Cast: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: John Logan
Genre: Action/Adventure

Let us assume for a moment that there wasn’t such a strong association between the terms “animated film” and “family film”. Let’s take into consideration that when “family film” is mentioned it doesn’t immediately bring to mind images of hand-drawn or computer animation, (for me, it makes my eyes roll at the thought of another Air Bud movie). So, reversing the logic, “animated film” shouldn’t be synonymous with cute characters that are easily found on bed sheets. Luckily we are smack in the middle of a new golden age of animation that harkens back to the early days of animated films – films that appealed to all audiences – the days when animation wasn’t a genre, but a mere method of storytelling. Rango continues this tradition, which uses animation as a tool in which to tell a story that would not otherwise be possible.

The film opens on a lizard that fancies himself a thespian, as he puts on grandiose theater productions in his terrarium. His cast mates consist of the torso of a Barbie doll, a large wind-up toy fish, and a dead cricket. He, of course, is the star of the show, but quickly his world is [literally] shattered as his owner’s family veers off of the road to avoid a traffic accident while driving through the desert. He, and his cast mates, torpedo across a busy highway, nearly avoiding disaster. Lost and deserted, he wanders down the road until he comes across an a dying armadillo that has recently been run over. The road kill informs him that if he is to survive, he has to cross the road to find the Spirit of the West. Meanwhile, a mariachi band of birds narrate the fate of Rango, a lizard on a path to inevitable death.

Before discussing this further, it should be said that Rango boasts the best-looking animation ever created – the quality of which rivals that of Avatar. The textures of the rough skin of the characters, the dustiness of the desert, and the heat from the road are so tangible that one has to remember that this film wasn’t actually photographed. Within its real-life quality and its off-kilter humor a very surrealistic tone develops, which might be off-putting for the unprepared. The tongue-in-cheek humor is more akin to The Coen Brothers than it is Disney, and there are clear references that the kiddies just won’t understand – the resemblance of the movie poster to that of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is no coincidence. One might be inclined to attribute this to the filmmakers giving a few wink-wink-nudge-nudges to the parents in the audience, however this eccentric style is persistent throughout the film.

Soon, our hero is met by a lizard that is on the search for water for her town. She eventually agrees to bring the strange lizard back to town with her for fear that he might otherwise dehydrate. As he enters Dirt, an Old West-like town, he resembles his toy friend – a fish out of water. The only thing that will save him from being ravaged by the gruff and crotchety locals is his acting ability – and on the spot he creates the persona and myth of Rango, the roughest, toughest lizard this side of the Mississippi. But as he continues to embellish his legend, he finds himself as the new sheriff of the town and forced to deal with a plethora of baddies, and a corrupt scandal involving the town’s water supply.

Rango is, without a doubt, an authentic Western. What is great about a new take on an old genre is that archetypes can be used without the writing appearing hackneyed. Rango is a man without a name, a stranger that enters a distressed town, an impartial outsider who becomes the inadvertent hero. But at no point is the film a slave to its influences. John Logan’s script delivers a unique story about the discovery of personal potential embedded within a thrilling adventure story. What is most refreshing is that this is a script that seems to have stemmed from one man’s love of movies instead of a manufactured story by a team of writers attempting to please the broadest possible audience. The creativity in storytelling is quite refreshing.

Versatile director Gore Verbinski heads up his first animated film with fantastic results. His experience with extravagant action sequences and adventure films certainly is the best fit – after all, he is the one that brought the Pirates of the Caribbean films to life. He brings ingenuity to the process of creating a film, not merely an “animated” movie, the effect of which can be felt in the film’s most exciting sequences. Likewise, he also brings his unique flair for directing comedy, just as he did with the Jack Sparrow character in Pirates or Brad Pitt in The Mexican. His knack for presenting characters in an iconic way shouldn’t be overlooked. Just as the creepy girl from The Ring haunts our nightmares, and, again, Jack Sparrow’s charm enraptures us, he is able to display Rango as an unforgettable character. But his biggest success with this film might just be with the actors…

Instead of simply casting actors to lend their voices to this film, Verbinski (and team) chose actors who could create performances. Johnny Depp steps in as Rango, and delivers one of his most compelling characters in years. What’s kind of brilliant about the way the voices were recorded for this film is that the actors aren’t limited to only displaying their comic timing and different accents. With Depp in particular, he is able to convey the grandiose dreams, the massive insecurities, and the weight of his decisions with his performance. This is no doubt due to the fact that Verbinski had all of the actors in the same room acting off of one another – instead of the process of recording the voices of each actor separately. The results pay off.

Rango is just plain fun. It hits all of the right, albeit askew, notes, and never breaks its stride. Sure, the offbeat humor may be disagreeable with certain audience members, but that is likely due to the fact that no other animated film in recent memory has taken as many chances as Rango. Yes, characters use mild cursing, smoke, and even die (gasp!), but remember the horrific nightmares that the Pleasure Island sequence in Pinocchio produced? Recall the terrifying dancing elephants sequence from Dumbo? Call to mind the impression that the hunters from Bambi left on generations of audiences. Rango is in good company.

USA. 107 minutes. Rated PG.

Click here to read Blu-ray review.

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