Great...

Rating: 10/10 (13 September 2011)

This is one of the best movies that I have ever seen. This is what any family movie is supposed to be - a movie that can entertain an adult as well as it can entertain a kid. There is a great story. There are great characters. There is great animation... Well, you get it. I am probably going to write about it in details after I write the things that I started writing this review for.
Now...
Well, as I've said, this is a great family movie. Really. Kids enjoy it. Adults enjoy it. However there is surprisingly huge amount of reviews and comments written by people who think this movie is somehow inappropriate for kids. Some people think it is heavily loaded with extreme violence, heavy profanity and a lot of references to nudity. I would like to respond to those people.
First, about the violence... People, what world have you been living in? Seriously... What is your kids' favorite fairy tale? Is it the one about the wolf who eats a little girl and her grandmother and then gets violently killed? (Little Red Riding Hood) Or may be it is the one about the evil queen who sends her step daughter to die in the forest and then tries to kill her many times? (Snow White) Or about the woman who treats her step daughter like a piece of cr@p and then forces her real daughters to cut their toes off? (Cinderella) Or may be it is one of the thousands fairy tales about The Brave Hero who slays many enemies, kills anyone who stands in his way, etc... And what is your kids' favorite cartoon? Is it the one about the mouse who likes hitting the cat with a frying pan or other weapons of this kind so hard so the cat would surely die if it weren't a cartoon? Or may be it is the one about the carrot-eating rabbit who likes to do similar things to the hunter? Or... Whatever, you get the point. 'Rango' isn't more violent than any of these cartoons and fairy tales. If you or your kids have any problems with the violence in it then you are just insane.
Second, about the profanity... I am not going to write much about it. All I am going to say is that if you feel offended by words like "hell" or "private parts", then you might find this movie filled with profanity. That is about the heaviest language you would hear in it, and it is not used in the context that would make it sound offensive. Nothing more. Nothing your 2+ year old kids haven't heard in the kindergarten. If you have problems with it then you are just insane.
Third, about the references to nudity... Yes, there are a few. Rango talks to a broken Barbie doll and asks her one question. That is it. Oh, yes, and one character says something about some fruits. Nothing heavier than Daffi Duck's whistling after any beautiful girl he sees.
***
Now I want to write a few words about the movie itself. First, the quality of the animation. Six words - the best I have ever seen. Seriously. Everything is so amazingly detailed so it looks REAL... I wouldn't say it is the most beautiful because beauty is a very subjective thing but the details are...
Second, the story and the characters. 'Rango' is some kind of a "multi-layered" movie. You can see it as a homage to various movies. You can see it as a movie about finding yourself. You can see it as a satire of the actors' work. And would be right about everything. The characters are exactly what they have to be. I don't want to spoil the movie so I would not write a lot of details but... Well... Every single character is important to the story, including the owls with the music instruments that you saw in the trailer. Every single character is an individual and not a simple plot-device. Every single character is great.
The music is great too.
10/10.