Rango – A Paramount Pictures’ Release

http://www.RangoMovie.com/

Release Date: March 4th

Rated PG for violence, mild language, not recommended for young children

Running time: 107 minutes

Gore Verbinski (dir.)

John Logan (screenplay)

Gore Verbinski (story)

James Ward Byrkit (story)

Hans Zimmer (music)

Johnny Depp as Rango (voice)

Isla Fisher as Beans (voice)

Abigail Breslin as Priscilla (voice)

Ned Beatty as Mayor (voice)

Alfred Molina as Roadkill (voice)

Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake (voice)

Harry Dean Stanton as Balthazar (voice)

Timothy Olyphant as Spirit of the West (voice)

Ray Winstone as Bad Bill (voice)

Ian Abercrombie as Ambrose (voice)

©Paramount Pictures.  All Rights Reserved.

Rango (Johnny Depp) is about to be chased by a hawk in the animated western Rango.

Our reviews below:

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Rango Review By John C.

***1/2 (out of 4)

Rango is one of the most bizarre animated movies in recent memory, and I mean that in the best possible way.  From special effects house Industrial Light & Magic and director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean), this is a beautifully animated and cleverly written film for older kids and adults, that almost seems destined to have a cult following.

Over the opening scene, we are introduced to Rango (voiced by a thoroughly involved Johnny Depp), a pet chameleon suffering from a severe existential crisis.  “Who am I?” he solemnly asks the audience.  “I could be anyone.”  When his glass tank smashes against the pavement of a Nevada road, he finds himself in a strange western town called Dirt, right in the middle of the Mojave desert.

The residents of Dirt, including the mysterious chameleon Beans (Isla Fisher) and the young opossum Priscilla (Abigail Breslin) are still stuck in the past.  Living under the control of their mayor, an elderly turtle (Ned Beatty), the townsfolk are suffering from their lack of a proper water supply.  When Rango bursts into town and accidentally kills a threatening hawk, they enlist him as the new sheriff.

There are many ways you could describe this existential journey of self discovery.  It would probably be easiest to call it a send-up of classic Sergio Leone westerns, with portions of the plot paying homage to Roman Polanski’s Chinatown.  There is even a clear nod to Johnny Depp’s 1998 cult classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  But despite these constant references to other movies, Rango still feels fresh and undeniably unique.

The general strangeness of the film makes it one that won’t be for everybody, and it really isn’t suitable for young kids.  The 107-minute running time will be too long for short attention spans and the character designs are mostly odd.  There are also several suitably tense sequences, especially those involving the villainous Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy).  A lot of the humour comes from the dialogue, and will be best appreciated by somewhat more mature audiences.

Some audiences will argue against it and won’t know how to react, but this is a brilliantly inventive animated film quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen and a very entertaining one at that.  With beautifully textured visuals and a strong script, Rango is one of the best and most unique movies of the year so far.

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Rango Review by Erin V.

**** (out of 4)

Rango follows its title character, a more than slightly existential chameleon (Johnny Depp), on a journey to figure out who he is, and getting himself into a situation way over his head in the process.  After his current life is literally destroyed around him, he ends up wandering into the town of Dirt – a throwback to the wild west.  The animals there are distrusting of strangers, but he talks his way into the position of Sheriff, and soon they expect him to defend their town against outlaws, and solve a major water crisis.

I really enjoyed this one.  The visual style of Rango is extremely unique, and the animation by major special-effects house ILM, (the first time they’ve animated an entire film), is spot-on.  There are some really great action sequences here, although the character animation is quite good as well.  Rattlesnake Jake is really cool to watch, and the owl mariachi band that narrates the film is a neat touch.  Directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean), this is a well-written, more than slightly strange, western adventure film.  The acting by the strong cast, and the score by Hans Zimmer (with classics mixed in) complete the ensemble.

This is a film that will be greatly enjoyed by the older members of the audience, but will frighten or go over the heads of most of those under 1o.  Rango is one of the weirdest CGI films I’ve seen recently, but in a completely fresh and cool way.  If you’re looking for something a little off-kilter, this one is well worth seeing this weekend.  It’s a strange and a bold acheivement in animation and it really works – but you’ll only really be able to appreciate it if you leave the kids at home.  Finally a good strong reminder that CGI does not equal ‘take the whole family’ – and nor should it.  In terms of violence in this one, think live-action western, twisted-up, and animated.

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Rango Review by Nicole

*** (out of 4)

Rango is a quirky and clever Western with an unusual twist.  All the characters are desert creatures, rather than humans.  The film’s hero is a pet chameleon named Rango (Johnny Depp).  His life is pretty boring, until he falls off his owner’s truck, and ends up in a small, 19th century style town known as Dirt.  After accidentally killing a hawk, Rango is made town sheriff.  Trouble is, the town is out of water.  Somebody has been stealing the water supply, and Rango must figure out who the culprit is in order to save the town.

One of the interesting things about Rango is, while the film takes place in modern day, the animals remain living as if they are in the 1800’s.  The animation style is also interesting, avoiding the cute and cuddly look of other animated films.  The dialogue is intelligent, with funny lines that pay tribute to classic films.  In fact, everything about the film feels mature, and it may not only frighten young children, but bore them as well.  However, Rango is an interesting and unique film that is worth seeing, at least for those aged 10 to adult.

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Rango Review by Maureen

***1/2 (out of 4)

The Wild West just got wilder.  Rango is the animated tale of an ordinary pet lizard who finds himself in an extraordinary position.  When a roadside mishap lands the lizard on the edge of a Nevada desert he discovers his reason for being.  He is meant to be Sheriff Rango of an old western town called Dirt where he will save the townspeople from drought and banquish the bad guys.  He may even find himself a woman.

Director Gore Verbinski and animation studio Industrial Light & Magic have assembled the oddest and ugliest collection of desert creature townsfolk to inhabit an old west town.  Yet each of the characters are strangely appealing.  The dialogue is well-written with references that movie fans will enjoy.  The tone is smart and the existentialist overtones – ‘who am I?’ – are really funny.  Each of the characters are brought to believably, quirky life by a stellar voice cast.  Johnny Depp is at his best as the thespian lizard sheriff, Rango.

The animation in Rango is excellent.  The textures and movement of the creatures are believable.  There is one scene where Rango is walking across the desert ‘to get to the other side’ and the colors and the texture of the sand is just beautiful.  As wonderful as the animation is, filmgoers have to recognize that many of the characters are very scary looking.  The five and under crowd really don’t belong at Rango.

Rango really is a unique and funny parody of Westerns.  It’s entertaining from start to finish.  The Hans Zimmer score works nicely and my favourites, the four owl mariachi band do a great job of narrating and moving the story along through song.  This is wild west at its best for animation fans age 10 and up, though older teens and adults will get the most out of it.

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Rango Review by Tony

*** (out of 4)

Rango is the first animated feature from ILM, directed by Gore Verbinski, with Johnny Depp in the title role as a chameleon thespian who finds himself in a desert frontier town with other strange but beautifully rendered critters representing characters from countless westerns. The mayor (Ned Beatty) is a turtle in a wheelchair controlling the water supply, channeling John Huston in Chinatown. Other characters include The Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant) and Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) as counterparts of the Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef roles in Leone westerns, and a native raven stereotype. Beans (Isla Fisher) is a young female holding out against the mayor’s plans to buy up the whole town, and there is a recurring chorus of Mariachi owls commenting on the action.

In the main action sequence, the good guys riding road runners and other fowl are chased by dive bombers on bats to the tune of Die Reite der Walküren, just one of the nice touches from the eclectic Hans Zimmer score. The script is full of funny references like these, too many to keep up with in a single viewing, so I look forward to the disk release.

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Consensus: With beautiful animation and an endlessly clever script, Rango is a smart and very entertaining film.  Although it isn’t suitable for young kids, older audiences are sure to enjoy the many references to classic films and Johnny Depp’s thoroughly involved voice performance. ***1/2 (Out of 4)