Director: Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Ring)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina
On Blu-Ray + DVD: July 15, 2011
I had very low expectations when I went to see Rango. Gore Verbinski's last film (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) didn't exactly blow me away, but the main reason for my low expectations was that Rango was an animated film that wasn't made by Disney or Pixar. In my experience, if an animated film isn't made by those two companies, it's probably not going to be very good.
This is just a long-winded way of saying that Rango absolutely blew me out of the water. To put it simply, Rango is, halfway through 2011, the best film I've seen this year, the best animated film I've seen since WALL-E, and one of my favorite animated films of all time. Yes, I said it.
Rango follows the story of a pet chameleon named Rango (Depp). After falling out of his owner's car in the middle of the desert, Rango journeys to Dirt, a small western town inhabited by a variety of desert creatures. By telling a few white lies about his past, he is elected sheriff of the town and is tasked with defending it against the many villainous creatures outside of Dirt. It boils down to a standard western story. What elevates the plot above other similar westerns is that it is animated. Being an animated film allows Rango to explore concepts and imagery that a traditional western literally cannot do, like rattlesnakes with machine gun rattlers and roaming cacti. These elements do not seem out of place in Rango's world and they add a bit of fantasy to the plot that would not make sense in a normal western.
The animation itself, by the way, is gorgeous; it may be the most beautifully animated film I've ever seen. The characters are ruggedly detailed; even minor characters are given personalized touches to make them naturally fit in with the environment around them. And that environment is amazing. One of the most integral parts of a western (especially classic westerns) is, in my opinion, the cinematography. It doesn't get much better than that iconic western panorama of blue sky against an unexplored, unspoiled desert or prairie, and Rango captures this feeling perfectly. My one problem with the animation was the character Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher). I wasn't exactly sure what animal she was supposed to be when I watched it, and her animation just seemed a little too smooth when compared with everyone else in the film. This is a small problem, though, and I probably wouldn't even bring it up if the film hadn't been nearly flawless in its animations otherwise.
Having said all of this, my favorite part of Rango is its overall sense of maturity, both in themes and comedy. Most of the people at the theater when I saw this film were children, and during large portions of the film they seemed honestly confused because the humor simply wasn't written for them to understand. For example, I can distinctly remember jokes about tampons and frontal lobes. Frontal lobe humor is extremely specific and even a large number of adults won't get it, and I can respect Rango's audacity in aiming for such maturity in its jokes. Another aspect of the film that children just won't get is all of its references to other films. There were the obvious ones, like the Fear and Loathing reference near the beginning and the Clint Eastwood reference near the end, but interspersed throughout were little nudges to a wide variety of films that undoubtedly influenced Rango. For example, there's a scene that takes place in the middle of a white, monotonous desert, strongly reminiscent of Verbinski's and Depp's previous film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. There's little touches like that throughout the film, and because they work so well, they elevate Rango that much more.
I don't mean to suggest that Rango is a perfect film. It's not. But it does approach the definition, and it may be as close to perfection as I'll see in the year 2011. With its wonderful blend of mature humor, western themes, and stunning animations, I literally can't think of a reason that anyone should miss this movie. Go see Rango. Trust me.
I had very low expectations when I went to see Rango. Gore Verbinski's last film (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) didn't exactly blow me away, but the main reason for my low expectations was that Rango was an animated film that wasn't made by Disney or Pixar. In my experience, if an animated film isn't made by those two companies, it's probably not going to be very good.
This is just a long-winded way of saying that Rango absolutely blew me out of the water. To put it simply, Rango is, halfway through 2011, the best film I've seen this year, the best animated film I've seen since WALL-E, and one of my favorite animated films of all time. Yes, I said it.
Rango follows the story of a pet chameleon named Rango (Depp). After falling out of his owner's car in the middle of the desert, Rango journeys to Dirt, a small western town inhabited by a variety of desert creatures. By telling a few white lies about his past, he is elected sheriff of the town and is tasked with defending it against the many villainous creatures outside of Dirt. It boils down to a standard western story. What elevates the plot above other similar westerns is that it is animated. Being an animated film allows Rango to explore concepts and imagery that a traditional western literally cannot do, like rattlesnakes with machine gun rattlers and roaming cacti. These elements do not seem out of place in Rango's world and they add a bit of fantasy to the plot that would not make sense in a normal western.
The animation itself, by the way, is gorgeous; it may be the most beautifully animated film I've ever seen. The characters are ruggedly detailed; even minor characters are given personalized touches to make them naturally fit in with the environment around them. And that environment is amazing. One of the most integral parts of a western (especially classic westerns) is, in my opinion, the cinematography. It doesn't get much better than that iconic western panorama of blue sky against an unexplored, unspoiled desert or prairie, and Rango captures this feeling perfectly. My one problem with the animation was the character Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher). I wasn't exactly sure what animal she was supposed to be when I watched it, and her animation just seemed a little too smooth when compared with everyone else in the film. This is a small problem, though, and I probably wouldn't even bring it up if the film hadn't been nearly flawless in its animations otherwise.
Having said all of this, my favorite part of Rango is its overall sense of maturity, both in themes and comedy. Most of the people at the theater when I saw this film were children, and during large portions of the film they seemed honestly confused because the humor simply wasn't written for them to understand. For example, I can distinctly remember jokes about tampons and frontal lobes. Frontal lobe humor is extremely specific and even a large number of adults won't get it, and I can respect Rango's audacity in aiming for such maturity in its jokes. Another aspect of the film that children just won't get is all of its references to other films. There were the obvious ones, like the Fear and Loathing reference near the beginning and the Clint Eastwood reference near the end, but interspersed throughout were little nudges to a wide variety of films that undoubtedly influenced Rango. For example, there's a scene that takes place in the middle of a white, monotonous desert, strongly reminiscent of Verbinski's and Depp's previous film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. There's little touches like that throughout the film, and because they work so well, they elevate Rango that much more.
I don't mean to suggest that Rango is a perfect film. It's not. But it does approach the definition, and it may be as close to perfection as I'll see in the year 2011. With its wonderful blend of mature humor, western themes, and stunning animations, I literally can't think of a reason that anyone should miss this movie. Go see Rango. Trust me.
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