Unreal Movie Review: Rango

Rango is a strange breed. It’s an experiment of what happens when Paramount bypasses its Dreamworks animation branch, and tries to make a hit kids’ movie on its own. The talking animals are still there, and the lead character is constantly found with the trademark one eyebrow raised, but something is very…different.

Under the helm of The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, we find this is a much darker tale than we’re used to from a movie in this genre. No pandas are learning kung fu, no squirrels are chasing after elusive nuts, rather it’s a tale of the harsh realities of the old west, which include heavy gunfire and ravaging drought.

The movie is pitched like many of the westerns of old. A stranger wanders into town and finds himself the only one suited to be the law. Only this time that man is a lizard (voiced by Johnny Depp) and his legend is completely fabricated, as he’s far from a hardened gunslinger. Rather he’s just recently escaped from the confines of a glass box, where he’s lived his entire life with only a headless Barbie torso and a mechanical fish for company.

But embracing his newfound circumstances, he adopts the name “Rango,” and goes on to impress the townfolk with tales of exploits across the West. His legend would seem to be validated when he kills the hawk terrorizing the town, yet no one realizes it’s only by pure luck.

Thank god for littering!

The real enemy however, something not even hinted at in the trailer, is drought. The land has been dry for ages, and the last of the town’s water reserves are quickly drying up. It’s a mystery where the water went, which used flow plentifully in years past, and suspicions arise when the town’s mayor is the only one who always seems to have a tall drink in his hand.

Bringing back the water turns out to be an epic tale involving redneck moles riding bats, snakes with gatling gun tails and sentient cacti, and the entire thing is just a very strange event to behold.

The highlight of the whole affair is the animation style, which manages to be incredibly unique amidst a sea of bright colors that usually populate films like this. The desert creatures that occupy the land are hideously ugly, but at the same time incredibly well designed. Every animal, rodent and fowl that might populate the area is summoned for an appearance, and horned toads, molerats, mice, cats, eagles, turtles and more are all lined up with a well known voice cast which includes Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Ray Winstone and Bill Nighy, in addition to the titular Depp.

Though you’ll probably have to wait until the end credits to place most of them.

But even with talking animals and a roster of celebrities, this is no Dreamworks feature, and I would barely even classify it as a kids’ movie. It can be incredibly dark at times, with one scene showing animals strung up by their necks, and in another a despondent cast member attempts suicide. Plus with character design bordering on disgusting, I would imagine few kids would prefer this film to more lighthearted fare from the more traditional animated studios.

To an adult, Rango is equally perplexing. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be some sort of meta-genre commentary, or a representation of what one might experience if they took peyote in the middle of Nevada desert and all the animals came to life and started asking them for water. There are some seriously trippy parts in this film, and really, the entire movie seems like it was dreamed up on some sort of “spirit journey” involving heavy amounts of illicit substances.

Not to say that’s a negative per se. Rango is definitely original, even if its characters aren’t quite likeable or its plot doesn’t quite make sense. It’s almost worth the price for the animation alone, and bonus points for being the first CGI movie in recent memory that doesn’t try to shove 3D down our throats.

It’s a strange tale, and definitely not one you’ll forget for a while. It may not be a smashing success, but it is a cool drink of water for a genre that desperately needs one.

3 out of 5 stars

Very…odd.