Gnome Alone

Gnome Alone – Teenager, Chloe, is sure something strange is going on in the house she and her mum have just moved into. When her mum leaves her alone for a few days, Chloe discovers that her home is a battleground between the ever-hungry, destructive Troggs and Gnomes who have been trying to stop them destroying the Earth. Struggling to keep them at bay, the Gnomes enlist Chloe and new friend, Liam, in the fight. However, Chloe’s priorities are tested as she starts at a new school and is accepted by the popular girls, can she risk losing them to save the world? 

Gnome Alone (2017) – Director: Peter Lepeniotis

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60128539

Running Length: 85 mins

Rating: PG

Starring: Becky G, Josh Peck, Jeff Dunham

Genre: Animated, Action, Comedy

REVIEW: GNOME ALONE

Life for a teen girl is always difficult but it is made even harder when you are forced to move regularly with your mum and can never hold onto schools or friendships. And so, Netflix’s ‘Gnome Alone’ begins with Chloe (Becky G) moving into yet another new home with her single mum, one which looks remarkably like a haunted house. Within days of moving in, young teen, Chloe is left alone in the house while her mum goes away for work (which doesn’t make a huge amount of sense) and discovers her house is being used by Gnomes to fend of the incoming Trogg invasion – ravenous creatures that will consume everything in their sight.

Chloe’s neglectful mother aside, the movie does a good job with the set-up and the gnomes are a good mixture of grizzled and light-hearted. The troggs, as mindless, eating beasts make for a good force to fight against. The stereotype of teen girl’s being addicted to their phones and ‘wanting to fit in’ are tropes we’re all familiar with but it doesn’t ring true for Chloe when the only school characters to be introduced are nerdy Liam (Josh Peck), three monosyllabic popular girls and the good-looking jock. Thankfully, this part of Chloe’s personality takes a backseat for most of the film so we can concentrate on her and Liam’s fighting alongside the Gnomes as the war against the Troggs continues.

‘Gnome Alone’ may have its flaws with characterisation but overall there’s plenty of action and comedy to keep the kids happy.

CONTENT: IS ‘GNOME ALONE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Chloe likens her new house to a haunted house, saying ‘I’m pretty sure there’s actual bones in there’. When she realises she will have to wait for there to be wifi in the house, she connects her phone to her neighbour’s wifi.

Chloe finds a secret door and when she comes out, she turns around to see several gnomes standing in front of her that weren’t there before. As they are expressionless, this could be a little spooky for some kids.

While Chloe is alone at night, she sits in the kitchen and objects around her begin to move. She doesn’t find anything but, unknown to her, something scuttles up the stairs.

At school, Chloe meets the unpopular Liam but she is distracted by three popular girls who have shown an interest in her. As she distractedly talks to him, he is repeatedly hit in the head with a basketball, she is totally unaware of this as she doesn’t really care.

Although Chloe and Liam develop a good friendship as the movie progresses, Chloe is still insecure about it with the popular girls. She says mean things to him about having no friends and, when the girls mock her by saying Liam is her boyfriend, she responds with ‘Ew, no!’ in front of him. This angers him and he goes to walk away but one of the girl’s deliberately trips him over, causing him to face-plant the floor, a picture is taken and shared on social media to humiliate him.

Liam fights the Troggs with the Gnomes but they are quickly overwhelmed. A portal opens near Liam and he is dragged through it, leaving only his glasses behind. It has been said earlier in the film that there is no way to return once you have gone through a portal.

A huge Mega-Trogg comes through a portal, it’s giagantic hand crashes through a door and it’s claws drag across the floor. This terrifies Chloe and the others.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘GNOME ALONE’ FOR KIDS?

Definitely a kids’ film but with enough fun for the grown-ups too, ‘Gnome Alone’ is great for wiling away a bit of time while stuck inside the house. There are a few mildly scary moments and younger kids are unlikely to understand why Chloe is so desperate for popularity so we recommend this movie for kids aged 5 and over.

• Violence: 1/5
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (Liam is upset and angry when Chloe is mean to him)
• Fear Factor: 2/5
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 0/5
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of single-parent families, moving around a lot as a child, fending for yourself, the difficulties of making new friends, popularity and helping strangers.

Words by Laura Record