Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss
Encyclopedia
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
.
) 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.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
about two star-crossed
Star-crossed
"Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers whose relationship is often thwarted by outside forces. The term encompasses other meanings, but originally means the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that the stars are working against the relationship...
seals from warring families that fall in love against their parents' wishes. It loosely follows the traditional play, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
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
Phil Nibbelink
Phil Nibbelink is an American animator and film director as well as comic book writer and illustrator.He is a former member of Walt Disney Animation Studios...
. The film took 4½ years to make and required 112,000 frames, which were drawn by Nibbelink on a Wacom tablet
Wacom
in Krefeld, Germany. Wacom is a Japanese portmanteau: Wa for "harmony" or "circle", and Komu for "computer". Wacom tablets are notable for their use of a patented cordless, battery-free, and pressure-sensitive stylus or digital pen...
directly into Flash 4
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
, in combination with Moho
Anime Studio
Anime Studio is a proprietary vector-based 2D animation software for animators originally distributed by LostMarble, later by e frontier. Since November 2007, Smith Micro Software has distributed Anime Studio...
.
Plot
The film begins with the warring Capulets and Montagues, portrayed as white(Steller sea lions) and brown(California sea lionCalifornia Sea Lion
The California sea lion is a coastal sea lion of western North America. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand about 5% annually. They are quite intelligent and can adapt to man-made environments...
) colored sea lions
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
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
Elephant seal
Elephant seals are large, oceangoing seals in the genus Mirounga. There are two species: the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal . Both were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but numbers have since recovered...
, 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
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
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
Sea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
, 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.
Voice Cast
- Daniel Trippett - Romeo: A brave and kind 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 octopusOctopusThe octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
hypnotizes and tangles Juliet and challenges Romeo to a duel. - Patricia Trippett - Juliet: A sweet and pretty 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 friend and trouble-makerTrouble-Maker"Trouble-Maker" is a 1976 single by disco/gospel singer, Roberta Kelly. The single, produced by Giorgio Moroder, was a number-one hit on the disco/dance chart for two weeks. . It failed to reach either the pop or soul charts....
. 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 NibbelinkPhil NibbelinkPhil Nibbelink is an American animator and film director as well as comic book writer and illustrator.He is a former member of Walt Disney Animation Studios...
- The Prince: A huge northern elephant sealNorthern Elephant SealThe northern elephant seal is one of two species of elephant seal . It is a member of the family Phocidae . Elephant seals derive their name from their great size and from the male's large proboscis, which is used in making extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating...
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 GoldSam GoldSam Gold is an American voice actor. He has video game and animated roles.-Animated roles:*The Jungle Book - Bagheera, Tabaqui*The Mr. Men Show - Mr. Bounce, Mr. Grumpy, and Mr...
as Benvolio: One of Romeo's best friends, who not a trouble-maker like Mercutio and knows what will happen when they get to close the Capulets.
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.