If you’re one of those people who sees a trailer or poster for a new animated film and immediately thinks “That would be great for the kids”, you’re in for a surprise when it comes to “Rango”. While it is rated PG and most of the characters are talking animals, “Rango” is not a kids movie. But it is a very good movie.
Johnny Depp stars as the voice of “Rango”, though that’s not his real name (and that’s all I’m going to say about that because I don’t want to give anything away). A pet lizard who’s always wanted to show-off his talent as an actor and a hero, he suddenly ends up alone in the desert and makes his way to a town called Dirt.
There he meets the townsfolk who are in trouble because Dirt is suffering from a drought. The town’s water supply has dried up and unless they get their water back they all will die. Rango becomes sheriff and he promises the people that he will save them. But he’ll have to prove to everyone, and himself, that he has what it takes to be a true hero.
This is one of the most unusual animated films I’ve ever seen. It is a tribute to classic movie Westerns: a simple good vs. bad storyline, sharp, simple dialogue, and a fantastic score by Has Zimmer. But the best thing about “Rango” is the animation. It is spectacular. This does not look like any movie – animated or real-life – that you have ever seen.
Depp does an outstanding job, changing voices as his character changes throughout the film. Others in the voice cast include Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and Ned Beatty, who plays another memorable bad guy (following-up his role as Lotso Huggin’ Bear in “Toy Story 3”). Apparently the actors performed their scenes like in a play, with costumes and cameras rolling, while doing their lines for the film. Interesting – and it worked.
There is plenty of western movie action violence, but that’s not why “Rango” isn’t for little kids. There are a few very intense scenes that will definitely scare small ones, and the theme of the film will be lost on most youngsters. At times the movie gets quite heavy and overall it’s very spiritual. The little kids at the screening I attended in the theater giggled at some silly parts during the first 20-minutes of the movie, and then I didn’t hear a peep out of them over the final hour and a half.
Director Gore Verbinski, who worked with Depp in the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, deserves much of the credit for “Rango”, though I wish he had left out some of the scenes with the Mariachi bird band, which he probably felt were necessary to keep kids interested.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Rango” gets a solid B. This is the first feature-length film from Industrial Light and Magic studio. Congratulations to them for a great debut and they didn’t make “Rango” in 3D for theaters, so they get extra bonus points for that.