‘Sherlock Gnomes’ a garden-variety pic

There’s a current boom of family-friendly film fare inspired by beloved British literary characters, which makes this moment ripe for the animated “Sherlock Gnomes,” the sequel to 2011’s “Gnomeo and Juliet.”

In terms of ranking these adaptations, “Sherlock Gnomes” is quite a bit more pleasant than “Peter Rabbit” but doesn’t touch the wonder of “Paddington 2.” It’s a fairly serviceable animated feature, with a few inspired elements, and more than enough gnome puns to go around.

The beloved British literary characters are, of course, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, as well as Romeo and Juliet. They offer enough rich, recognizable lore to pad out this London-set mystery.

It’s essentially “Toy Story” mashed up with “Sherlock Holmes,” with a dash of “Romeo and Juliet.” The garden gnomes and lawn ornaments come to life while their owners are away, ruling over their bucolic backyard domains. Gnomeo (James Mcavoy), Juliet (Emily Blunt) and their garden menagerie have been uprooted from the country to the city, and just as they’re settling in to London life, they learn the hard way about the harsh realities of urban crime.

When all the gnomes are kidnapped, Sherlock Gnomes (Johnny Depp) swoops in to investigate with his trusty, long-suffering partner Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor), while Gnomeo and Juliet join up to help find their gnome clan. Sherlock instantly suspects his nemesis Moriarty (Jamie Demetriou), whom he thought he vanquished in a great museum caper.

Their race around London looking for clues follows the format of British crime films such as “Snatch” as the team encounters various seedy characters of the dolls and ornaments underground. While the plot spins out of control, the pairs learn a lot about the need to show proper appreciation for their partners, particularly the logic-driven Sherlock and Juliet.

Depp’s voice performance as the quirky Sherlock Gnomes is unrecognizable and rather uninspired. The true standout among the voice performances belongs to Demetriou as the demented, devious Moriarty, who takes the form of an adorable, but evil little pie boy figurine.

There are some fun bits and bobs to be found in “Sherlock Gnomes.” But the overall picture doesn’t have the kind of wow factor that would make this one stand out from the rest of the pack.