Rango

Hey, everybody? Where were you during Rango? The theater was nearly empty here in Chicago on a Friday night, but the movie was AWESOME.

Director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, The Ring) brought us a stunningly animated, smartly written spin on the spaghetti western. Johnny Depp is our Man with No Name, a neglected, nameless pet chameleon who is thrown out of a car driving through the desert and sent on a spiritual journey to discover his identity, and with that, some water. Along the way, he stumbles across the town of Dirt, and stumbles his way into the role of Sheriff.

I think the reason the theater was so sparsely populated was that nobody knew who this movie was for. The little kids there were talking through the whole movie, it was clearly going over their heads. There was lots of bouncing around for the kiddies, but the movie would slow down at times for the grown-ups, and the kids didn't really care (or often understand) what the characters were talking about.

What I'm saying is, this is not really a kids movie. It contains things that have not appeared in kid cartoons for decades: smoking, drinking, gunplay, even some killing. It's probably the closest we in the modern era have gotten to achieving the grown-up mayhem of the classic Looney Tunes. It's loaded with innuendo and references to pop culture that no kid would understand.

The above is not a criticism: it's exactly something I want to see more of.

The animation is beautiful and imaginative, and the character designs are some of the most original I've seen. And once again, maybe a little too much for kids. The townsfolk are ugly, scary, and gnarled. A rabbit missing an ear. A bird with an arrow stuck in his eye and coming out the back of his head. A roadkill armadillo.

Stylistically, it's all about Sergio Leone. Lots of expansive landscapes mixed with tight closeups. In fact, it's kind of like A Fistful of Dollars all hopped up on Homer Simpson's hallucinogenic Guatamalan Insanity Peppers. There's a bit of Terry Gilliam thrown in there, and quite a bit of Coen Brothers (Roger Deakins was even the cinematography consultant). There's an aaawweeeeeeesome Raising Arizona homage in there. I won't spoil it. There's also a great little nod to Johnny Depp's other hallucinogenic spirit quest movie at the beginning.

The whipcracking, surf guitar-y Ennio Morricone style music by Hans Zimmer is a highlight. It's performed by a mariachi band of owls who act as the movie's Greek chorus. They assure us, from the start, that Rango's going to die.

I hope the screen at my local theater tonight was a fluke. I hope this movie does well. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a best animated picture nomination next Oscar year.

Rango: A+

Thanks for reading!