"Ain't no one gonna tango with the Rango!"

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2011)

Well I've seen all manner of Western stories - TV Westerns, revisionist Westerns, spaghetti Westerns - but this was my very first lizard Western. I have to say, I enjoyed the animated venue, but if you're a Western fan, the story itself isn't going to offer anything new or creative. The hero chameleon Rango goes up against the crooked town boss and Mayor of Dirt, who's been buying up all the property around the town while controlling the local water supply. As usual there's a lone hold out, in this case the female lizard character known as Beans. When things look a little shaky for the Mayor, he brings in his gun for hire, Rattlesnake Jake to put an end to Rango's quest. I had to chuckle over the Rattlesnake's appearance, he had the faintest of a moustache line across his lip reminding me of so many Western villains. The picture inadvertently and I'm sure unintentionally pays homage to the little known 1975 Mexican Western "Dead Aim" which makes clever use of 'rattlesnake music' whenever a tense situation occurs.
However there are overt nods to other better known films that most viewers will be able to recognize. The first real battle action sequence is patterned after Luke Skywalker's aerial assault in the canyons of the Death Star. Then there's that real neat touch when Rango meets the Spirit of the West, a throwback to Eastwood's Man With No Name character. "It's the deeds that make the man" the Spirit says to Rango, and from that point on, our hero forges ahead to face his destiny. Was there ever any doubt that the final showdown would take place at High Noon?
With all that, I think it's pretty safe to say that this isn't really a kids movie, even though the marketing for the picture seemed to paint it that way. The setting of Dirt and the grimy characters give the picture a dark and forbidding overcast, and though I'm no prude, I found a scene with Rango hugging a topless female doll form to be somewhat disturbing. That just sort of creeped me out when I saw it, and made me rethink an invitation to my granddaughter to watch the picture with me. She didn't after all, so I didn't have to do any explaining. There was also a line from a song referencing 'refried beans and booger blood' that wasn't particularly appetizing as I ate my dinner while watching the picture, but I could see how little boys would get a kick out of that one.