Elton John finds peace with baby, ‘Gnomeo’

February 9, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Unlike most frantic new fathers, Elton John isn’t stressed out about the two very different offspring in his life: newborn Zachary Jackson Levon and “Gnomeo & Juliet,” an animated film that he’s been parenting for more than a decade. In fact, when talking to the pop legend about his monumental new arrivals, he’s surprisingly sedate.

“Having the baby has chilled me out so much,” the singer said from behind a pair of black shades during a recent interview. “It’s made me so relaxed and happy. I’m in the best of moods. Who wouldn’t be? I’m proud to talk about something we’ve been making for 11 years that’s finally coming out. I feel happy. I’ve never been this kind of calm.”

To be clear, the baby is newborn Zachary and the thing that’s been cooking for 11 years is “Gnomeo & Juliet.” John is executive producer of the computer-generated tale about a pair of star-crossed garden gnomes. His production company Rocket Pictures snapped up the script, which spoofs the William Shakespeare classic “Romeo and Juliet,” in 2000.

“Gnomeo & Juliet,” out Friday in both 2-D and 3-D, is being released under Disney’s Touchstone Pictures label, the first animated movie to do so since 1993’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” The G-rated film tells the story of gnomes Juliet (voiced by Emily Blunt) and Gnomeo (James McAvoy), who fall in love against the wishes of their warring kin.

Juliet’s red-gnome comrades include her father, Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), cousin Tybalt (Jason Statham), deer friend Fawn (Ozzy Osbourne) and froggy pal Nanette (Ashley Jensen), while Gnomeo’s blue-gnome compadres are his mother, Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith), and confidante Benny (Matt Lucas). Patrick Stewart also cameos as a chatty Shakespeare statue.

Instead of creating an original animated film soundtrack like John did with Tim Rice on Disney’s “The Lion King” and DreamWorks’ “The Road To El Dorado,” he teamed with longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin and tapped into the duo’s iconic history. John said the idea to infuse the film with hits originally came from former Disney film studio chief Dick Cook.

“Gnomeo & Juliet” composer James Newton Howard, who toured with John as a keyboardist in the 1970s and 1980s, weaved a score using classic John melodies.

The new songs include “Hello Hello,” a rollicking duet with Lady Gaga, and “Love Builds a Garden,” a touching tune about lovelorn plastic lawn flamingos.