"I'm Not Illiterate! My Parents Were Married!"

The unit we just finished up in our anthology contains possibly THE WORST dramatized version of A Christmas Carol that I have ever had the misfortune to come across.  So as to not inflict that sort of damage upon my students (and myself, frankly), I decided to substitute a young reader's version of Romeo and Juliet.  The kids LOVE it, and it makes me happy too.  Reading Shakespeare is one of the few things I miss about teaching high school.  

After taking the unit test, I decided to reward the kids for doing such a great job by letting them watch Gnomeo and Juliet.  If you're unfamiliar with this gem, you really should watch it.  It's a cartoon retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but with garden gnomes.  And Elton John.  I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it's actually very clever.  The students loved being able to match up the characters and were furious when the gnomes don't all die at the end.

However, there were some issues with the accuracy and logistics of the plot.  Apparently the students were okay with talking garden gnomes who race lawnmowers in the alley, but they couldn't handle a few other small details.  For example, this is Lady Bluebery, who is Gnomeo's mother:

Comments that were made by the students included such gems as, "I still don't understand how gnomes have children," and, "Wait--you're like 60.  How can you have a child?"

Focus on the important details, people.