Here’s A First Look At ‘Sherlock Gnomes’ (Trailer)

Sherlock Gnomes, the follow-up to 2011’s Gnomeo & Juliet, has released its first trailer.

John Stevenson (co-director of Kung Fu Panda) handles directorial duties, from a script by Ben Zazove. The idea for the film is straightforward – Sherlock Holmes with garden gnomes:

Paramount Animation is releasing the film. The division released Monster Trucks last January, but has struggled to produce films or put forth a clear vision for its brand.

In July, Paramount hired former Dreamworks Feature Animation co-president Mireille Soria to take charge of the animation division, and the studio’s output is expected to align more closely with Paramount’s sister division, Nickelodeon Movies, both of which are owned by Viacom.

Back to Sherlock Gnomes though, the key highlight in the trailer is the funny and appealing animation provided by Mikros Image, the Technicolor-owned French company, which made Sherlock Gnomes out of its studios in Paris and London.

The company has carved out a niche as a producer of high-quality comedy-oriented cg, and scored a win earlier this year with its inventive work on Captain Underpants, which also marked the first time that Dreamworks outsourced the animation production of an entire film to a non-Dreamworks studio. Mikros’ upcoming productions include Astérix – The Secret of the Magic Potion and Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero.

Main voices in the film are provided by James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mary J. Blige, with music by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Sherlock Gnomes will be released in U.S. theaters on March 23, 2018.