the image too much, as they have in dimmer films.

I don't know what effect was used to create the clinking sound of gnomes striking objects, but it closely approximates a whimsical thumbnail raked across a chalkboard.

That's about as close to a clinker as this movie gets.

<b>“Gnomeo & Juliet”</b>

★ ★ ★

<b>Starring: </b>Voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart, Hulk Hogan

<b>Directed by: </b>Kelly Asbury

<b>Other: </b>A Touchstone Pictures release. Rated G. 84 minutes.