Overlong but mostly works despite awkwardly jumping between audiences all the time

Rating: Null/10 (15 December 2013)

This is such a strange film to watch because you never really get a feel for who it is actually made for. The easiest answer is that it is for all ages and this would perhaps explain why it took up so much time to deliver a rather straightforward plot – because of it trying to do things for so many sections of one audience. The plot sees an aspiring actor lose his way and end up in a smaller western town. Keen not to get killed, he adopts a tough character and plays the role to the hilt. The town embraces him due to his (accidental) disposing of a villain and soon he is charged with returning water to the dying town – a task that sees him come up against much bigger villains and also forced to confront the truth that his whole personae is just an act. Oh, forgot to say – he's a chameleon.
On the face of it, this is a cartoon so therefore it is for children. On the other side it starts very early with references that children wouldn't get and never stops them. But then again it is full of very noisy sequences and sight gags, but then on the other side again we have characters from 1970's westerns, from Chinatown and have lots of slightly crude (but funny) humor. This would not be the first film to have material for children and adults but in Rango they never really seemed to gel – so here it wasn't a throwaway line for adults, but whole chunks of the films plot and themes seemed more suited to an older audience, whereas it would snap back into kiddie mode at times. The mix never comes together to produce one film for everyone but this isn't to say it doesn't work.
Personally I think the children get the rough end of the deal because I found Rango really funny at times and also really enjoyed the cinematic references and the endless knowing gaps which would go over younger heads. For them they are left with the lesser part of the film – the empty noise, the fast moving sequences which seem to only exist for the sake of having them – maybe they work, but they are thinly spread over 2 hours, most of which children I guess will be more bored and perhaps annoyed at their parents enjoying it more than they. The voice work is part of this. I really enjoyed Depp here; his character is funny and his delivery is just right for the material. He is supported by probably more famous faces than the film needs (Fisher, Beatty, Molina, Nighy, Stanton, Olyphant, Winstone etc) but they all add a sense of class. The animation is top-notch and I liked that it was inventive within the visual themes of the western – it never felt like a copy or ripoff so much as a starting point to then do more.
Rango doesn't totally work as a whole film. It has much to recommend about it but it is overlong and it does seem fragmented between audiences. The older viewer gets the better part of the film and if you go with it there is a solid plot supported at every turn by references, jokes and solid playing from all involved. Not perfect but I enjoyed it.