Rango
7 stars out of 10
Genre: Animated/Family
MPAA Rating: PG
Run time: 107 min.
Writer: John Logan
Director: Gore Verbinski
Year: 2011
It’s often interesting when live action filmmakers take on animated films. Sometimes you get something fresh and invigorating, as with Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr Fox”, and sometimes you get a confusion of sensibilities, as with Zack Snyder’s "Legend of the Guardians" Fortunately "Rango"falls comfortably into the former camp. Director Gore Verbinski proves himself perfectly suited to delivering an exciting animated film unlike anything you’ve ever seen and with a life and energy all its own. But it also struggles with a strange mishmash of tones as it tries to find that sweet spot between being "too adult" and "too kiddie".
Rango is a domesticated lizard (voice brilliantly by Johnny Depp) who, after an accident, finds himself stuck in the Mojave desert. He lies his way into the hearts of the residents of a small desert town aptly named Dirt, and does such a good job of it that they make him their sheriff. Naturally, he soon finds himself confronted with actual villains and has to man up (lizard up?) and take them on to save the town.
It’s an archetypal Western plot, very much by design, and the film uses all the familiar Western tropes to brilliant effect. It also throws in non-intrusive pop culture references, including many that kids will definitely not get. And it goes on a series of wild existential tangents that threaten to derail the whole thing, but are so inventive that they never do. Where it becomes slightly confused is when it seems to realize that all its fast-talking and philosophizing is probably going over the heads of the kids in the audience, and it tries to compensate with potty jokes and action. It’s not enough to ruin the experience, but it does leave you wishing it had picked a side.
Worth noting as well is the look of the film, which is both breathtaking and strangely grotesque. It’s the first animated film produced entirely by the special effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic, and they’ve done a remarkable job that can rightly be compared to the latest efforts by Pixar. The characters are sometimes hideous but also endearing, and the environments are colorful and atmospheric. It’s a fascinating film to watch.
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