Despite probably one of the greatest casts of all time for an animation the problem with this film is just.....gnomes are crap. There is nothing good about them which makes it very hard to like the characters and so not even a cast of the century can save this wooden diaglogue, predictable, 2nd rate film which fails to deliver even moderate entertainment. The folks who have scored this higher than a 3 were clearly high on crack when watching this

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera and Tom and Jerry. Still love it to this day, whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Found myself surprisingly liking 'Gnomeo and Juliet' from seven years ago. It was not great or perfect but it had charm, fun and heart and knew what it wanted to be without trying to do more than needed. 'Sherlock Gnomes' actually had the potential to be better for somebody who is also a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and is always intrigued by how well he lends to animation. He and his stories have been used in animation quite a few times before, a prime example being Disney's 'The Great Mouse Detective' which was proof that he lends well to animation. The Tom and Jerry crossover film from 2010 showed that a crossover could work too. Part of me was apprehensive, because the trailer really didn't look that appealing.

'Sherlock Gnomes' for me is inferior to 'Gnomeo and Juliet', lacking its charm, heart and focus and its target audience is less clear. It is better than the trailer suggested and is not as bad as some critics have made out, but with an all-star voice cast and such iconic literary characters being involved there was a much better film somewhere that never fully materialised.

There are good things. The animation and voice acting are the best things. The animation is bright and colourful with charming designs and beautifully detailed backgrounds. The voice cast do a great job, although for my tastes Jamie Demetriou was a little too light-weight for Moriaty. James McAvoy and Emily Blunt are charming and Michael Caine and Maggie Smith can do no wrong, even Ozzy Osbourne is fun. Johnny Depp is especially good though, the eccentricity, intelligence, arrogance and spirit all there.

Although they needed to be more consistent, there are charming moments like the romantic chemistry, clever Holmesian references and amusing parts. Some of the pace is lively and the mystery intrigues in enough parts to keep one not bailing.

On the other hand, too much of the material feels tired and lacks freshness. The story is thin structurally and tends to hold few surprises and even less twists. Tension and suspense aren't there that much and it would have benefitted from cramming in less and having less characters (have to agree that there are far too many).

Unlike 'Gnomeo and Juliet', target audience is a bit of an issue in 'Sherlock Gnomes'. It tries to appeal to both children and adults, so every member of the family, and doesn't know how to go about it that tonally it feels muddled. The film tends to be too childish for adults, nothing is distasteful but too much of the humour makes one groan, and is likely to be too confused for younger audiences that (as well as those unfamiliar with Sherlock Holmes and acquainting themselves with him through this film) might find the Holmesian references going over their heads. Characters are never annoying but are a bit bland and too much of the soundtrack does not fit, too much of out of place and randomly inserted.

In summary, mediocre for me but not a waste of time and was oddly a little better than expected. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Gnomeo & Juliet reinvented the William Shakespeare story for the younger audience, with garden gnomes, and then the makers returned and decided to do the same thing with the famous Arthur Conan Doyle creation, directed by John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda). Basically, Sherlock Gnomes (Razzie nominated Johnny Depp) and his assistant, Dr. Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are famous detectives often trying to defeat Moriarty (Jamie Demetriou),a pie mascot, and in their latest escapade their enemy is seemingly defeated, crushed by a skeleton in the London's National History Museum. Meanwhile, Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) have moved with the other garden gnomes to a new house in London. Juliet becomes obsessed with wanting to improve the garden, and Gnomeo tries to steal a flower to become the centrepiece. Following a squabble, the couple return to the garden and find all the gnomes and other living ornaments have gone missing. Sherlock and Watson show up at the scene to investigate, and agreeing to team up with the couple, they follow the various clues. Sherlock deduces that their friends have been kidnapped and are being held by his archenemy Moriarty, who survived his ordeal. The clues lead them to various locations, including Chinatown, shops and museums, the royal park, and finally to Tower Bridge. There is a point where Watson becomes part of the plot, revealing that he did it to earn respect from Sherlock, after mistreatment for so long. Ultimately, the real villain Moriarty, with his gargoyle henchmen, threatens the garden gnomes. But Sherlock, with the help of Gnomeo and Juliet, defeats him. The day is saved, the gnomes return to their completed garden, and Sherlock and Watson leave for another adventure, friends and partners once more. Also starring Mary J. Blige as Irene, Sir Michael Caine as Lord Redbrick, Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Bluebury, Ashley Jensen as Nanette, Matt Lucas as Benny, Stephen Merchant as Paris, Ozzy Osbourne as Fawn, Julie Walters as Mrs. Montague, Richard Wilson as Mr. Capulet, Dexter Fletcher as Gargoyle Reggie and James Hong as Salt Shaker. The voice casting is fine, the inclusion of memorable Sir Elton John songs is reasonably good, and the animation is colourful, the Sherlock material (the Mind Palace for example) will not be familiar to children watching, it is not charming, but the kids watching will not complain, a lame but not completely awful computer-animated romantic comedy. It was nominated the Razzie for Worst Screen Combo for Johnny Depp and his fast-fading film career (He's doing voices for cartoons, fer kripesakes!). Adequate!