A Quick-Witted, Clever Piece of Animated Cinema (Just Mind the Kids)

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2011)

Nature seldom shows mercy to its inhabitants. Every organism must adapt quickly to survive in the wilderness or die. Life is typically short for most members of the animal kingdom and when evolution momentarily halts, every resource is sought for to survive. "Rango" understands the facts and gleefully expresses them to us on screen. It's difficult to calculate how long it took for the creatures of "Rango" to wear Western clothes and handle guns but who am I to judge a creative animation flick in such a scientific way. Yes, "Rango" is the new name of the West and it resonates swiftly across the land. After concluding the "Pirates of Caribbean" trilogy, director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp reconnect to abandon the sea and embark on a vibrant adventure across the sands of the desert.
Johnny Depp voices Rango, a pet chameleon who aspires to be a thespian. He knows he can be anybody he wants to be but he feels confined by his limits. After a freak accident, Rango becomes lost in the middle of the Mojave Desert. He finds a small town called Dirt but realizes "strangers don't last long around here". Instinct tells Rango that he must quickly blend in before he is ostracized or worse. He manages to improvise and assumes the identity of a gun-slinging legend that has brought down some of the most notorious outlaws with a single bullet. The townspeople (or townscritters) find hope in Rango's actions and false reputation so they urge their Mayor (a tortoise voiced by Ned Beatty) to appoint him as Sheriff. Rango now runs a town in the middle of drought where the low supply of water is controlled by the Mayor who has devious prospects in mind.
If you recognize the references, you can tell that "Rango" is a parody of some of the finest films ever made. As a nod to "Apocalypse Now!", a Western banjo ensemble performs the infamous "Ride of the Valkyries" tune in an aerial attack scene. That's what I look for in parodies these days: clever and creative takes on past movies, not mere mentions. The water conflict in "Rango" is practically identical to the plot in "Chinatown" and Verbinski is considerate enough to model the Mayor's clothing, mannerism, and quotes after John Huston's character, Noah Cross. However, "Rango" mainly lampoons the Western genre with a keen respect for the movies and legends (keep a look out for one particular legend). Instead of men on horses, we see small creatures ride roadrunners into the setting sun to thrill us with nostalgia. Because there are people wanting to see an exciting cowboy flick, Verbinski delivers all the goods needed to satisfy the hungry fans from wagon chases to quick-draw dueling.
As usual, Johnny Depp prevails as a character who desires acceptance above all else. I am assuming because of persuasion by Gore Verbinski, Rango has a Jack Sparrow moment or two. Since Rango is a self-described actor, Depp masters numerous dialects to transition from one identity to the next. The act tells us that Rango is a "lonely lizard" who is unsure about himself and his future. It's no wonder why Depp has become the one of the world's most talented living actors. Rango's love interest is a desert iguana named Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher) who, of all the citizens in Dirt, is the most skeptical of the water crisis. The trouble with Beans is her continual wide-eyed expression throughout the movie accompanied by her malfunctioned defense mechanism. Nevertheless, she is the only sign of staunchness in a suffering town. All the voice-actors perform effectively and seem to embrace their roles. The stand-out, besides Depp, is Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake, a legendary diamondback with fiery eyes and a pistol-cannon as his rattle. I knew how well Nighy can act before "Rango" but I had no idea that he could brandish a menacing, Western accent in place of his Scottish tongue.
The CGI, provided by Industrial Light & Magic, in "Rango" carries a precise elaboration to capture the glorifying environment and content of the film. There are some scenes with a hallucinogenic beauty on a grand scale which further intensify the spectacle of the whole picture. Composer Hans Zimmer doubles the delight with his striking, Mexican- Western style score to sensationalize the art while a mariachi band of owls melodiously narrates the events as they unfold. The screenplay is written by Academy-Award nominee John Logan who has lent his hand to projects including "Gladiator" and "The Aviator". Logan's script is loaded with bullets of witty irony and bright pop-culture references while he critiques the weaknesses of financial institutions and the political uses of religion. "Rango" provides a less-than-satisfactory amount of physical humor for the kids. To be blunt, not a lot of children are going to understand the humor but the adults and some well- informed teenagers will. The Johnny Depp fans are going to have a blast more explosive than a handful of dynamite.
My Rating: 8/10