I am so excited to see this.
I’ve heard great and fanatsic review from adults and teenagers. However, my cousin took her son and two of his friends. They’re quite young, probably 6 or 7. Apperently they were very disapointed with the movie and left early.
(Warning: this review will be all over the place. Now then…)
That was brain meltingly awesome. Visually stunning, beautiful musical score, complex characters, good plot with a great “Be yourself” message.
The best part, though?
[spoil]Rango. Dress. Air Ballet.[/spoil] 'Nuff said.
When [spoil]Priscilla pulled out the guns,[/spoil] it begged the question: Where in the heck are her parents?
Anyway, Johnny Depp did a wonderful job voicing the adorable green lizard, and breathed life into the character wonderfully.
Johnny Depp won’t watch his own movies, so I wonder if he’ll watch this, considering it’s animated.
It was a bit emotionally intense for a children’s movie, but I still adored every second of it.
So yeah, I saw it…I have a few problems with it, but overall I say it’s worth seeing.
I thought the story felt a bit aimless at times and that it overstayed its welcome just a bit. Ultimately it didn’t really feel like there was a “point” to everything that happened. The beginning and end were great (the act 2-3 transition in particular had me mesmerized), but I found myself getting a bit bored during a few parts. I also thought that it ended a little abruptly. I mean, I’m glad there was no dance scene at the end, but still.
Everything else was excellent, though. The visuals kind of felt like a strange photoreal interpretation of a cartoony style. At times I couldn’t believe I wasn’t seeing a live action image. Normally I hate excessive realism in animation, but it works really well here. The jokes and characters were fun and the score was really inspired.
So overall I’d recommend seeing it. I’d say, when compared to other animated films, it’s about at a high-level Dreamworks movie in terms of quality. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes on ILM in the future if they decide to continue down a path of animation.
^ I agree with it ending a bit too abruptly. I felt like there was still some stuff left undone or unsaid.
I’ve seen it twice already. I agree that the climax could’ve used some rewriting, but overall it’s very entertaining. Not sure if it’s going to do that well at the box office as I’ve heard parents aren’t too happy with it, so I hope this isn’t all we see from Gore Verbinski and ILM in the animation industry, as they’ve created an incredibly unique piece of work in Rango.
I agree that the last Rio trailer was a bit cluttered, it lacked the quiet grace of the first teaser. I’m not exactly impressed with KFP2’s trailer, but I kinda liked Puss in Boots. The miniscule theatrette at Paramount’s office that I watched Rango in only had a few audience members (less than ten). The adult critics were mostly snooty and reserved, but there was a gaggle of girls about my age that laughed appreciatively at the appropriate places. I think I was the most responsive, though- I kept chuckling even during the more intense moments… but I wish I can see it again with a bigger crowd in a commercial theatre.
I liked the fact that the pace was leisurely and it wasn’t in a hurry to get to the next plot point. It’s reminiscent of the older Westerns where there’s a lot of landscape shots and the characters’ dialogue are delivered languidly. There are some fast-paced action setpieces and some of the animation gets cartoony especially with Rango, but most of the time, I felt like I was watching a 70’s-era movie, which was very satisfying to say the least. Younger modern audiences who haven’t seen a movie made pre-90s might get restless, but I wouldn’t mind staying in that world for as long as it takes.
I’m sure you’ll find ‘your movie’ of 2011 soon enough; there’s some other animated fare to look forward to, and some live-action like Depp’s upcoming Pirates sequel might suit your fancy more. For me though, I thought it would be Rio, but at the moment, it is Rango because I really connected with the title character’s existential search for his identity, as well as the elements of parody and spoofs throughout that I appreciated. I think it’s a lock-in for a Best Animated nom and has a chance at Best Picture next year if other studios don’t bring their A-game.
I did wonder about that point post-movie. Maybe she’s an orphan who’s looked after by the townspeople, but otherwise left to her own devices? I’m really surprised Depp doesn’t watch his own movies! 
This was a criticism I read in a lot of reviews while I was researching my own for my uni magazine, and I’d like to kindly disagree. The entire premise of the film hinges on the one question Rango asks throughout: “Who am I?” This is the theme, a lonely lizard’s existential search for who he is. This makes it deeper, IMO, than the usual ‘loser beats the odds to be a winner’ story like in Kung Fu Panda or Ratatouille, because here, he actually doesn’t have an aim. Of course, if he had ended up in a pirate village, or a seedy nightclub, that might have been a different story, but here, he chose to become an outlaw hero, and the entire point of the story was the role he’s pretending to be turning into his reality. The true nature of heroism rests not on our appearances or our abilities, but our actions under extraordinary circumstances. Even if we don’t exactly save the world, or survive the challenge, our legacy will live on long after our deaths.
I did feel it ended a little suddenly, but upon further reflection, I thought it was perfect. Rango’s journey has come to an end. They could’ve done a dance sequence, or maybe an ‘epilogue montage’ like Princess and the Frog, but that would be too cliched and overstayed its welcome.
I read in a scriptwriting book a good tip: ‘Start as late in the story and end it as early as you can.’ Rango did exactly that. Anything more would be extra padding for an already long 2-hour movie.
With regards to the climax, I felt they could’ve raised the stakes more and maybe have Rattlesnake Jake rough up Rango a bit. But I thought the final resolution between Rango and Jake was okay.
…
One criticism I can’t stand is that it is not ‘kid-friendly’, like this curmudgeon and this sourpuss say. I thought it would be fairly obvious from the trailers that this is not exactly a ‘four-quadrant’ movie. 
I prefer listening to this guy and this gal. And of course, the one man almost everyone listens to (who happens to be an anti-3D fighter).
My problem with the climax was that [spoil]it felt rather disjointed. Like first it’s a showdown between Rango and Jake and then all of a sudden it becomes everyone against the mayor. If they were going to have Jake do an eleventh-hour heel-face turn, then his relationship with the mayor should’ve had a bit more depth in the film. It felt like it was a last-minute decision when they were having trouble thinking of a way for the mayor to meet his demise[/spoil]
But again, it’s still a great film, just lost its way a bit late.
I’m seeing it tomorrow with a friend of mine. I’m curious. :]
Kinda have to agree with that. I wish there were more scenes of Jake and [spoil]the Mayor[/spoil], the rattlesnake came in too late into the story.
One thing has been bothering me. Keep in mind we do see Rango in scale with humans. We have lizards, rabbits, turtles, possums, roadrunners, toads, there’s even a cockroach-bug-guy-thing! They’re all the same size… anyone else notice?
Yeah, that kinda bugged me too, but I forgot about it because the story was so compelling. Another thing that was a loophole was that some animals like the Mariachi elf owl band and Wounded Bird the crow can speak, but others like the hawk who chases Rango can’t.
I guess I employed my ‘suspension of disbelief’. 
I’m very interested in seeing this now. Since it has Depp, I might be able to convince my dad. 
About the hawk, my theory is he/she can actually talk, but prefers not to to maintain a distance between a predator and its prey. It’s actually a pretty common conceit in talking animal movies, I think.
I think Rockeye (“Try to blend in!”) referred to the hawk as a ‘she’. Anyway, yeah, I guess that made sense. The bird’s pretty clever too, as you’ve seen from the movie. 
Yep. The bird from A Bug’s Life was one of those instances.
I feel like I’m really missing out here. 
I want to see it; it would be cool to see a Nick movie I actually like. That hasn’t happened since 2004.
I finally watched Rango today and here are my thoughts: Contains some possible SPOILERS
I enjoyed it, but I found some flaws, the animation was stunning and beautiful, parallel to what I saw in Ga’Hoole last year, the story was solid but I found some parts of the plot similar to other animated films, a mixture between A Bug’s Life and Chicken Run, the best of it was Rango as the main character and the snake (for an instanse it reminds me of Lord Voldemort), my favorite scene was the bat race fight and the worst was the Western’s Spirit scene, just adding that some children screamed and cried during the film, and also some parents left the theater, defenitely this is NOT a Kids film,but overall a fun film, I loved the core message about Water,and my grade is
[size=150]B[/size]
this weekend I’ll be going to watch Battle Los Angeles and Mars Needs Moms
Don’t forget Seven Samurai, Chinatown, Blazing Saddles and Shane. Nothing’s original anymore.
Which is probably why adults will enjoy this more. I really don’t know what parents were thinking bringing their kids in, unless they didn’t see the trailers and TV spots, which hinted it will be a ‘grown-up’ movie.
Not implying that kids can’t find something to enjoy in it, Rango’s slapstick antics and some of the visual humour would keep the rugrats amused. But the adults will appreciate it more because they know the references. The Spirit of the West is [spoil]a doppleganger of Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name character, the “pop tarts with Kim Novak” line was a reference to a former Hitchokian starlet[/spoil]. There are also many other references and allusions to other movies, especially the bat scene you mentioned, which are outlined in this interesting blog. Old adults, or young film buffs will find plenty to enjoy in Rango, and not just the movie references, but also the more nuanced characterisations, the slower pace of storytelling, the simple (some would say simplistic) ‘good hero’ standing up against an ‘evil outlaw’ storyline which would fly over the heads of the younger, attention-deficit generation.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, though! And I agree with some of your points on its flaws, it’s by no means a perfect movie.
When I saw Rango in central Rotterdam half of the seats were sold and there wasn’t a single kid. True story. 
But meh, I see parents suing them for this. Even though there isn’t much to sue. There is no law that says an animated movie HAS to be suitable for kids.
Oh u, parents… 
Exactly, Czarine! I think they should’ve just made this PG-13 to keep the babies and their overconcerned parents out. I’m always for cartoons being all-ages entertainment, but for once, I think the grown-ups should have fun!
Anyway, here’s some Rango soundtrack music to tempt you poor lost souls who haven’t seen this masterpiece yet.