The Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year went to Rango and to be honest in this category it clearly deserves that. After The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Gore Verbinski brings us another highly entertaining movie, this time with something slightly different as it is an animated movie. The images and characters are just perfect, it's all very creative and visually stunning. As for the actors, or better the voice-overs, they were perfect in their roles. I can't see anybody narrating Rango better than Johnny Depp. The story is simple but effective, with alot of humor, maybe not for the younger kids but more for adults with a healthy imagination and that don't mind watching animation movies every now and then. Rango, a movie I will watch again in the future.
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deloudelouvain26 April 2019
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Hitchcoc5 May 2019Rango manages to appeal to many interests. First of all, the recreation of the old West is charming. The animators have done a masterful job of producing a setting that really works. The chameleon star finds himself in Dirt, the aforementioned town, and is given the task of saving the water supply. Yes, it is a bit dark and the plot is sophisticated. So why so many 1's and 2's. Is it that people are so easily bored when their minds are a bit challenged by an animated film? This is one of the better films of the year and works on many levels. It also parodies tough Westerns that we have seen in contemporary times.
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We all face an existential crisis at some time or another, just usually not when we're seven, which will likely be the mean age of children watching this newest non-Pixar non- DreamWorks animated feature. No, "Rango" won't challenge kids to contemplate their role in the cosmos, but that's precisely the predicament of its main character, a theatrical lizard who finds himself — as many animals in animated films do these days — thrust out of domestic bliss and forced to reckon with the untamed and unforgiving nature of the wild natural world. But in addition to all its verboseness and abstract homage to classic Westerns, "Rango" equally dishes out top-notch physical humor and creative characters for the young ones to lap up, even if they're not exactly of age to, as the film puts at least once, "ruminate."
We don't learn much about Rango's life as a pet lizard. In fact, his name is not even Rango; he adopts it as his identity during his adventure. We do see him create his own theatre productions with the random items in his tank and he pretends that they give him feedback and criticism. When he determines that his latest show needs some intense conflict, he finds himself flung from his tank and on the side of the dry desert road. At the advice of an old armadillo (Molina), he seeks out water and stumbles upon the town of Dirt, a classic Wild West locale full or critters and experiencing a nasty drought.
Johnny Depp quickly loses himself into Rango, a character that's somewhere between his take on Willy Wonka and his turn as Hunter S. Thompson. Depp churns out an outstanding animated protagonist, one who is equal parts boisterous and insecure. As the ultimate outsider in Dirt, our lizard hero has an epiphany: he can reinvent himself out here. He takes up his new name and makes up a fantastical tall tale and then with a pinch of luck, becomes the toast of the town and gets anointed sheriff. All seems swell, but something's up in the town with regards to the dwindling water supply and the local critters are getting restless. Rango must truly be the hero he masquerades as.
The creatures of Dirt are fascinatingly animated. They are gritty and unpleasant looking, but awing in their detail. Rango's facial expressions even out-Depp the man behind them as embodied in the scrawny asymmetrical lizard. The animators do a particularly fine job of creating the hot and dry climate of the desert, enough so to recommend that the film is best enjoyed with a beverage in hand. It's so effective that it magnifies the problematic nature of this simple predicament done hundreds of times before. Hidden underneath it all somewhere has to be an environmental message, but not an overt one and not the main lesson to learn from the story.
The language and texture of the film might be decidedly adult, but the conventions of the story and the degree of action aims specifically for children. Rather than aim for a middle ground, "Rango" somehow takes the highest road and the lowest road simultaneously. The dialogue and the situations are sophisticated but the physicality of the characters and the high-flying Western frontier action still plays to a child's understanding. This only proves that "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski has a real gift for all-ages entertainment.
In addition to Rango's existential quandary, children will not understand the cinematic homages either, particularly to spaghetti Westerns. One of the film's most affecting scenes comes at the moment when our animated hero, as they all do, hits the lowest of lows after he's exposed as a "fraud." Rango has a run-in with "The Spirit of the West," an instantly recognizable figure who has some old-fashioned advice about toughness and walking tall on the path you're given. It's a tender moment as what has been considered a bygone era of cinema plays an important thematic role in such a modern mainstream story.
"Rango" doesn't quite capture the degree of humor and emotional depth that the Pixar greats of the last few years have, but it's a fun adventure with exquisite animation, tasteful characters and a good heart, which puts it as an above-average offering compared to others of its kind. Adults will simply marvel at the intellectual boldness of this pure and simple kids movie and rightfully so. Only with a Pixar gold standard in place does "Rango" come across as flawed; otherwise it's an absolutely pleasant watch from start to finish.
~Steven C
Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com -
0U23 February 2020One of the best animated movies ever made, the trailer shows so little and I'd recommend watching it as it is absolutely outstanding. The animation work to the character development to the soundtrack are perfect in every way. Everything a animated movie should be.
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Hayden-860552 July 2020A good animated film, I had never seen an animated western with animals before this. Johnny Depp is fantastic as always and the rest of the cast does a good job.
Music is solid and whilst not up the standards of some older Western films like Good the bad and the ugly it's still quite good. I liked the actual cinematography of the film as well, how Rango and Beans stood out in almost every seen, compared to the drabness of the drabness of the town Rango is rather colourful.
The plot is really interesting as well, with water being used as currency and the usual corrupt rich hoarding lots of it and not distributing it fairly. I've seen better plots but it's easy for children to follow and compelling enough for adults
Action wise I thought it was average personally but a certain serpentine character was very well designed and thoroughly intimidating.
7/10: Definitely deserves a watch, especially if you're interested in classic westerns, and I think the genuinely interesting characters and animation are worth a viewing for people who like that stuff too -
Hilarious, surprisingly badass, and uniquely entertaining, Rango is not only a fantastic animated film, but a fantastic film itself. Johnny Depp gives a great voice performance as the titular character Rango, and even though he shines magnificently, the film also hold many fantastic voice performances from actors all around. The peculiar thing about Rango, is that it is so firmly grounded upon its own story, and not only fully embraces it, but it is fully believable, which is an insane task to feat. The film is beautifully animated, containing some of the best CGI for a film of the 2010's and beyond. It can be a wonderfully witty satire when it calls for it, and a badass western when it needs it. Rango is full of style, class, humor, rich atmosphere, and a fantastic storyline. I was entertained all the way through watching it, even when it almost clocks in at about 2 hours, and honestly will be willing to watch it again anytime. The film is written spectacularly well, and directed so as well, and is easily one of the best, if not the best, animated feature I have ever seen. My Rating: 10/10
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JephyrX16 March 2011OK...so I'll preface my comments by saying I do a bit of art and "hobbyist level" animation and am much older than the nickelodeon crowd this is aimed at.
But from an "artist's" point of view, Rango's character designs and animation are fantastic. Throughout the film I was continually impressed with various scenes. Some of them are so realistic that you could see them seamlessly integrated into any live action film (and no doubt this is where 3D and live action are already well on their way).
Rango's character designs are unique and only in a few cases distract from the story. Case in point: Rango's "female love interest", a lizard, has a bug-eyed, thyroid condition look. In addition, when one villain (a much talked about snake) finally makes his appearance...he is over the top and very CG. Otherwise, most of the character designs are very unique and really hit the mark. The voice acting (and casting) is well done throughout.
The gunslinger, bar scene is suspenseful and masterfully "lit". (Having everything the Star Wars Cantina scene lacked : ) Against that tension, it then provides the biggest laugh of the movie.
From then on Rango begins a slow plot-line descent into the curse of modern movie making: Chase scenes, shootin' guns and flyin' bullets, explosions etc. A curse it seems 90% of the new movies I see fall into. Maybe Hollywood knows something I don't (it sells??) But I'm sooo tired of: "Introduce hero and friends, introduce villains, introduce building conflict, resolve it with HUGE shoot-outs and chases and explosions, and, of course, the hero wins." SHESH! : )
Over all, although I've mentioned negatives, there is something very new about Rango. I hadn't seen these types of characters before....and did I mention the design and animation are visually stunning? : ) I'm sure many future 3D movies will look to Rango for inspiration. -
rileymarshall-0106213 June 2019I'm not exactly sure who this film was made for but I do not care one bit. This movie was a huge risk because it isn't the most hilarious movie of all time and it's not really geared towards kids. But for me this risk paid off big time. Rich themes, breathtaking animation and character design, and great voice acting to go along with it. Rango is a fantastic film and I would watch it any day of the week.
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SnoopyStyle10 February 2014Rango (Johnny Depp) is a hyper imaginative pet chameleon. When his family loses him out the back of their car, he is left to fend for himself in the middle of a desert. He escapes from a deadly hawk to find a western town called Dirt. The drought has made water incredibly valuable. Through luck and circumstances, Rango become the sheriff, but he is hopelessly clueless.
This is a very well made Nickelodeon animated movie. I wonder if this is going to be a new competitor to the animated field. The animation looks crisp and lively. The only missing element is cuter characters. Lizards are very odd for animation especially if you do it relatively realistic. But it fits very well to the setting of an old decaying western.
Rango is a very original character which actually is reminiscent of Johnny Depp's other big character Jack Sparrow. Does the fact that this is a reunion between Pirates director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp has anything to do with it? The comedy comes from a similar place, and it works well here as well. -
I heard from a number of people that this was excellent so I went to see it myself being a fan of animated movies and of film in general. And I absolutely loved it, other than being a little too long, which is such a minor complaint, it was a wonderful film with some surprisingly mature themes and does very well at trying something different.
The animation for starters is outstanding. Not only do the characters move convincingly, but the colours look gorgeous and the backgrounds are imaginative and stunning. The soundtrack is another plus, the score is wonderful with a sense of fun, great use of instruments and nods to Ennio Morricone, without being too generic or over-the-top with some inspired musical flavour to it.
The script is funny, smart and quirky as well- loved the Chinatown(Ned Beatty based his performance on that of John Huston's), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Star Wars references- the characters are genuine and likable with heart and don't fall into the trap of being too cliché(there are some but it works in the film's favour and I loved the title character), the film goes at a great pace while remaining wholly satisfying at its end with an almost elegiac quality that is there with almost all the best westerns, the slapstick action bounces along nicely and the story is far from formulaic instead it is original and inventive. The voice acting is wonderful, both Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy- Rattlesnake Jake is awesome!- give knockout performances, while Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Harry Dean Stanton and Abigail Breslin are equally terrific.
In conclusion, a wonderful film that I wasn't expecting to be this good this early on in the year. On a side note, for those complaining about suitability for children, I actually wouldn't say this was a film for kids but more adult-oriented. 9/10 Bethany Cox -
Nesvrstani20 March 2011The whole movie is unnatural. There are some great parts, the voice acting is great, and the graphics are mind blowing, but it just doesn't cut it. The movie is extremely slow-paced. At times, I, and everyone else almost went to sleep. Some characters just aren't fit.
The story itself, for the most part, is not engaging, and fun. In movies like these, there should be a WOW factor present, like in Kung Fu Panda for an example, but there isn't one in Rango.
I didn't really like it. My friend was amazed.
So, it's a lot up to the viewer. It's not something that can appeal to any viewer. But, if you have time to kill, then I guess this will do just fine. -
hotemeile28 January 2012I approached this movie with caution. I anticipated entertainment from reading some reviews, but was weary as always of its blockbuster character. Let's be honest: Nickelodeon has been consistently pouring out terrible movies; Gore Verbinski has yet to prove himself outside the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise; John Logan, despite all his brilliance in other screenplays, hasn't shown to be at the same level with animation, as his work in Sinbad attests to. So, critical acclaim aside, i wasn't convinced...
But scratch all that! This is a new age for Nickelodeon, a defining moment for Verbinski and a testament to Logan's literary genius.
Rango has everything: masterful CGI, impeccable storytelling, radiating creativity, surgical attention to detail, humility, depth, vision; and almost none of the usual handicaps, clichés and mistakes of the genre. And let's not forget humor, a cascading, gushing, showering deluge of humor: meta humor, black humor, adult humor, satire, parody, and of course, potty humor. But its crowning moment is its referential humor, its homages - the Spirit of the West, the Fear & Loathing... All beautifully interwoven into the story in a way that separates it from what so many mash-up comedies try to do (and fail horribly).
The western genre is made fun of repeatedly, but never is it ridiculed or tarnished. It's a story made with love and admiration for its themes. A wondrous thing in this cynical world and a rarity amid comedy. Humanity is reflected perfectly in this fable. And viscerally. With all its flaws and weaknesses, and all its charms and achievements. And despite the many anecdotes, despite the myriad caricatures, it's never shallow, never false. It remains true to its principles and offers as many laughs as lessons. And by that, i am truly amazed. -
This is a very good film, like I said its no masterpiece, but it is still a very good movie. I picked this because it won against Kung Fu Panda 2 on the Oscars in 2011, but lets just say Oscars are normally wrong, and they were wrong again. I will admit, it didn't deserve the Oscar, but it has such a good 3rd act, and the later half of the 2nd act is also great. The 1st act is the reason this movie got a 7 and not an 8 though, the 1st act is normally the worst part in most movies, but it is by quite far the worst part of the film. The reason this won an Oscar is probably because of the 3rd act and the attempted suicide in the late 2nd act, which was very sad and it brings me to another point about this movie. Was it made for kids or adults? It seems like a kids movie because of the PG rating and the company that produced it (Nickelodeon) but it has a lot of smoking, drinking, and even some language, it seems more like something DreamWorks would produce because they release a lot more movies with adult themes, but no, Nickelodeon? The last thing I want to say about this movie is the plot, it is pretty creative, although I think there are some problems with it, the most prominent reason for me is that it felt like there were going to be 4 main plots, but they just abandoned one after a while. Overall a good film and i recommend it, off my watchlist now.
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The first half of this movie is OK. There is some action going, animation is nice, wild west rocks, you meet new characters and have high expectations. But, after a while, it all gets 100% predictable and boring. Basically, it transforms into standard: Good Hero fights his complexes to help Other Stupid Cowards and defeat Bad Hero. Children around you start crying, you yawn and fun ends. Well, there is still hope, so you are not leaving the movie room, expecting to have at least some fun. Time passes, you fight your boredom, Good Hero fights his personal problems, still no fun. You continue thinking about leaving, but curiosity wins and you decide to wait until the end in hope that, maybe, the movie will have not an ordinary ending... Nope, hope dies last and I'm glad I will not meet Rango again.
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Worth seeing mostly for the visuals. It's awesome how bizarre these characters are. I sincerely hope they frighten children (reports from the movie's message board say that there were a lot of young children weeping when the rattlesnake character appears). Animated films are often far too cutesy, and this is a breath of fresh air in that way. The story is not especially great, but it's passable. It's a Western about a pet chameleon (voiced (kind of poorly) by Johnny Depp) who gets lost in the Mojave and ends up in a small town. After some accidental heroics, he becomes sheriff. A local lizard girl (voiced (quite well) by Isla Fisher) persuades him to look into the current drought after she finds evidence of water being dumped in the middle of the desert. If that sounds familiar, it's because that whole mystery plot is cribbed from Chinatown. That doesn't bother me at all, and the mystery is relatively complex for a kid's movie. My major complaint about Rango is that the humor very rarely works. The script is just not very funny. If it wasn't supposed to be, that would be fine, but they're clearly going for laughs (and failing).
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I mean... wow.
*insert slow clap for ILM folks*
Last night my wife and I had the pleasure of checking out an early screening of Rango here in the twin cities. It was a blast! This movie was a great deal of fun. The jokes all hit the right marks, the story was solid, sweet and not too formulaic, and the visuals were outstanding.
There were times that this movie looked 100 percent photo real. outstanding job modeling and texturing and lighting on this. the little tiny attention to detail in the world you guys built had my wife and I in awe throughout most the movie. The animation was fun and eccentric. Over the top but at times subtle and felt meaningful. The only little nit pick was the mouths on some of the characters. in the attempt to make the animals look more like the animals they were representing the mouths were quite small and at times the sync was a bit odd. Though it provided for some goofy looking characters that were fun.
at just over an hour and a half, at times it felt it was a little too slow paced. well, that was my wife's critique. I looked at it more so that they were going for the slower feel of some classic westerns. I thought the long stretches of little dialog, epic music and visuals, and great cinematography worked in the films favor.
The crowd dug it too. I think the youngest person in the theater was about 6 (which i found odd for a late night screening, but whatever) and the oldest was probably in their 70's and everyone was engaged.
I was kind of surprised what they could get away with in a PG rated movie. Im no prude or anything, but there were enough adult jokes snuck in there to give me the giggle fits. Couple of lite swear words, references to more... ehem, adult type themes, but overall pretty tame and enjoyable.
Hats off. If this doesn't win awards I don't know what I believe in anymore. This is one of the more entertaining movies I have seen in a long time. -
mohit_sinsniwal24 May 2019I mean... wow.
*insert slow clap for ILM folks*
Last night my wife and I had the pleasure of checking out an early screening of Rango here in the twin cities. It was a blast! This movie was a great deal of fun. The jokes all hit the right marks, the story was solid, sweet and not too formulaic, and the visuals were outstanding.
There were times that this movie looked 100 percent photo real. outstanding job modeling and texturing and lighting on this. the little tiny attention to detail in the world you guys built had my wife and I in awe throughout most the movie. The animation was fun and eccentric. Over the top but at times subtle and felt meaningful. The only little nit pick was the mouths on some of the characters. in the attempt to make the animals look more like the animals they were representing the mouths were quite small and at times the sync was a bit odd. Though it provided for some goofy looking characters that were fun.
at just over an hour and a half, at times it felt it was a little too slow paced. well, that was my wife's critique. I looked at it more so that they were going for the slower feel of some classic westerns. I thought the long stretches of little dialog, epic music and visuals, and great cinematography worked in the films favor.
The crowd dug it too. I think the youngest person in the theater was about 6 (which i found odd for a late night screening, but whatever) and the oldest was probably in their 70's and everyone was engaged.
I was kind of surprised what they could get away with in a PG rated movie. Im no prude or anything, but there were enough adult jokes snuck in there to give me the giggle fits. Couple of lite swear words, references to more... ehem, adult type themes, but overall pretty tame and enjoyable.
Hats off. If this doesn't win awards I don't know what I believe in anymore. This is one of the more entertaining movies I have seen in a long time. -
rkhen23 April 2013Rango is a great kids' movie that plays on many levels, like all great kids' movies. About a hundred churchies here don't like it; that tells you it's realistic and morally complex. (One person complained about its metaphors for good and evil, because "many people take God and Satan seriously". Yeah, but we don't all think we hold a copyright on them.) And some folks helicoptered in to complain that it's violent and would scare some kids. Fifty years ago my parents took me to see Bambi and it scared me. So did Dumbo. It's vital that kids learn about fear, danger, and violence, and a cartoon is the softest place to do it. Thank God my folks understood that. For the record, Rango's violence is funny and completely unrealistic. Would it kill you to talk to your own kids about the difference between slapstick and the real world?
There are "swear words" here, if you still think "hell" and "damn" are swear words, because it's a gritty Western. (That happens to star a chameleon.) There are a lot of Hispanic references and characters, because Hispanics invented cowboys and the "American" West; Nickelodeon simply decided to unwhite-ify the Hollywood version, for a change. (The guy I read who complained about that wasn't even Hispanic. Meanwhile, I have Hispanic friends who love this movie, in part because they're in it, for once)
There are several stereotypes, ethnic and otherwise, because it's a satire. If you can't grasp irony, avoid this movie. In fact, never go outside. And several minor characters smoke. I hate smoking. But: stereotypes, remember? Westerns? Cultural memes? How about just teaching kids the difference between allegory and real life?
As for the moral content, the "lessons" of Rango, which, I think I can state without incurring a spoiler slap, are: 1. the world is a crazy place, 2. scary problems have to be solved by ordinary people, and 3. a quick wit and a lot of luck sometimes beats a quick draw and a lot of money.
If you agree with that, and aren't scared of your own shadow, see the movie. I loved it, and I'm hard to please. It's a great romp, a witty farce, and a lot of fun, precisely because Nickelodeon didn't sugar it down to pious drek. -
Rango is filled with funny and slapstick moments.But it also has some real serious sequences. This is the surprising element that should not work and still it does..
The film stars a chameleon (Johnny Depp), who thinks he's an actor, going through an existential crisis, as he has lived his whole life in a terrarium. When that life is quickly—and literally—shattered, he finds himself walking in search of water. Instead, he finds a town called Dirt, where all the residents are plagued by outlaws and a severe lack of water, which is used as currency, it's so rare. Rango, seeking acceptance, assumes the role of sheriff, a role that has been played before, but with more unfortunate results. To make matters worse, someone is dumping water in the desert and draining all of dirt's resources. Rango is now in no-man's land and must escape from a Hawk who wants him FOR A MEAL! Tons of action awaits the viewer. Who could it be, what is their diabolical plan, and is Rango really the unlikely hero of his own story?
In case it wasn't obvious enough from this summary, the film's tone is surreal, complex and almost shockingly mature for an animated picture. It blends in so very many movie references, blending the gritty, revisionist western with the surrealism of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a too-obvious comparison on the latter's part. Director Gore Verbinski had a unique way of producing and directing this picture: he gathered Depp and all the other actors on a sound stage, in various costumes, acting out their scenes, as a sort of visual reference. Depp affectionately—and appropriately—called this 'Emotion capture,' as it gives the movie a more natural, organic feel, as if the reactions were believable. When it's put on screen, it's full realized in both interaction and appearance.
Still of Rango What most people have touched on when talking about the pros of this movie is, indeed, the stellar animation and, boy, is it stellar. Granted, some of the human cameos are kind of on the flat side, but our animal heroes are textured and expressive, which is important in this kind of movie. We can reach out and touch these sets if we were able; the roughness of the scales, the harsh desert heat and the sponge and spikes of cacti that crop up throughout are just a few of the details in this grand visual experience. The characters that make up this floundering town are actually interesting to look at and listen to, as the animation and awesome voice work give them all distinct and likable personalities. The voices are great with each voice actor doing a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.
Resident include old prospector mouse Spoons, large, but quiet tomcat Elgin, morose, trigger happy little aye-aye Priscilla (Breslin), and, my favorite, the kind, but no-nonsense Beans (Fischer), a rancher lizard who finds herself falling for the goofy, but sincere hero. But, by far, the biggest fan favorite has to be Bill Nighy's rogue, Rattlesnake Jake, who is hands-down, flat-out scary in any scene he is in! How any kid will survive his scenes is beyond me! However, that made him more of a threat that Rango needs to overcome, which is more satisfying in the long run.
For movie fans there are references throughout. One that really stands out is an epic scene involving a man with no name and a golf cart.Ultimate coolness. Don't make the mistake comparing this to CGI movies like Ice Age,Kungfu Panda or similar. Approach it like it is fully fledged western that has everything and more of that genre.If you get past that than you will have the pleasure to see one of the most funny and entertaining movies made this year.
However, the story has nothing new to offer. The fake hero plot is old, we've seen it in animated movies too, like Chicken Run. The liar with a potential good heart returns to save the city The rotten leader who sells out his people is not a bright and blossomy idea either, only in this here movie, we have the tortoise, usually an animal of wisdom, representing the corrupted character, in a rather uninspired association made out of negligence or just to avoid a more clicheistic animal. While that may seem rather unoriginal you have never seen the "new place, new identity" gimmick done like this.
This animation is a great way to introduce children to the classic western theme.
The landscape is beautiful, the enemies are great and the soundtrack is perfectly suited to the film (there is a fantastic version of ride of the Valkyries). The film is packed with satirical humor that helps to keep the film fresh and helps the elements of the film to come together perfectly and you can tell that everyone was on the same page when they made this film.
I rate it 7 out of 10. -
jackmartinu15 April 2019Noah puts in a captivating performance as Rango in this movie
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The plot is about Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) who is a chameleon that after a mishap inside his tank comes across a town full of desperation and hopelessness. With a little bit of luck and a lot of lying, Rango becomes sheriff of a tiny town called Dirt but the town runs into a lot of trouble when the water supply hits low.
I thought this film was funny and unique as I have never seen an animation that is about a lizard. I love lizards.
One strength of this film is the good voice acting, especially Johnny Depp as he is great in his roles and his voice as Rango is great.
Another strength of this film is the animation itself. The scenery is great and the quality of the characters are brilliant and magnificent
The only problem that I had from the film is that I think they were more adult jokes instead of children's jokes as me and my friend were laughing at the adult jokes more than the childish ones.
I also believe that this type of film is ideal for older children to watch but I believe that it is not particularly ideal for younger children because of the adult jokes.
Apart from that, this is a good film that had me entertained from start to finish and it provides a exciting western adventure for everyone.
Rango is going to get a 7/10 from me. -
claudio_carvalho28 April 2012A family is crossing the desert by car with their lizard in an aquarium. The driver is forced to an abrupt movement to avoid an accident and the aquarium falls off the car on the road.
The female lizard Beans gives a ride to the lizard up to an old western town called Dirt and he goes to the bar expecting to drink water. The braggart lizard tells that he is a dangerous gunslinger called Rango and the impressed locals believe that Rango is a hero and invite him to be the sheriff.
Sooner Rango finds that water is missing in town and the Major has a suspicious behavior. But when the evil Rattlesnake Jake arrives in town, Rango assumes that he is a coward and quits his position. He walks to the road but the Spirit of the West convinces him to return and fight for those that had believed in him.
"Rango" is one of the funniest and most originals animations that I have recently seen with a parody to western movies and a tribute to Clint Eastwood, the stranger without a name, in "High Plains Drifter".
The voice and the way of speaking of Johnny Depp are also hilarious. The 2012 Oscar of Best Animated Feature Film of the Year is in good hands. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Rango" -
montera_iulian3 March 2011Every film product must satisfy it's audience. Since we're talking about an animated film, the goals are harder to obtain simply because you must project a rich and attractive story filled with funny moments and a detailed animated world. We've seen animated movies made for a smaller audience like, for example, The Illusionist from last year, which addresses adults and not underaged idealists. Rango is a movie for all ages because probably everyone will have a good time watching it. But having a good time watching a movie describes how good the movie really is?... Is Rango that good? The western adventures of the simple and clumsy lizard Rango (Johnny Depp) borrows elements from Leone's classic westerns, refurnishes the set-ups, creates a comfortable world for the viewer and starts to convert the old-fashioned western story. While it may be remarkably smart written, the story is dragged around the biggest clichés in animated films. We all understand Rango is a perfect reason to pay homage to one of the greatest eras in film history, however, was it necessary to offer a predictable and pointless story? The lonely guy (or lizard in this case) with no friends and no actual talents whatsoever, integrates in a community (Dirt Town) threatened by an oppressive ruler (The Mayor) and becomes the local hero by luck and chance while defeating a local villain. After a short period of popularity he loses all the credibility and affection by getting engaged in a duel with the big villain (in our case, the town's mayor) which unveils his true face and forces him leave his people with his tail behind his legs. But somehow, in the middle of nowhere he finds hope and courage with the help of some unusual force and decides to go back to his people and free them from the oppressor because that's (obviously) the right thing to do. Wait... I'm hearing some of you interrupting me "Will he get the girl Julian?"... Of course he'll get the girl mate... We all know the story, and we're already bored by it thanks to the tens and tens of movies using the same narrative ingredients. The story structure in Rango is not only common but is also deceivable, clichéd and pointless since it adds no gram of originality.
Despite the beautiful look of the film and impressive execution nothing makes me care about our hero. Where's the emotion?... Where's the emotional core? Rango has emotional moments but not because we care about our main character but because we somehow pledge to the loneliness and hopeless described at some point in the movie. Was that really necessary for Rango?... I will say that it wasn't. The funny moments in the film are barely even there, few laughs in the theater but mostly there were just smiles and voices around me debating something but not the actual movie. Most of these funny moments don't even come from our main protagonist but from our secondary characters. We also have that classic group of characters that create a bridge from one point of the story to the other. The four singing owls represent the narrator's voice but they are useless since they are neither funny nor entertaining. They just come, sing and leave without making a strong point. You will forget about them as soon as their scenes end.
As if the gasps in the storytelling's design were not enough, Rango confronts with... politics. An animated film satirizing the world's current issues like our main economical problems and our hunger for resources. Rango depicts the selfishness and creates a pretty dark and actually marxist character in the town's mayor. I was thinking that, okay, it's a understandable thing for adults but is it good for a kid to watch this and being told that if the people don't obey the rules they must be eliminated?... I don't know, maybe I'm a little bit off-topic but I think such delicate issues like that should not be addressed directly to kids.
Going to the voice casting, there were good choices but I can summarize Johnny Depp's vocal impersonation as being close to an animated Jack Sparrow: same tonality, same laugh, same mumbling... It looks like he really has a hard time getting over that character. I felt the entire movie I witnessed an animated green and skinny Jack Sparrow. But enough is enough.
Let's take a moment and applaud the incredible technical execution of this movie. The picture looked so clean and perfectly drawn, the colors were alive and powerful, the contrasts and the sound mixing and editing was really really impressive. The fight scenes looked like the epic grand-scale battle scenes from movies like Avatar or Star Wars... The cinematography was gorgeous and I must say I was impressed with some of the techniques used in the film. There is a shot of Rango dreaming and that crossover from reality to dreams and back to reality was simply amazing. It's a jaw-dropping visual world. Even the score was good. Good choice of music and not a single waste of wrong tones or anything like that. Everything fitted the movie wonderfully. Rango really blew out the water other animations and is a real step forward into animated drawings and design. It's like a concept car or a new burger. It's fresh. -
mickman91-131 January 2022As others have said, the animation is amazing thanks to its huge Hollywood budget. It is very easy and enjoyable to watch. It is kind of like a mature attempt at an animated family film, as it uses a lot of tropes and conventions of the old Hollywood western movies and transplants them to an animated family film. There are explicit references to Clint Eastwood, the good the bad the ugly, and also other classics such as Chinatown etc for the adults to appreciate. I think, however, that it focussed too much on trying to be clever and appreciated by grown up by adult critics. It is no surprise that this won an Oscar. However, its target audience should be children and families and it is a bit flat and clever for the kids to really get into. It doesn't have the heart and the innocence required for children to really love it. So winning an Oscar says nothing about how successful it was to the majority of people that actually watched it. Those that aren't Academy critics, but children and families.
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Our storytelling notions as evolved in the past 2,000 years are basically ideal templates of what it means to live a meaningful life; what sacrifices to make, why to persevere and what actually matters in the end. It would be interesting if we could somehow know if the chronicles followed the first epic journey or if man embarked upon it to fulfill his place in the legend; at any rate, whatever journeys took place, the epic seems to be the bard's connotation.
We have here one such thing that weaves together both the telling and what pre-existed it, where all the mechanisms of that Campbellian hero journey are self-consciously laid on top. The hero (not yet the hero) yanked from life by some unforeseen circumstance, thrown into a path foiled by the ironies of distant fates where he must search inside for a heroic sacrifice that serves as a lesson to the world. A path, which once travelled to the destination, will invite others to it.
The beauty of that self-consciousness lies in how the filmmaker whimsically indulges it. So in the beginning we get the hero (not yet the hero) removed from life inside a glass cage, where he enacts various stories (none of them his, all imagined). Over the course of the movie we see elements of these stories come magically alive, so that reality eventually conforms with what was imagined of it.
The added effect is that all this takes place in the world of the western, the cinematic world imprinted with the legends of the bards, Ford or Leone. What the filmmaker strives to do here is not so much to unearth what reality pre-existed the myth, but to expose myth for its addled romance as it is about to be swept away by a new reality.
So we have two swathes of solitary desert separated by the road most travelled, a symbolic way across which we understand the rite of passing will be enacted. On the other end of it waits the Spirit of the West, a familiar sight wearing a poncho yet now oddly playing golf.
What connects them is the plot from Chinatown, where corrupt plutocrats are scheming to usurp complete power and the only ones who can stand in their way are those old gunslinging legends, real or imagined, who will be swept away by the outcome. Like in Peckinpah 40 years ago.
The cuteness we sensibly expect from animation is peppered through this. There is the impossible action spectacle, the shenanigans. But it's not a film for children. The driving idea will be probably lost on them; how the quest here is not to save a dusty town from drought, but to sever the illusions that hide our true face from us. How although we embark on various journeys through life having assumed one identity or another, these journeys can be properly seen through by a self-less self.
"I am nobody" as Rango says, perhaps echoing that other Johnny Depp western that tried to achieve emptiness.
In doing so even the chronicles, here disguised as three Mexican owls singing about the eventual demise of the hero, will be proved wrong. Which is to say that no fate exists other than what we accept.
We get a bunch of things here, all of them pretty exceptional for an animation film. Most of them better than what we find in regular films of this ilk. Pixar hasn't come close.