Movie Review: Rango

“Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski reteams with actor Johnny Depp for their first fully animated film, “Rango”. It tells the story of a chameleon (Depp) that finds himself lost in the middle of a desert, while on a quest to find out whom he really is. That quest takes him to a small western town run by desert creatures that mistake him for the hero who has come to protect them from all evil. The chameleon decides to “blend in” and takes on the name “Rango”, protector of all that is good. But It is not long before he uncovers a bizarre plot to steal the town’s water supply by way of some very nasty varmints.

“Rango” is one of the oddest family movies I have ever seen (right up there with Spike Jones’ “Where the Wild Things Are”, which I also liked.) There is really nothing conventional about it! There are images in this movie that are far too surreal to escape from my memory: a rabbit with one ear, a creature with an arrow through his eye, a wind-up goldfish floating through the sky, an owl playing an electric guitar (among other instruments), & a very famous cowboy driving a golf cart through the middle of the desert (instead of on a horse), among other things. There is also a strange assortment of supporting creatures, all with their own idiosyncratic personalities (and mostly with appearances that we likely will not see sold in happy meals.) One of these creatures is named Rattlesnake Jake (voiced by Bill Nighy), who is also a dangerous gun fighter; this snake, who at one point says to a character “I’ll see you in Hell” before unloading machine bullets at them, is so frightening, yet so cool, that I would not hesitate putting him on that list of classic animated villains. Just look at those blood shot eyes, and those sharp teeth, which are, at one point, literally dripping with venom!

Gore Verbinski joins a short list of live-action filmmakers who have recently turned to feature length animated films. That includes Richard Linklater ("Waking Life"), Robert Zemeckis ("The Polar Express"), Tim Burton ("Corpse Bride"), George Miller ("Happy Feet"), Wes Anderson ("Fantastic Mr. Fox"), Zack Snyder ("Legends of the Guardian"), and Steven Spielberg (the upcoming "Adventures of Tintin.") It is easy to see why animation appeals to these filmmakers; it allows them complete freedom from the laws of live action gravity, particularly freedom with the camera. For instance, in “Rango”, it is truly exciting to see the places that Verbinski is able to put his camera; in one chase scene, his camera literally starts in the sky, beneath the talons of a dangerous hawk, then comes right down next to a bottle that Rango is rolling in, then inside the bottle and around to the other side of his face where we can see another desert creature trying to hitch a ride.

“Rango” is the first fully computer animated feature film from George Lucas’ Industrial, Light, & Magic (ILM) visual effects company. The computer animation looks incredible! The lighting and the texture on the characters look photo-realistic, yet every character still remains stylized. What also struck me is how much spontaneity and energy the visuals have. You’d think in animation every detail must be precisely planned out, but this film has enough inventive visuals to feel as if they are making it up as they go.

As someone who really loves movies, I also appreciated the many cinematic references of this film. For starters, “Rango” is really a western; it’s like “True Grit” but crossed with the plot of “Chinatown”, with a dash of Apocalypse Now" in one scene, a hint of "Star Wars", and chased with a little “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (as Rango finds himself being chased through the desert by all sorts of flying creatures, while also wearing a Hawaiian shirt.) It is a truly imaginative film, which kept me entertained by its sheer uniqueness, quirky humor, and its amazing visuals. I love when the movies show me something I’ve never seen before, and “Rango” did plenty of that!

Movie Theater Experience:

I saw “Rango” on March 4^th at the 7:10pm show at the Marcus Oakdale Theater. This theater is my favorite theater of all! It’s always clean, the staff & management is courteous, and, on a busy Friday night, the popcorn is always good (as are the hot dogs.) Speaking of hot dogs, here’s a little movie theater inside tip: don’t ever buy hot dogs from a theater that keeps their condiments in containers. I could tell you horror stories about how those containers of condiments are likely breaking all kinds of health codes, as well as acting as incubators for insect creatures the likes of which you have only seen in your nightmares (or in “Rango.”) Always go with the safer condiment packets.