Elton John has been very much in the spotlight recently, with the birth of his new baby son with partner David Furnish via surrogate on Christmas Day last year, but on January 23, 2011, it was his other baby the animated film "Gnomeo and Juliet" that he was focusing on.

Elton and David co-produced the children's animated film, a toned down version of Shakespeare's classic story of tragic love "Romeo and Juliet," and both were on hand at its premiere at the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Also joining the pair were cast members Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, and Patrick Stewart.

After being first introduced to animated films thru writing music for the 1993 Disney film "The Lion King," Elton became interested in adapting the classic play for children using garden gnomes as characters, having had the idea 11 years ago.

"We all love love stories. It's a love story with a happy ending, this one, but it's also a message of 'let's get on with each other'. These two families spend all of their time hating each other, destroying all the beauty they've created, and at the end of the movie they come together because of Romeo and Juliet, or 'Gnomeo and Juliet,' and say, 'god, what have we been doing for all this time, let's get along. Message we need to hear," said Elton.

He also admitted that having the clout he does in the entertainment world helped him with his producing duties. "I use the 'Elton' factor in the fact that I can use my name, get on the phone, and people will take my calls quicker than they maybe will take anybody else's," he said.

Scottish actor James McAvoy, who plays "Gnomeo" in the film, said the presence of the acclaimed singer in the film gave it much needed poetry, as none of the Bard's prose was actually recited by the characters. "We don't have Shakespeare's poetry in this film, we have his great story and his great characters as played by garden gnomes, and we have a lot of fun, but we don't have his poetry," says McAvoy. "But you've got a poet in this film still, and his music influences the entire shape of the film."

Actress Emily Blunt, who plays Juliet, added that Elton did an excellent job as producer by keeping everyone in a positive mood. "He was very influential in just keeping the project on a great path and on a positive path and, because I think people are going to doubt things all around nowadays, and I think he's really good at keeping things very focused," said Blunt.

Given the well-known ending of the classic tale, when approaching the adaptation to a kid-friendly picture, much had to be cut, according to Blunt. "Like the suicide, and the blood and the guts and the murder, and the drugs, yeah, we have kind of erased most of that. For the kids," she said.

Actor Patrick Stewart is known for being a great thespian, he has appeared in 28 of Shakespeare's plays, but he has yet to touch "Romeo and Juliet," that is, until this film came about. "This is the closest I've ever got to 'Romeo and Juliet'," says Stewart. "I mean look at me, why was I never cast as Romeo? Why was I never cast as Juliet if it comes to that? No, I've never been in the play, so this is the closest that I got."

Emily Blunt only met Elton John and David Furnish recently despite her work on their film, and expressed her support for allowing same-sex couples to marry and raise children. "Yes, it's actually vital that they're allowed to also be able to have children and raise children and nurture them and offer them a great life, I think it's essential and it has to continue," says Blunt.

"Gnomeo and Juliet" will hit theaters on February 11, 2011.

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