Sherlock Gnomes

When garden upon garden of gnomes disappear, who you gonna call? Sherlock Gnomes of course! Armed with a bag of Maltesars, three pre-teens and a cinema full of sugar-filled littlies, I was off to check out the sequel to the ever-so-popular “Gnomeo and Juliet”, which sees the protagonists return but also brings a mystery and a duo of investigators to solve the case.

Following the defeat of his arch nemesis Moriarty, Sherlock Gnomes is on the lookout for a new enemy, and a new crime to indulge in his quest for adventure and knowledge. His prayers are answered when he gets wind of gnomes across London going missing, so he sets off with his trusty assistant Gnomes Watson to gather clues.

Across town is Gnomeo and Juliet, moved into a new garden with their friends, and now owning the title of garden leaders. After Gnomeo makes a failed attempt to escape the garden and get a flower for Juliet, the two get stuck in the great outdoors and run into Sherlock and Watson in the midst of their case. The lovers get stuck in the chase, and following a tiff get separated as the duos split up to solve the case of the missing gnomes.

As with most kids’ animated films, a lot of the appeal lies in the humour, both for adults and their younger counterparts. “Sherlock Gnomes” offers enough of it, though I wouldn’t call it the most clever. Having said that, kids are easily amused and all it takes is a gnome in a mankini to get these ankle-biters rolling in hysteria.

After speaking to my entourage of mini Jojo Siwas, the consensus was: “it was funny, though the first one was better”, and “I bet you liked the kitties, Katie!” Damn, those kids know me too well.

If you’re looking for a reliable, and entertaining 90 minutes these school holidays, you really can’t go wrong with “Sherlock Gnomes”. The animation again is impressive, the premise is simple enough for any kid to follow and the gnome on the toilet is the old reliable gag that will make every child giggle.

For the adults: play the game of “guess the voice”, and look out for the Easter eggs planted for the parents, you know – the one’s you laugh at while the kid is going “who is that sparkly dude playing the piano?”

Enjoy, gnome lovers.