Rango Reivew.

Thoughts: Rango, the 2011 Oscar Winning animated film staring Johnny Depp. This review for Rango is long over due. I actually watched it at the end of 2011 but never got around to reviewing despite that I have often referenced as one of my favorite animated films. Rango comes from the Pirates of the Caribbean team Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski and they bring the witty humor from the first Pirates of the Caribbean films to animation with hilarious effect. The animation is the best 3D animation I have ever seen. It has a gritty and dirty quality that is completely unique compared to most bright and colorful animated movies. Generally I do not like animated comedies because they lack the kind of humor that I enjoy (looking at you Pixar). However, in Rango, there is a great mix of humor that both adults and kids can enjoy.  Rango takes many aspects of great westerns into the plot, blending them excellently with the humor. I would even go as far to say that Rango is a western, and therefore would be considered as one of my favorite westerns.




Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Genre: Comedy, Animated, Western
Release Date: March 4, 2011 (2011-03-04)
Running Time: 107 minutes
MMPA rating: PG


The Good: Best animated comedy ever, Fantastic art direction, Surprisingly dark, Many hilarious jokes and physical comedy, Good humor for both kids and adults, Dirty and gritty art style, Clever plot, Humorous references to other films, Parody of classic westerns, Cool action scenes,


The Bad:





Plot: The following plot summery is copied from Wikipedia.com.
A pet chameleon (Johnny Depp) becomes accidentally stranded in the Mojave Desert after his terrarium falls from his owner's car. After meeting an armadillo named Roadkill (Alfred Molina), who is seeking the mystical Spirit of the West, he narrowly avoids being eaten by a red-tailed hawk. The next day, after having a surreal nightmare, he meets desert iguana Beans (Isla Fisher), a rancher's daughter, who takes him to Dirt, an Old West town populated by desert animals.
Beans discovers that the water reserves, stored in a water-cooler bottle in the bank, are dangerously low. At the Gas Can Saloon, the chameleon, using bravado and improvisation to fit in, presents himself as Rango (after taking his name from the last part of the word Durango), a tough drifter. He quickly runs afoul of outlaw Bad Bill (Ray Winstone), narrowly avoiding a shootout when the hawk returns, scaring Bill. The hawk chases Rango until by luck Rango kills the predator by crushing it under an empty water tower that he accidentally caused to collapse. In response, the Mayor (Ned Beatty) appoints Rango the new sheriff. A skeptical Beans demands Rango investigate the water problem while the townsfolk worry that the hawk was the only thing keeping gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake from returning to terrorize them. Watch the movie to what happens next.

Note: All of these rating are relative to other animated movies.

Plot: 8.8/10- Rango's plot is a clever homage to classic westerns with some good twists and memorable characters.

Action: 7.1/10- Surprisingly, Rango has some well animated action set-pieces in the film, including a fun chase scene.

Acting: 9.3/10- Johnny Depp was hilarious, I want to hear him in more voice acting roles. The other voice actors were all great, so much fun to watch. Johnny Depp's humorous mannerisms are animated  through the character Rango with expert skill and you almost forget that it is animated, despite the fact it stars animals. Isla Fisher as the character Bean and gave a solid performance. Alfred Molina as the dastardly Roadkill gave a quite entertaining evil oil baron type performance in his. All of the other voice actors gave excellent performances throughout.

Art Style: 9.5/10-  Rango was Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) first animated film and from a technical state point, the looks brilliant! It has the best 3D animated I have ever seen. Many of the environments looked almost real and the characters were gritty and dirty and not "cute" like most other characters in animated movies. ILM really out did themselves in Rango and I look forward to their work in the future,

Soundtrack: 8.5/10- Hans Zimmer's soundtrack was fantastic! The western themes complemented the film perfectly.

Comedy: 9.6/10- Rango is the funniest animated movie I have ever seen, period. This is my kind of humor, many references to other films, physical comedy and just plain hilariousness. Some of the jokes you would not expect in an animated movie like this but they were great.
Humor Percentage
Hilarious: 90%
Mildly Funny: 5%
Not Funny: 5%

Overall: 9.5/10- Rango was a surprisingly funny animated film that is among the best animation has to offer and a great satire of classic western combined with its own unique spin.

Closing comments: Even the Academy agreed Rango was excellent giving it an Oscar for Best Animated Feature that finally unseated Pixar's four year reign of the category.

Note: All rating are relative to other animated films, not live-action.

Recommended for: Comedy fans, Western fans, Animation fans, Johnny Depp fans,

 

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