Country:
USA
Recognizable Voices:
Johnny Depp
Isla Fisher
Abigail Breslin
Stephen Root
Directed By:
Gore Verbinski
I suffer from a strange disease. It doesn't really have a name by now, so I call it "the Pixar syndrome". Whenever I watch one of those Pixar, Dreamworks or whatever company's family oriented animation movie, my brain is so comfortable with their patterns that I inevitable fall asleep for fifteen to twenty minutes. True story, it's borderline narcolepsy. Their structure is so goddamn similar that my mind can't support it. It's all based on the mythic structure, something very well explained by Christopher Vogler in his book: The Writer's Journey. Unfortunately, RANGO doesn't steer away from the formula. It's a very straightforward adventure story, where you can trace the steps of the hero's journey very easily. It's a family oriented movie, so kids are supposed to follow and to recognize the patterns, so I didn't expect anything else out of it. Fortunately for me, despite not preventing me from passing out, RANGO did a good job at keeping my attention more than the average animation movie.
An anonymous chameleon (our HERO) is being CALLED BY ADVENTURE when his owners drop him from the car when rolling over a pot hole. Abandoned in the middle of the desert, he meets a fucked up roadkill armadillo (MENTOR) who asks him to cross the road, but our hero REFUSES THE CALL. OK, I'll stop now, you know what I mean anyway. When the chameleon finally answers the call, he stumbled upon a Far-West city named Dirt, finds himself an identity (Rango) and a role, sheriff (and not so subtly...hero). The city of Dirt is suffering from the lack of water and Rango promises to bring it back to the city. For a while, he does a good job of nurturing the hope of the people of Dirt, but eventually his lies and the responsibilities stacking up are catching up to him.
RANGO does two things very well. First, it exposes Cinema culture to a newer generation. There is a cameo made by Clint Eastwood (or a Clint-Eastwoodish character, I guess), spoof scenes from APOCALYPSE NOW, FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and many, many allusions to Sergio Leone's movies. It's really cute for the older viewers and I can see it binding families together around the movie. It's pretty smart screenwriting. It's also half a decent existentialist story. "You are who you decide to be" and "Nobody but yourself stops you from being a hero" are two general lessons you can get from RANGO. It gets far away from the quintessential "YOU'RE SPECIAL" family flick crap. Rango is not special, he's a very normal chameleon with limited strength and intellect, but he's smart enough to think outside the box, gets a little lucky and gets to where he wants.
So yeah, RANGO is half a decent movie. Why did I fall asleep and missed about twenty minutes of it, without losing the general idea then? I know that whole animation trend is family based, how much sense does it make without kids in the room. RANGO, like its hundred predecessor goes at a safe speed. Its got its share of innuendo, but it's still like rolling in a Station Wagon. It's a cool wagon with flame stripes and Appetite For Destruction playing in the tape deck, but it's still a very safe vehicle. Watching RANGO was an overall positive experience, but I can't say it was much different from watching RATATOUILLE or DESPICABLE ME. It's a bit richer, more sophisticated, but it's ultimately the same kind of vehicle. A freakin' Station Wagon. I'm not being cured of my "Pixar Syndrome" anytime soon.
SCORE: 70%
An anonymous chameleon (our HERO) is being CALLED BY ADVENTURE when his owners drop him from the car when rolling over a pot hole. Abandoned in the middle of the desert, he meets a fucked up roadkill armadillo (MENTOR) who asks him to cross the road, but our hero REFUSES THE CALL. OK, I'll stop now, you know what I mean anyway. When the chameleon finally answers the call, he stumbled upon a Far-West city named Dirt, finds himself an identity (Rango) and a role, sheriff (and not so subtly...hero). The city of Dirt is suffering from the lack of water and Rango promises to bring it back to the city. For a while, he does a good job of nurturing the hope of the people of Dirt, but eventually his lies and the responsibilities stacking up are catching up to him.
RANGO does two things very well. First, it exposes Cinema culture to a newer generation. There is a cameo made by Clint Eastwood (or a Clint-Eastwoodish character, I guess), spoof scenes from APOCALYPSE NOW, FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and many, many allusions to Sergio Leone's movies. It's really cute for the older viewers and I can see it binding families together around the movie. It's pretty smart screenwriting. It's also half a decent existentialist story. "You are who you decide to be" and "Nobody but yourself stops you from being a hero" are two general lessons you can get from RANGO. It gets far away from the quintessential "YOU'RE SPECIAL" family flick crap. Rango is not special, he's a very normal chameleon with limited strength and intellect, but he's smart enough to think outside the box, gets a little lucky and gets to where he wants.
So yeah, RANGO is half a decent movie. Why did I fall asleep and missed about twenty minutes of it, without losing the general idea then? I know that whole animation trend is family based, how much sense does it make without kids in the room. RANGO, like its hundred predecessor goes at a safe speed. Its got its share of innuendo, but it's still like rolling in a Station Wagon. It's a cool wagon with flame stripes and Appetite For Destruction playing in the tape deck, but it's still a very safe vehicle. Watching RANGO was an overall positive experience, but I can't say it was much different from watching RATATOUILLE or DESPICABLE ME. It's a bit richer, more sophisticated, but it's ultimately the same kind of vehicle. A freakin' Station Wagon. I'm not being cured of my "Pixar Syndrome" anytime soon.
SCORE: 70%