Rango tries to answer the question “Who Am I?” but can’t figure out what the movie is itself. It’s not a movie I would show to kids, that’s for sure. It looks and sounds beautiful…I wouldn’t expect any less from ILM (Industrial Light & Magic – the special effects people behind Star Wars, Harry Potter, Iron Man, and every other big film) but what those sights and sounds depict is so helterskelter that the audience will just sit there stunned in confusion. Rango is about a lonely domesticated chameleon who is an actor at heart pretending to be the star in his own plays. He finds himself playing the role of the protagonist hero in a real western but can he be who he needs to be and not just what he pretends to be?
I think the movie Rango pretends to be an indie film under the guise of an animated Nickelodeon movie. There are some really incredible elements which are reminiscent of classic Hollywood masterpieces…in a movie for kids. The kids weren’t laughing. Oh, except for when people got hit or slapped. One kid behind me exclaimed, “This movie is hilarious!” after a lewd joke he wasn’t supposed to get. What is our society coming to!? What happened to kid westerns like one my all time favorites: An American Tail: Fievel Goes West? That still had some serious issues it dealt with but it was for kids that adults could enjoy too. Rango will even go over the heads of adults…especially the ones who think bringing their kids to this was a good idea. Once you see the roadkill scene early on, you have to make your decision to walk your kids out or not.
"You son of a-caaaaaaaaaaw!"
Anyway, Rango is a true western being a better example of the genre than some live action movies of late. It features the lone stranger who comes into a town in need of being saved. It’s a story of self discovery and meaning. Rango comes into his own but then has to confront himself to figure out if that’s actually who he is or if he’s still just putting on a show for everyone to like him. “No man can walk out of his own story.” There are a lot of hat tips to great past films that a film lover will enjoy recognizing. The cinematography and tone of the movie is really surreal for an animated film. It’s quite a spectacle in the 2nd act but the story was just too bland at points (as most westerns are). There will be plenty of gaps of silence where you’ll look around the theater and wonder what everyone else is thinking.
What!?
Johnny Depp is marvelous and just watching his mannerisms will entertain you throughout the movie. This feature did something unique in the making…instead of just putting voices to animated models, they modeled the animated characters after their live action counterparts…kind of like in Avatar. The actors all acted out their parts, were recorded, and then translated into digital movements. You can really see the difference and watch each character shine through. I hope this trend continues and adds another layer of legitimacy for animated films. And no, the movie wasn’t in 3D thank God. Even though the images looked amazing, the characters were disgusting. This isn’t a cutesy fluffy movie…it’s a gritty rodent-filled western…and they stick to that.
Johnny Depp alongside his chameleon counterpart Rango
This movie is going to have such a strange acceptance and I’m interested to see what happens. I feel like this is a movie that you have to watch at least 2 or 3 times to really get its depth which is incredibly strange for a movie targeted to kids. As kids movies are getting smarter, I think this one just went too far and didn’t offer enough for the youngins to appreciate. Maybe I’m just thinking into it too much and missed the smoother subtle movie that laid tangled in between the darker stronger undertones but I didn’t hear the kids enjoying themselves like they would in other animated movies. You’ll just have to see it for yourself and let me know what you think.
Tags: Johnny Depp, Rango
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
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