This isn't your average animated movie! Go Rango Go!

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2013)

Director Gore Verbinski once again teams up with his main star from Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) Johnny Depp, this time on his Animation Feature 'Rango'. Rango isn't your average animated film. It's nearly borderlines being an adult film with several mature themes that may go over kids' head. There is a lot of cursing, plenty of violence & killing, drinking and smoking. Somewhat racist jokes about the natives. So there is a lot that not for younger viewers. There are also positive messages about living up to your potential, defending those who are defenseless, and the importance of authority figures who do what's in their community's best interest instead of their own. The movie stars a lonely pet chameleon (Johnny Depp) seeking adventure suffering from an identity crisis whom becomes stranded in the Mojave Desert after his glass world crashed around him. While wandering the desert, he meets a desert iguana name Beans (Isla Fisher), a rancher's daughter, who takes him to Dirt, an Old West town populated by desert animals. Using swagger and creativeness to fit in, the chameleon presents himself to the townsfolk as a tough drifter named Rango. Sooner than later, the town mayor (Ned Beatty) ask Rango to become its sheriff, to help solve the drought crisis. What Rango finds is more complex than it seems. Now if you really want to make a comparison to other movies, watch Chinatown by Roman Polanski (1974). You'll see the similarities jump out at you, down to water being the pivotal part of the plot. The mayor may as well also be lifted directly from that movie. It's seems like Rango had some very interesting movie influences to its production. Not only Chinatown, but the name 'Rango' is similar to the name Francis Nero's 'Django' (1966). Other influences are Sergio Leone's The Dollars Trilogy like supporting characters such as Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) that looks and acts like Lee Van Cleef from the Good, Bad, and the Ugly (1966). I really loved Rattlesnake Jake. He had quite a bit of build-up, and when he appears. He was very intimidating. How many of you shivered when you saw him? But at the same time, he had a strong code of honor that I feel really sets it apart from other villains in animated films today. The Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant) was interesting, in the fact that looks like Clint Eastwood and sounds like him. My favorite movie influence was the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) references. Love the Hunter S. Thompson cameo. It was pretty trippy. The visuals outdo anything Pixar has done so far, and trust me I'm a big fan of Pixar. This movie is the first animated feature produced by Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects company that George Lucas create for Star Wars (1977) hints why you can see their logos in Easter eggs form. It's amazingly detailed. The CGI was breath taking, such examples are the way the light shines on the animal skins, the landscape, how the dirt was all over their clothes. Great voice cast from everybody, and a lot of funny moments. The humor is a hit or miss, for me. There were a few jokes that did fall flat on their faces, but for the most part, I thought it was just hilarious. I thought it was a nice blend of dark humor and drama, especially for a kid's flick. Sometimes, there are these moments when I wish for a Mariachi-band to follow my every step and accompany it with their music. The music by Hans Zimmer was awesome. Welcome Amigo by Rick Garcia and 'We ride' by Hans Zimmer are my favorites. Here is some of the faults of the film. The basically revolves around death, so it can be a bit, depressing. It's true, they were building up to a death. They said in the beginning, "We're here to celebrate the life and untimely death of a hero." In the end, you find out, something that isn't right with that statement. Still overall, would gladly pay to see this movie again. It's just one of kids movie, both children and adults can love.