Rango

The Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year went to Rango and to be honest in this category it clearly deserves that. After The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Gore Verbinski brings us another highly entertaining movie, this time with something slightly different as it is an animated movie. The images and characters are just perfect, it's all very creative and visually stunning. As for the actors, or better the voice-overs, they were perfect in their roles. I can't see anybody narrating Rango better than Johnny Depp. The story is simple but effective, with alot of humor, maybe not for the younger kids but more for adults with a healthy imagination and that don't mind watching animation movies every now and then. Rango, a movie I will watch again in the future.

Rango is a great kids' movie that plays on many levels, like all great kids' movies. About a hundred churchies here don't like it; that tells you it's realistic and morally complex. (One person complained about its metaphors for good and evil, because "many people take God and Satan seriously". Yeah, but we don't all think we hold a copyright on them.) And some folks helicoptered in to complain that it's violent and would scare some kids. Fifty years ago my parents took me to see Bambi and it scared me. So did Dumbo. It's vital that kids learn about fear, danger, and violence, and a cartoon is the softest place to do it. Thank God my folks understood that. For the record, Rango's violence is funny and completely unrealistic. Would it kill you to talk to your own kids about the difference between slapstick and the real world?

There are "swear words" here, if you still think "hell" and "damn" are swear words, because it's a gritty Western. (That happens to star a chameleon.) There are a lot of Hispanic references and characters, because Hispanics invented cowboys and the "American" West; Nickelodeon simply decided to unwhite-ify the Hollywood version, for a change. (The guy I read who complained about that wasn't even Hispanic. Meanwhile, I have Hispanic friends who love this movie, in part because they're in it, for once)

There are several stereotypes, ethnic and otherwise, because it's a satire. If you can't grasp irony, avoid this movie. In fact, never go outside. And several minor characters smoke. I hate smoking. But: stereotypes, remember? Westerns? Cultural memes? How about just teaching kids the difference between allegory and real life?

As for the moral content, the "lessons" of Rango, which, I think I can state without incurring a spoiler slap, are: 1. the world is a crazy place, 2. scary problems have to be solved by ordinary people, and 3. a quick wit and a lot of luck sometimes beats a quick draw and a lot of money.

If you agree with that, and aren't scared of your own shadow, see the movie. I loved it, and I'm hard to please. It's a great romp, a witty farce, and a lot of fun, precisely because Nickelodeon didn't sugar it down to pious drek.

Rango (Johnny Depp) is a hyper imaginative pet chameleon. When his family loses him out the back of their car, he is left to fend for himself in the middle of a desert. He escapes from a deadly hawk to find a western town called Dirt. The drought has made water incredibly valuable. Through luck and circumstances, Rango become the sheriff, but he is hopelessly clueless.

This is a very well made Nickelodeon animated movie. I wonder if this is going to be a new competitor to the animated field. The animation looks crisp and lively. The only missing element is cuter characters. Lizards are very odd for animation especially if you do it relatively realistic. But it fits very well to the setting of an old decaying western.

Rango is a very original character which actually is reminiscent of Johnny Depp's other big character Jack Sparrow. Does the fact that this is a reunion between Pirates director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp has anything to do with it? The comedy comes from a similar place, and it works well here as well.

"Rango" is more appealing to adults than to kids. It has a lot of reference to the old western movies which kids might not understand. There is nothing new about this movie but "Rango" is visually stunning, full of decency and totally hilarious.Though there are problems about the story but it's dark, crazy, and exciting.

The story is nothing but reference of other western movies. It's kind of a remembrance but it's not compelling and new. There is nothing new about the story. It's just a western relic.

The best thing about this movie is its animation. The visuals are wonderful and eye candy. The character design looks old fashion zany and I love it. Kind of reminded me of "The Misadventures of Flapjack" a TV show from CN. While this movie is from Nickelodeon there are some humor that kids will perhaps laugh. The movie is not in 3D. "Rango" proves us that 3D is not necessary to our lives. 3D shrinks the scale of a movie.

There are no flaws with the voice acting. Johnny Depp is really meant for Rango. Isla Fisher did this before in Horton Hears A Who so it's okay. Bill Nighy is an amazing villain. I want more Ned Beattys' sexy voice. Too bad Timothy Olyphant didn't have enough scenes but it's still great.

My favorite thing about the visuals is the environment. Look at the sky and the desert. Cinematography is also great. Every visuals are eye candy. The scene when Rango and his friends are being chased by bats and gophers is truly breathtaking.

Maybe the reason why Ebert gave this movie a perfect rating because it's not in 3D. Well Rango is not flawless but it is still entertaining. If you like beautiful visuals then I will recommend this movie to death. The story is not really unique. It's still worth watch. The merits makes us ignore the flaws of this movie.

I heard from a number of people that this was excellent so I went to see it myself being a fan of animated movies and of film in general. And I absolutely loved it, other than being a little too long, which is such a minor complaint, it was a wonderful film with some surprisingly mature themes and does very well at trying something different.

The animation for starters is outstanding. Not only do the characters move convincingly, but the colours look gorgeous and the backgrounds are imaginative and stunning. The soundtrack is another plus, the score is wonderful with a sense of fun, great use of instruments and nods to Ennio Morricone, without being too generic or over-the-top with some inspired musical flavour to it.

The script is funny, smart and quirky as well- loved the Chinatown(Ned Beatty based his performance on that of John Huston's), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Star Wars references- the characters are genuine and likable with heart and don't fall into the trap of being too cliché(there are some but it works in the film's favour and I loved the title character), the film goes at a great pace while remaining wholly satisfying at its end with an almost elegiac quality that is there with almost all the best westerns, the slapstick action bounces along nicely and the story is far from formulaic instead it is original and inventive. The voice acting is wonderful, both Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy- Rattlesnake Jake is awesome!- give knockout performances, while Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Harry Dean Stanton and Abigail Breslin are equally terrific.

In conclusion, a wonderful film that I wasn't expecting to be this good this early on in the year. On a side note, for those complaining about suitability for children, I actually wouldn't say this was a film for kids but more adult-oriented. 9/10 Bethany Cox