I’m wary when it comes to animated movies because I don’t know when I’m going to experience another Shrek (which was surprisingly awesome) or Hoodwinked (which is easily in the top three worst films I ever had to sit through, and takes the cake on worst kid movie I’ve ever had to endure) I had no intention of going to see Rango, but one of my aunts really wanted to see it for her birthday so to the movies my family and I went. On opening weekend. On a Saturday matinee. Oh, the children! There were so many…everything…multiplying like Gremlins right before my very eyes…

The theater was so packed that I split from my family, who only had the front-bottom row if they wanted to sit together. I found a nice second-to-last seat three rows from the top. A lively woman, her BFF and the BFF’s three kids sat in the first five seats. They were fun.

There was a preview for Hoodwinked 2, which I took as a very bad sign. Lord, what was I in for?

Spoiler-Free Synopsis: Rango, a civilized theatrically inclined chameleon winds up in the Mojave desert and stumbles upon the down-trodden old West style town of Dirt, where the water has mysteriously gone scarce. Seizing the opportunity to begin anew, Rango soon becomes sheriff and sets out to discover the truth about the missing water.

Spoilers below the poster.

I have mixed feelings about this movie, so here is a breakdown of what I liked and did not like.

Enjoyed:

- Aesthetic! I have never seen a more beautifully created CGI film. Industrial Light and Magic shouldn’t have to even wait for an Oscar, they ought to have one handed to them right now for this feat. From the scales, hair and skin on every animal to the gorgeous – dare I say “shots”? – of the breathtaking desert sky, the glow of the sunset, the dream sequences, everything was so masterfully crafted and treated with the utmost perfectionist quality.

- Shout outs to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Clint Eastwood and other films. On the downside, I often felt like I was watching a parody of classic films instead of something unique.

- Johnny Depp. I’m not a “OMG JOHNNY DEPP!” fan, but I have enjoyed his work since I was a kid and first saw him in Edward Scissorhands. While I’m not a fan of big-name screen actors taking away work from genuine, full-time voice actors, I did enjoy his performance enough to give him a special shout out. Many of Johnny’s contemporaries were not up to snuff, sad but not surprising, but Johnny certainly upped the ante for actors taking on animated characters.

- The score. Hans Zimmer knocks it out of the park once again.

Quibbles:

- I wasn’t a fan of the script. I felt the humor was forced at times, especially when it came to ensuring that the grown-ups in the audience had something to laugh at. It didn’t come as easily as the slapstick. Also, as I mentioned above, all of the “homages” and parodying took away from the film as it was definitely not its own film, but a sloppy hodge-podge of better, classic films.

- Run time. It runs at 1 hour and 47 minutes, which I felt was about twenty minutes too long. I was squirming, just dying to get out of my seat and leave. The film positively dragged sometimes.

- Unsympathetic characters. Aside from Rango, I didn’t give two hoots about anyone. Beans was annoying, the mayor predictable, the owls obnoxious, and the townsfolk completely soulless. That is, I don’t think they’re malicious but so severely lacking in depth.

- Overuse of the word “interesting” which I felt was a throwback to Pirates of the Caribbean (also directed by Gore Verbinski). Maybe I am reading into things too much but it was noticeably annoying.

- Beans. I don’t know if it was how she was written, or Isla Fisher’s obnoxious voice work, or a combination of the two but hot potatoes did I just want her to fall off a cliff. Quite a few of the townsfolk were also just as ear-gouging bothersome.

Aside:
Kids? People are saying this is not a kid movie. Oh, don’t take your kids because it’s not for them; there’s swearing. That’s total BS. This is completely a kids movie. It’s Nickelodeon for heaven’s sake, and last I looked, Nickelodeon had a hefty roster of cartoons with humor for both kids and adults. My theory to the critics who say “Rango isn’t for kids” is that many adults are so used to water-downed family movies that they forget plenty of PG movies of the past had scary imagery, a bit of swearing and dark themes/characters (Can we say The Secret of NIMH and All Dogs Go to Heaven?). Out of the audience, which was easily 85% under the age of fifteen, only one child cried during the film.

That’s a Wrap: I know I am in the minority with my feelings on Rango, but I cannot pretend I am enchanted with it as the rest of the critics and populace are. While I found Rango breathtakingly gorgeous to view, it was only momentarily clever, satirical to the point of aggravation, predictable and hopelessly mediocre.

Rango Overall Rating
Story: C+
Execution: A+ for aesthetics, B for acting, C for story.
Would I recommend Rango? For people with kids who wouldn’t get scared about things like snakes with a sub machine gun on its rattler, sure. Western enthusiasts might also get a kick out of the film. It’s also definitely worth a watch for the visuals and sound. If you end up enjoying the story, bonus.
Would I buy Rango? No.
Can your mum watch it? If she’s a western/Johnny Depp/animated film enthusiast like mine is, she’ll probably dig it a lot.

Glass of Win Pie Rating System gives Rango:

two and a half out of five pies!