As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I remember accidentally stumbling on watching this movie with a family member one night back in later 2006 as a late teen, and I don't remember it being as bad as the 3.7/10 total user rating currently shown on the film's page. Which isn't too surprising given that lots of people today are hypercritical of things or films that aren't "by the book", as I definitely remember this one being a little unique from the Shakespeare play this movie is based on.In terms of an animated movie altogether for all audiences and not just kids, it's not excellent or probably not very good either, as I remember some things were too childish to my taste. But nevertheless, after looking at some clips of it again now, there were a few scenes that are interesting to say the least. Particularly, the wedding scene between the young Romeo and Juliet seal couple with the otter Friar, as the way this entire part was done (including the organ music) is the one I had remembered the most from this film.

If you're expecting me to bash this movie into oblivion then you will be very disappointed because I don't hate this movie. In fact, I don't even dislike it which is ironic since it has almost everything I'm against. Here's a full list: Underdeveloped romance, flat characters, nonsensical plot points, a rap number (yes really,) bringing characters back from the dead, and rewriting an overdone story. With that in mind, I should hate this movie but I don't! Why you may ask? One reason is nostalgia. As a kid, I absolutely adored this movie. I saw it almost every day until I was like 8! So when I watch this movie I get a bit of nostalgia for some of those scenes in the movie that sucked me in as a kid. Another reason is the absolutely gorgeous hand drawn animation. Yeah the designs are a little off but I like it. Plus, the backgrounds are very atmospheric. I guess I like young love and even though it's underdeveloped, seeing 2 cute little seals in love is just adorable to me. I can see how it could be creepy for other older viewers but I think it's cute. The ending is also pretty satisfying. While it doesn't follow the book, it's downright adorable. Speaking of the book, this movie followed the book as close as it could without killing off our adorable main leads. They even kept the balcony scene! Overall, this movie does get a little childish at times (and I do skip those scenes) but it's overall cute and sweet.

I love Shakespeare, and was intrigued at how "Romeo and Juliet:Sealed with a Kiss" would turn out. I did hear from people it was a disgrace to Shakespeare, but I have been known to disagree with critics and the IMDb ratings, so I gave this a chance. It wasn't absolutely repulsive, but it didn't quite click with me. The best asset of the film is the animation. The backgrounds are fluid and colourful and the characters with the exception of the Prince were well drawn. Considering the animation was done by one man, Phil Nibbelink, it was quite impressive visually. The story pretty much follows the storyline of the play, except it is about seals, plus some (I think) pointless scenes with Friar Lawrence and a shark, and the voice acting was on the whole decent. However, there are a lot of things wrong with it. I personally didn't care for the music. I love good music in animated films, but here I found the songs forgettable and bland, and the incidental music felt misplaced. I will say I liked one or two of the characters, Romeo and Juliet are appealing enough and the Kissing Fish is really cute. However, Friar Lawrence is not the wise caring character I associate him with, and I do not know why the Nurse was omitted when she provides the most effective source of parental love in the play. In my opinion, I didn't like the character of the Prince at all, I didn't like how he was drawn and his voice was too monotonic for my liking. Worst of all was the script, constant misuse of the Shakespeare language and Mercutio's jokes went well overboard, and especially in his death scene they weren't even funny. Overall, this movie was okay but I don't recommend it. 4/10 Bethany Cox

No, it isn't Disney, and it isn't even quite Shakespeare (the almost too clever but crafty subtitle "Sealed With A Kiss" tells us that), but as a throwback to one and a light introduction to the other, this very little (77 minute) film deserves to find an appreciative audience.The one-man, single cell "flat" animation is smoothly done and handsome. While the brown and yellow Romeo and Juliet seals (to distinguish between the Montague and Capulet herds) are closer to the look of Casper the Ghost and friends than the more detailed "flat" animation from the corporate giants at Disney, Pixar or Bluth, it is several steps ahead of the still popular (among the undemanding young) work associated with Rankin-Bass. The standard Nibbelink maintains is consistent and impressive. Even the Elephant Seal "Prince" who stands in for Shakespeare's Duke who threatens any who would disturb the streets of his Venice does not recall the visual sloppiness of the broad lines Ursula, the evil witch in Disney's LITTLE MERMAID was rendered in.The script might have tried a little harder (it omits more Shakespearian characters than it had to - where's the nurse? - and while it feels free to drop in "famous" Shakespearian quotes from other plays at any convenient turn for the amusement of the adult audience, it could have used a few more in the actual plot without turning off the younger set), but it is coherent and even in "smoothing out" the rough edges of one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies for overly sensitive parents, it preserves the essence of most of Shakespeare's lessons (at least as interpreted these 400 years later).Charm is the key word here - it is a charming film, and a very nicely done one, even if it were from a major studio. From a one-man operation it's close to a miracle that any student of film or animation should put on their "must-discover" list. Even before the kids are ready for MONSTERS INC. or SHREK 1, 2 or 3, this ROMEO AND JULIET, Sealed With A Kiss would be a very good choice for a wise parent.