Rango finds art in its thematic complexity.

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2015)

Rango's animation is outright disgusting. Lizards, singing owls, ugly plastic fish, roadkill, rattlesnakes with machine-guns for rattles, rats, weird blobby creatures, and a homeless man compose most of the characters in this film, mashed together in a weird, reptilian Western about a chameleon in an identity crisis.
The film begins with the titular character, a blue-skinned, crooked- necked chameleon, contemplating his dramatic life with his "friends" (the torso of a mannequin, a plastic tree, a dead cockroach, and a wind-up fish). However, a bump in the road sends his aquarium flying out of the back of the car he is in, thrusting him suddenly and unexpectedly into a harsh, unforgiving desert.
The film continues from there, meandering around peril, comedic coincidence, and strange hints at an underlying message. It is witty, funny, and action packed, while the slightly crude humour adds a much needed dose of edginess to the genre of "children's films".
And then, just when I thought the film was about to segue dolefully into a cliché-ridden redemption fueled finale, it blew my mind with one line:
"Who am I?"
A moving pause.
"I'm nobody."
It was at this moment that I realized that this film is conveying a message, more powerful, more intellectually stimulating than most children's films would ever dare, presenting itself as the spiritual self-discovery of a chameleon. It is truly beautiful, despite the strange presentation, and vile animation.
Good children's films these days often focus on the main character's interaction with others. While they often address the personal impacts of certain relationships, they rarely delve into the nature of the individual in and of itself. However, Rango is all about the individual learning to find his place in the world, learning to cope with his own existence. He discovers that his surroundings define who he is and that his choices are based on the duties that he has towards others. He, as the Spirit of the West says, "cannot walk out on his own story". Children, as well as adults, need this theme. So much of today's culture is fraught with indecision over one's identity. This film teaches us that we, as individuals, are defined by our circumstance. While our choices do play a significant role, we have a moral duty to be the people we were meant to be, in order to acknowledge our existence as...well, reptiles.
Beautiful movie, one of the best animated films cinema has to offer.