What is it about this Elton John project that’s so goddamned brilliant that Mirimax picked it up after Disney dropped it? It sure as hell can’t be the title, ’cause “Gnomeo and Juliet” sounds likesomething audiences would run screaming from.

Miramax Films Thursday acquired the rights to Elton John’s animated musical film, “Gnomeo and Juliet.”

Disney recently announced it was dropping the several-years-old project described as a “Romeo and Juliet”-like tale played out in the world of garden gnomes.

“I am very excited about working with Miramax,” John said in a news release announcing the deal. “Gnomeo is an edgy concept and Miramax is the perfect home to push the envelope in animation.”

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