Sherlock Gnomes doesn’t quite have the originality and spark to make it a pop-culture phenomenon. Yet it’s still an enjoyable family adventure with a solid message.

It’s a speedy adventure with diverse action set pieces and a mystery that boasts at least one halfway decent twist.

Most of the movie’s star power has been harnessed without much obvious reason, right down to the movie’s seeming origins as a delivery system for the Elton John catalog.

Sherlock Gnomes offers more variety than its predecessor. Although still laced with glib pop culture references (wow, a skinny latte) and scored with Elton John tunes in a way that plays like a concession to adults, it has occasional fun ideas, such as rendering the inner workings of Holmes’s mind in hand-drawn black and white.

It's a fairly serviceable animated feature, with a few inspired elements, and more than enough gnome puns to go around.