An interesting movie if you're in the mood for something odd

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 2011)

Rango's trailer really contains everything truly funny in the movie. Normally this would be a problem for a hilarious children's movie, but apparently only the first 5 minutes of the film were delivered and marketing went off running to promote a funny kid's film. Painted in a palate of grays and browns, Rango is a gritty western with an odd assortment of grizzly animals that are so water-starved, they've started talking with Texas accents (and some British). Rango comes along like a fish out of water and uses his charm and filthy lizard lies to endear himself to the townspeople, eventually solving the crisis and living happily with some rodent.
While the story didn't come across as terribly creative, it was the dirty details that got me. Rango's first exposure to the desert sun results in two quick skin-sheddings – a scene that I rewatched 10 times, cringing each time. Kids movies generally approach death like-a so: there's some comical violence throughout, maybe some threats to life and limb, but at the climax of the film the uncontested villain of the movie finally gets his through a noncommittal death. Think sabre-toothed tiger in Ice Age and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (we all know he was dismembered by the croc). In Rango, death comes constantly and brutally – drowning, crushing, falling, and being shot. There is no mercy, but the animals do act as animals and don't seem to care. The movie also had some beautiful landscapes, tributes to other movies, and so much sand and dirt.
I don't really attribute much of the movie to Gore Verbinski. Having seen how companies like Pixar work, a lot of the little details that make a film come from the animators themselves, not the story or the director. He'll thumbs up/thumbs down, but these are ideas originating in a far more creative place. The story was not very compelling or original, but everything else made up for those shortcomings. I wasn't particularly impressed by Johnny Depp, who seemed to be channeling a mixture of Kermit the Frog and Sam Rockwell playing Zaphod Beeblebrox. I couldn't even recognize the voices of every other cast member and I think that speaks to voice work more than being easily recognizable. Whatever it takes to sell a ticket, I suppose.
Speaking of selling tickets at all cost, the one thing that took what would have been an A-range movie in to the B's was the idiotic punch- ups. Knowing the studio and director, it probably went like this: "Wow, that was really dark. Can't you, uh, make it funnier for kids? Like add some crotch shots and farts? Thanks a bunch, buddy!" And add them they did! During random, surreal scenes, audiences were treated to some animal farting. I'd say that might have been to add to the bizarreness of the movie, but again, knowing the studio and director, that's doubtful. Some poor animator was tasked with going back and adding a puff of feathers or sand so some poor sound designer could go back and add a stupid fart sound. Well done, you masters of subtlety.
While Rango was no El Topo (not enough midgets), it had some surreal moments. It's probably one of the most interesting animations I've ever watched, although I can't say I enjoyed it as much as HTTYD or Wall-E. Still, a pretty interesting movie if you're in the mood for something odd.