Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss
| Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Phil Nibbelink |
| Produced by | Margit Friesacher Phil Nibbelink |
| Written by | Phil Nibbelink William Shakespeare (play) |
| Narrated by | Michael Toland |
| Starring | Daniel Trippett Patricia Trippett Chip Albers Michael Toland Stephen Goldberg Phil Nibbelink Chanelle Nibbelink |
| Music by | Stephen Bashaw |
| Editing by | Phil Nibbelink |
| Studio | Phil Nibbelink Productions |
| Distributed by | Indican Pictures, 20th Century Fox (US) Eurocine Films (Spain) Marvista Enteratiment (International) |
| Release date(s) | October 27, 2006 |
| Running time | 71 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $463,002 |
Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss is a 2006 animated fantasy film about two star-crossed seals from warring families that fall in love against their parents' wishes. It loosely follows the traditional play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare and was released in Europe on July 22, 2006 and on October 27, 2006 in United States. The film was written, animated, and directed entirely by one person, former Disney animator Phil Nibbelink. The film took 4½ years to make and required 112,000 frames, which were drawn by Nibbelink on a Wacom tablet directly into Flash 4, in combination with Moho.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
 |
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (August 2010) |
The film begins with the warring Capulets and Montagues, portrayed as white(Steller sea lions) and brown(California sea lion) colored sea lions respectively. Their feud is watched sadly by Capulet's only daughter, Juliet. A fight on the shore is ended when the Prince, a large and monstrous elephant seal, appears and warns the two groups that should there be any more disturbance, the seal who caused it shall be exiled to Shark Island, a fin shaped rock where a shark lives.
Romeo, Montague's only son, is depressed, wishing to fall in love with someone. His humorous friend Mercutio urges him and another of his friends, Benvolio, to go to a Capulet party later that evening. They attend the party, covered in white sand to look like a Capulet, but not before Romeo falls in love with Juliet at first sight. Juliet, however, was promised by her father to marry Prince, who attends the party. Romeo and his friends manage to wreak havoc, and are revealed to be Montagues. Later that evening, the balcony scene is recreated on a cliff on the beach where a tree grows, and Romeo promises Juliet that they shall marry the next morning, and she will not have to marry Prince.
Romeo begs Friar Lawrence, in this story a sea otter, to wed them. After some thought, he believes their marriage will end the feud of their families, and agrees. They are wed that very morning, and traverse the sea in their happiness. However, even the other sea and land animals strongly oppose them being together. One animal, a fish (whose name is not revealed until the end of the film) finds them as a lovely couple, but warns them that they will be in big trouble if Prince finds out.
Back on the beach, Mercutio telling many jokes, which leads to him making insulting jokes against the Capulets, and the Prince is headed in that direction. When he arrives, Mercutio mocks him as well. Romeo rushes to aid his friend, but after a struggle Mercutio falls off the cliff where Juliet met Romeo the previous evening, and everyone thinks that he is dead.
Prince, jealous of Romeo having Juliet's affection rather than him, exiles Romeo to Shark Island. In despair, Juliet seeks the Friar's help, and he gives her a potion to put her in a death-like position. Mercutio is revealed to be alive and sees the whole thing, remarking, "What a tangled web we weave."
Lawrence shows the Capulet seals that Juliet is "dead", right as they were celebrating the marriage. But Benvolio sees her as well, and swims to Shark Island to tell Romeo. The Friar chases him to stop him, but is attacked by a shark. After receiving the terrible news, Romeo heads to the shore to see if Juliet is truly dead. Friar Lawrence arrives too late and tries to follow Romeo, only to have his tail maimed by the shark. After an undersea chase and some help from the fish Romeo and Juliet met earlier, Lawrence escapes and heads to the beach.
A heartbroken Romeo walks past the mourning Capulets and tries to kiss Juliet, only to have some of the potion slip into his own mouth, putting him in a death-like position as well. Both groups of seals begin to weep for their loss, and Lawrence, who has just arrived, takes the moment to teach them a lesson about where hatred leads them. Suddenly, Romeo and Juliet awaken, and all is well. Mercutio returns, Prince finds a new mate: a large elephant seal like himself, burps like a seals. The movie ends with the two families at peace, and Romeo and Juliet remaining together.
[edit] Voice Cast
- Daniel Trippett - Romeo: A brave,kind,and handsome Montague and Juliet's love interest. He is the male protagonist. He knows he shouldn't go near the Capulets but he loves Juliet. It is revealed that he wouldn't let anyone capture Juliet, this is first revealed in the shipwreck scene, when an octopus hypnotizes and tangles Juliet and challenges Romeo to a duel.
- Patricia Trippett - Juliet: A sweet,pretty,and soft Capulet and Romeo's love interest. She is the female protagonist. It is revealed that she would do anything to be with Romeo, this is revealed when she went to Friar Lawrence's cave for help after the Prince banished Romeo to Shark Island.
- Chip Albers - Mercutio: Romeo's best trouble-making friend. This is revealed when he caused havoc at the fight scene and also when he, Romeo and Benvolio crashed the Capulets' party. He was thought to be dead when the Prince threw him into the rocks when he taunted him, but he was really still alive and was probably faking it.
- Michael Toland - Capulet: Juliet's father. / Friar Lawrence: A sea otter, a master of voodoo and a good friend of Romeo, he knows that Romeo and Juliet shouldn't be married but realized that the wedding will stop the rivalry of the two families.
- Stephen Goldberg - Montague: Romeo's father.
- Phil Nibbelink - The Prince: A huge northern elephant seal who has a big nose, rancid breath, and a quick temper. He loved Juliet until he found an elephant seal just like him. He serves as the main antagonist.
- Chanelle Nibbelink - Kissy the Kissing Fish: A sweet and cute little fish who acts as a comedy relief. Ironically for a fish, she does not like the water too much.She seem to have a crush on Romeo and she enjoy kissing him on the nose
- Sam Gold as Benvolio:Good friend of Romeo, who not a trouble-maker like Mercutio and knows what will happen when they get to close the Capulets.
[edit] Differences from the play
- All of the characters are sea animals (in the play they are humans)
- Romeo and Juliet both only have fathers.
- Juliet is the first of the two lovers to be seen in the film.
- Mercutio and Benvolio are Romeo's only companions in the movie.
- Juliet is the first girl that Romeo falls in love with.
- Romeo knows from the start that Juliet is a Capulet.
- Romeo and Juliet are sea lions instead of humans.
- No one dies in the movie.
- Romeo also becomes a victim of Friar Lawrence's potion.
- The families become aware of their children's relationship during the fight scene and not at the end.
- The Prince himself wants to marry Juliet. At the end, he finds another love who is his own species.
- At the party, the Capulets remain unaware of Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio's identities until they all go into the water.
- During the tree scene, Juliet's father calls to her, as she does not have a nurse.
- Romeo and Juliet sing a song together and not talk during the tree scene.
- Mercutio and Benvolio are Montagues, as in the play they are neither Capulet nor Montague.
