I recently had the opportunity to view a pre screening for Rango and therefore owe it to the world to share my thoughts about the film. Coming into the film I knew about the amazing techniques and technology the put into making the film but I never imagined how great the animation would be. In saying this, the animation was positively revolutionary and I definitely see the style and artistry of the animation being used in other films in the future.
Rango: Why don’t you just wait until the cars pass before you cross?
"It’s a metaphor"
This film really was just a metaphor and not even a complicated one. The entire movie was just about Rango adjusting to a life outside a cage and learning about the importance of friendship and never giving up on ones own goals. With its straightforward plot it somehow was made to be a fantastically fun film. Rango was a very intricate character with a great deal of personality. He was a quirky actor type (like someone else we know). He runs around, makes funny faces, and acts like the animals around him. Unfortunately, other than Rango, every other character in the film fell short. Every two-dimensional character after the other could have been summed up in one sentence from a indepentent girl who freezes randomly to a deputy native American. Also, Rango had plenty of quirky lizard attributes from the sheding of his skin to him randomly eating bugs but no other animals added anything to anyone else’s character. If the characters had been other animals it would have made no difference, which is why I feel there really needed to be more to the supporting characters in the film.
With every great animation film there is always a dimension of comedy. Without any kind of humor many older audiences would not appreciate an all-childish plot. What animation writers don’t realize is that a cheap joke definitely gets noticed. The humor for this film was very steryotypical from every joke. That is not to say using word play by saying Thesbians (lesbians) are illegal in 7 states isn’t an effective way to make me laugh but that there was a great deal of adult humor. Most jokes ranged from verbal irony to a series of references including encounters with Clint Eastwood and an alternate persona of Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Overall, it was a cute film with a great deal going for it. Considering the cast of the film actually acted out the film to capture the animated characters emotions, it was directed fabulously by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean Films, The Weather Man, The Ring). Johnny Depp did a fantastic job capturing the personality of a western lizard and there was no true slow point in the film. I would definitely recommend viewing it.
***1/2
- Jay Bassin
