Rango, Clint Eastwood &The Other Side
THE BEST LOOKING ANIMATED FILM… EVER.
The first thing that was obvious from the moment Rango began was how beautiful it looked. The staggering amount of detail in the characters and environments is unreal.
However, technical and design achievements can only get you so far if the story doesn’t hold up. So how does Rango stack up against the competition?
The film begins like many animated movies, introducing us to a lovable character full of personality and humor but it quickly became apparent that Rango isn’t meant to be a hilarious cartoon. Truthfully, the only element that really had me laughing was the bleak and hopeless lyrics of the owl’s songs.
Funny moments aside, Rango an adventure story. A pretty fantastic adventure story.
If you’re going into it expecting a laugh a minute, Rango isn’t for you. It’s basically an animated movie in the spirit of Pirates of the Caribbean. First and foremost, it’s about action and adventure with a little humor sprinkled throughout.
What I didn’t expect was the countless movie references that were a joy to see. Rango is a love letter to old school westerns. It begins with our hero. The Lizard With No Name. Taking on Rango as a nickname was a great way to establish the films many connections to Sergio Leone’s ‘The Man With No Name’ Trilogy starring Clint Eastwood. Beyond that, there are literally dozens of homages to famous movie moments that will thrill viewers savvy enough to catch on.
If you love westerns, Rango is definitely a breath of fresh air with everything you would expect to see from good old cowboy movie. There are duels, dusty saloons with poker playing bandits. There are bank heists, carriage chases, shoot outs, damsels in distress and countless themes we’ve seen before. We’ve just never seen them so well executed in animated form before. (Fievel Goes West?)
Discovering Who You Are
What impressed me the most about the film was the central theme of discovering who you are. I feel like I’m back in school writing film essays again but it’s true. It’s a theme that’s explored with a metaphor I thought was brilliant.
“You just have to get to the other side.”
It’s amazing that something as simple as an animal crossing the road could have such a profound impact on the heart of the story. The characters in the film just need someone to believe in which is a tough task for a hero who doesn’t know who he is. It’s a fantastic journey I didn’t expect but was pleasantly surprised to see. When you mix powerful themes like that with gorgeous and vivid visuals provided by the talented Gore Verbinski, you get a magical experience.
Speaking of visuals, I’ve already mentioned how awesome the movie looked but it’s the precise directing talents of Gore Verbinski that really hold the film together. This movie is packed with money shots that shows the director took full advantage of the medium. Did I mention the film is beautiful?
It’s inevitable that Rango will be compared to Pixar movies. I think every animated film these days will. Rango dares to take the animated genre into new territory and that’s what makes Pixar movies so great.
Rango is something you’ve never seen before and if you’re a fan of cartoons, it’s worth a look. Especially if you’re a fan of Clint Eastwood. (I’d mention more but I don’t want to spoil it.)
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Did you catch the throw back to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? It happened so fast I almost didn’t catch it.
Loved the film though. Might win best Animated Film at the Oscars next year.
It was definitely quick but those were the best references. It automatically makes me want to see Rango again simply to pay more attention to the subtle references!
The Hunter S. Thompson ‘cameo’ was great. I’m really curious as to why they went with Timothy Olyphant for the voice of the Spirit and not the man himself. Olyphant did a great job but the real thing would have been perfect. My favorite homage was to Sergio Leone’s ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’. Leone’s opening scene is full of tention but lacks traditional music. The environment itself is used to create the ‘music’- a squeeking windmill, water dripping etc…Rango enters the saloon and it is silent except for the squeeking of the overhead fan and I couldn’t help but think of that classic Leone scene and smile. Hans Zimmer is the MAN and also honored Ennio Mariconne with his score! Loved this movie.
Couldn’t agree more! Not sure why they went with Olyphant but the scene was fantastic regardless. Great movie for sure!
I was convinced it was Clint Eastwood. I really thought it was him until the credits came I was like “huh? who?”
Drale, my thoughts exactly – I would have bet money it was Eastwood. Btw, Timothy Olyphant stars on the FX “modern western” drama ‘Justified’ and he was the sherrif on the HBO western TV Series ‘Deadwood’ – so he was actually the next best fit, if not Eastwood (plus, he apparently does a DEAD-ON impression of the man).
I agree. Disappointing that Eastwood didn’t do it but they definitely found a replacement you can’t really argue with. His impression made me believe it was the real Clint.
They were too cheap to get the real Eastwood, so they went with a cheap impression– it’s not hard to do, just like Woody Allen or Sylvester Stallone; however the movie “ANTZ” got the real Woody and the real Sly, because that’s what gave the movie its character. And that makes a difference– even if they were indistinguishable to the ear, which they weren’t.
from what i’ve been reading a lot of people were slightly disappointed in Rango, saying it fell a little short. The one quote i read that made a lot of sense to me was that Rango was an animated film made for critics. Interesting comment… I think the film was marketed as a comedy and I went in expecting a laugh a minute flick… although they tried they weren’t even close, but it did have its moments. Still… i loved this movie, they pulled off the style perfectly, the movie references were a ton of fun and i really couldn’t get over how gorgeous this movie was. The bar room scene sticks in my head more than anything, the characters, visuals, sounds and the mood of that room was incredible, I had a big goofy grin on my face the entire time.
I think i’ll enjoy the movie more and more as the next time i watch it, i won’t expect a laugh fest.
Couz
We absolutely love western movies, so when we heard about Rango, we were curious how it would all come to play as a cartoon. Needless to say, we loved the movie and so did our 7 year old daughter. It had enough humor throught the movie to keep my daughter engagaed the whole time, and for us adults, we grinned and threw a look to one anothe whenever we caught the adult humor or those “classic western movie” homages! We loved the characters, storyline, and visuals!!! And I gotta say, that last part with you now who just made the movie for us!!!! What a perfect way to bring the movie to it’s end!
Lovin Rango!!!!!