The soundtrack for Touchstone Pictures' 2011 CGI animated film
Gnomeo and Juliet (Shakespeare, garden gnomes, forbidden love, etc.) was built primarily around the back catalog of Sir
Elton John, with four slots allotted to composer
James Newton Howard's likeable orchestral score, a lighthearted, discotheque-ready rendition of “Crocodile Rock” by
Nelly Furtado and a requisite, closing calypso number (“The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room”).
John and longtime collaborator
Bernie Taupin offered up two new compositions, the lovely and stoic “Love Builds a Garden” and the spirited,
Beatlesque “Hello, Hello” (the latter appears in the film as a duet with
Lady Gaga, while the soundtrack version features only
John), with the remainder of the playlist relying on
Elton radio staples like “Your Song,” “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Benny and the Jets,” "Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)," and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with
Kiki Dee. ~ James Christopher Monger