Parents' Guide to Juliet & Romeo

With catchy pop songs and a glossy, YA-friendly aesthetic, this adaptation of Shakespeare's most tragic romance reimagines it as a lively, love-conquers-all musical. In other words, while theater purists might be appalled by this revisionist romance, theater kids may have found their new favorite soundtrack. It's known (although perhaps not widely) that the story of Romeo and Juliet wasn't original to Shakespeare: It was adapted from works by other authors that date back to 1476. Writer-director Bogart says the original incident that inspired the stories is recorded in church archives by a Friar Lawrence—whom Bogart imagines was the architect of the young couple's scheme to fake their own deaths and thus might have falsified the official record so that the star-crossed lovers' plan could work.

Shot on location in Italy, with velvety rich production values, the musical is definitely visually striking. That said, it plays more like a music video version of a Romeo and Juliet-themed album. The songs express the characters' emotions, but they don't necessarily move the story forward, and the overly polished, studio-recorded vocals don't sync with the on-screen performances. It's hard to tell how young viewers will take something like this: Adult critics will likely dismiss it, but there's an undeniable energy that gets more contagious the longer you watch. You definitely feel the intensity of Romeo and Juliet's romance, and teens and tweens may just find themselves lovestruck for this story, even though it's been adapted so many times. (Or, as Shakespeare wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.")