The Cinematheque Reviews: Rango
What do you get when you mix a cinephiliac freak like Johnny Depp, a boys-will-be-boys director like Gore Verbinski, the down-and-dirty Spaghetti West of yesteryear, a story blatantly stolen/homaged from Chinatown, the services of the epic Roger Deakins as visual go-to guy, a menagerie of gorgeously animated critters of the desert and an iconic Gonzoesque Hawaiian shirt? Well, you get just pretty much the gosh-darnedest best movie this side of the Pecos (read: Best damned film of 2011, so far). Seriously, Rango is a surprisingly well-conceived work of animated art-cum-cinematic homage - and this from a noted Pixar-hater (or at least a noted Pixar-indiferencer!?) and self-admitted fuddy-duddy fan of hand-drawn animation (call me a relic, call me what you will, say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill). I surprised even myself with my instant love for this film.
What do you get when you mix a cinephiliac freak like Johnny Depp, a boys-will-be-boys director like Gore Verbinski, the down-and-dirty Spaghetti West of yesteryear, a story blatantly stolen/homaged from Chinatown, the services of the epic Roger Deakins as visual go-to guy, a menagerie of gorgeously animated critters of the desert and an iconic Gonzoesque Hawaiian shirt? Well, you get just pretty much the gosh-darnedest best movie this side of the Pecos (read: Best damned film of 2011, so far). Seriously, Rango is a surprisingly well-conceived work of animated art-cum-cinematic homage - and this from a noted Pixar-hater (or at least a noted Pixar-indiferencer!?) and self-admitted fuddy-duddy fan of hand-drawn animation (call me a relic, call me what you will, say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill). I surprised even myself with my instant love for this film.
5 comments:
At first glance this looked like another boring animation about animals, but I'm hearing interesting things.
I thought the same thing and was actually going to skip it, but then I heard good things from some fellow critics - and I am glad they changed my mind.
I was also sceptical (PotC connection), but after hearing some glowing reviews and remembering that i love westerns and animation can't see how it can go that badly wrong
www.neonklaws.blogspot.com (films through the eyes of a misenthrope)
I agree with you Kevyn---best movie of 2011 I've seen so far. I'm sure something will pass it before the year's up, but I don't see anything on the immediate horizon. Besides the points you made, the action/chase sequences are top notch---they resemble (and reference) STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and THE ROAD WARRIOR.
Inventive visuals and lively voice cast lift this finely animated film above the fray. So it's a shame that the story feels both random and predictable. Good review, check out mine when you can please!
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