Rango is by far one of the strangest animated films geared towards kids I’ve seen in a while. The film begins with our lizard hero addressing the camera as he plays make believe in his safe environment; a glass tank situated in the back of a sedan. Suddenly, an abrupt accident causes him to lose his safe enclosed home and venture into a new life in the middle of the desert. From here, the film stays true to the western genre, and introduces a variety of creepy-looking animated possums, armadillos, porcupines, rattle snakes and other familiar desert creatures. The animators and director Gore Virbinski uses the depleted desert as a metaphor to express an ill-resourced environment where the citizens are barely surviving. The folks inhabiting the town “Dirt” are cleverly animated as gray, ashy and weak, suggesting they are deeply deprived of water.
In fact, water plays an important role in the film as the single greatest resource to both sustain and destroy a desert habitat. Civilization vs. the landscape is a common theme in the western genre dating back to the 1930s and in Rango, the writers take it to a more intricate level. As Rango begins to learn about the towns folk he uncovers corruption amongst the highest order of citizens. The subtext is reminiscent of one of the greatest private-eye mysteries ever made, Chinatown (1974), which uses water as a means to hold the most power in a desert town. In Chinatown, it was 1930s LA, but in Rango, it’s a stereotypical western town.
As much as I enjoyed the more adult themes in a so-called “kids” movie, I was slightly put-off by the range of western clichés, such as walking into the saloon where only the scariest inhabitants hangout in, or where Rango is forced to draw guns with an opponent in the middle of the town. Scenes like these take me out of the realm of what I love about vintage spaghetti westerns and unfortunately reminded me of other western spoofs, such as Back to the Future III (1990).
I suppose for an animated film these scenes, which I can recall in dozens of films, are necessary to address the audience and say, "Look! You are now transported into the western genre.” Scenes like these only bothered me a bit more in this particular film because from screen right to screen left, Rango is filled with inventive imagery and smartly written adult-like overtones; I wish the originality stayed fresh throughout the lizard’s entire journey.
Johnny Depp leads the cast as the colorful lizard, Rango, which exudes the same weirdness as his portrayal as Gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) (in fact, Hunter S. Thompson, the drug-induced writer, has a brief appearance speeding in his vintage red 60s convertible Chevy in the beginning of the film). I loved the awkward look of the slacker-type Rango; it’s much more fun to root for a hero that doesn’t clash with a more friendly, animated type. He’s slightly obnoxious and off-putting, and unlike most heroes in the western tradition, he rambles on with a jocular dialogue.
The strange look of the film and the clever themes of power and corruption could’ve best served for a darker and less comedic experience. The studio is aware that this is a “kids” movie, but I was more moved by the adult concepts than some of the child-like humor. I felt Rango could’ve been more ambitious if it moved into a more thought-provoking direction, alienating a large chunk of its general audience. When animated films decide to truly push the limits of their content, I’ll be the first in line, but for what it is, Rango is a delightful animated concoction, but I felt the filmmakers could’ve pushed the contents’ boundaries a little bit more.
***(out of four stars)
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