Review of Rango (2011) by Harry W — 12 Nov 2014

An Academy Award winning animated Western, Rango sounded like a new kind of animated film.

Rango has a bit of a tonal problem. As the genre of the film is a western but the characters and jokes are very childish, the iflm seems to be aimed loosely at adults and children. But I can never tell if the film wants me to take the venture seriously or if it is intended to be a comic send-up of western films. My presumption is that it is intended to be the latter, but it has a legitimate story which gets in the way of the comic tone due to seeming rather gritty. It's difficult because the film isn't precisely funny enough and the humour gets in the way of the story being legitimate at the same time. So there is a tonal inconsistency in Rango. Also, the film is built on comic references to films that the younger viewers of Rango will not get. As a whole, it feels like Rango is a serious film with moments of humour in it, but the jokes themselves are a bit off key. The actual serious moments themselves however are something else. The successful jokes in the film are the more subtle ones because they tie into the nature of the western atmosphere skilfully. Many of the scenes in the film are executed excellently with a strong western visual style and an eye for grand imagery thanks to Gore Verbinsky's talented directorial work.

The design of the western universe in Rango was brilliant. As Gore Verbinski would prove on his next film The Lone Ranger, he has a strong ability to create firm Western imagery. The animation in Rango is strong because everything looks dry and deadly like the west truly is, and a lot of the imagery in the film is reminiscent of classical western pieces by filmmakers like John Ford. The scale of the film certainly feels like a big western tale and the film cleverly plays the small size of all the characters and such into the story cleverly. The universe of the film is very broad which is befitting to the harsh outback of the Western setting, and so it serves as an effective throwback to the long line of cinema that encouraged Rango. It manages to do this both visually and from a story perspective because there are many films that influenced director Gore Verbinsky's directorial work on the film, and they all come into play cleverly over the course of the feature. The detailed appearance of the characters is also great since the variety of animals in the film are all captured with excellent detail. Their three dimensional appearances and movements are all very organic. The highlight of the animation however is when the film gets to its standoff scenes. As standoffs are a key component in Western films, when Rango gets around to them it captures the great style of them with exceptional animation quality. Although Rango wouldn't be my first pick for the Academy Award for Best Animated feature, if the award was judged solely on the basis of the animation quality then Rango would definitely be up there because it takes on a style not too familiar with modern day films, and that is just terrific.

The musical score of the film also helps to establish atmosphere. The tunes in the film are all very reminiscent of strong western pieces, and they put clever spins on such pieces as Ride of the Valkyries or Misirlou which instills a western feel in them. They effectively set the mood and give the tale a sense of movement where appropriate, and the sound effects of the film are also edited into the tale well which means that Rango establishes itself as a treat on the eyes and the ears.

The writing in Rango is pretty effective. The story itself is a loosely assembled one which doesn't go very far or have too much originality, but considering that it is one that is pieced together from many great pieces of Western cinema, it serves as a decent throwback. Rango has a lot of great film references. As a western it makes references to countless other western films with its title clearly being a throwback to the popular Spaghetti western piece Django and other moments in the film taking themes from A Fistful of Dollars and High Noon. The way that the story takes elements from the neo-noir classic Chinatown is also great, and the clever reference to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was also a nice touch since that was another film Johnny Depp starred in, so there is a lot of creativity in the film from time to time even if the consistency is lacking in terms of story. The dialogue for the film is also pretty good, and there are many interesting characters brought into play, so the script is able to transcend the story familiarity pretty well.

Plus, Rango is anchored by an interesting leading character who is voiced very well. The titular character Rango is a familiar character for animated films being one who lies his way to the top and goes on a journey of self-discovery in a humourous and dramatic fashion. The thing is that Johnny Depp does a great job in the role because he puts easy comic charisma into the part when it's due and also stands firm during the more dramatic scenes. It is great to see him doing voice work so well and also stepping into the role of a cowboy because it is an amalgamation of his versatile talents simply on the basis of how his voice sounds. It is terrific work because he puts a lot of emotion into his tones of voice and is able to tie it into the character really well, so Johnny Depp is easily an excellent lead in Rango.

Ned Beatty and Bill Nighy also pull of pretty firm supporting efforts.

So although the story itself is thin and the general overall tone of the feature is inconsistent, Rango is a very well animated film which serves as an effective throwback to great western films in terms of clever pop culture references and strong imagery.