You’d think that something by the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ guy (oh yeah, and Johnny Depp) would get some more attention. Instead, our cinema opens it on the smallest screen they have.
Odd, that.
The story can be predicable at times, but it’s perfectly serviceable. To mix things up there’s a few trippy parts, and Depp can go do his Depp thing and he’s quite entertaining doing it. The script is crammed full of wittyness and parental bonuses, and there were plenty of gutlaughs rippling through the audience. (You won’t believe what they’re getting away with. Saying they pushed that PG rating as far as they could is an understatement.)
It’s not 3D, and I think that’s a welcome change of pace, really. Instead, Industrial Light and Magic has focused on making everything as realistic as possible. All the animals walk around in clothes, but are otherwise as close to reptiles, rodents and other assorted uglies as can be. The narration emphasises that life in the desert is rough, and everything shows that. Where normal CGI films look squeaky clean (Incredibles, I’m looking at you*) this actually looks like an universe that has been thoroughly lived in. Everything is worn, cracked and smudged in loving detail. It feels like every grain of sand has a texture map applied to it.
And that’s kind of my point. This world is a little rough around the edges. Critters smoke and drink, and villains are credibly serious and threatening. It’s not a ‘animals walk around and do human things which is funny’ (fuck you Dreamworks) movie, there’s a great deal more depth here.
So, how’d everyone else like it?
*I know it was consciously part of the retro style, but still
The whole family saw it just today and we really liked it. The kids liked the animals and my wife and I appreciated the sly adult jokes and references thrown in.
I did like the Spirit of the West and I thought for a minute that they actually got Eastwood to do it. It’s almost disapointing to see that Tim Oliphant was the voice, which speaks of how well he did it, I guess.
They had a lot of great voice actors in it who did great work and none of them got any pub as far as I’ve seen. All of the ads said Johnny Depp, of course, but I didn’t catch anyone else who was in it.
My kids and I saw it yesterday. The ten year old thoroughly enjoyed it and the three year old slept on me for the last half hour.
I thought it was visually fascinating and so complex. The story offered few -if any- surprises, but the constant stream of banter, one-liners, and references kept it interesting. I’m going to need to watch it another time or two, partly because of the toddler’s frequent potty breaks, and partly because of the dense, rapid-fire dialogue.
Interestingly, despite the fact that Nickolodeon was involved, I wouldn’t consider it a children’s movie by any stretch of the imagination. Whereas many recent animated movies are basically kids movies with a few bones thrown to the adults, Rango had a mature, adult feel to it throughout. From the beginning, it had a great deal more nuance than almost any other animated movie I’ve ever seen.
There happened to be a whole group of younger children (there for a birthday party) sitting near us during our showing, and it was apparent that most of the movie went completely over their heads. They seemed to appreciate the visuals, but spent the whole movie trying to understand the plot–and discussing what had just happened in depth with each other. :rolleyes:
One that surprised me was when the main character indicated that he was a “thespian,” and another character wondered if that wasn’t illegal in several states.
Another was a visual joke, which involved a character who spent the whole movie with a:large arrow stuck in one eye.
Also, the rattlesnake had a:machine gun in place of his rattle.
All in all, I highly recommend seeing the movie. It should be fine for teenagers, but I wouldn’t bring any younger kids.
Took my 7 and 11 year olds to see it. They said they liked it but there were very few laughs to be had. It is definitely not a typical kids movie. It IS a typical western though, in every way, so don’t expect an original story. Depp did well I suppose. The textures on the characters were about the most realistic I’ve ever seen. Pretty much all of the characters are really ugly though, meaning they look like rodents and reptiles. Can’t imagine a Rango toy line taking off.
I couldn’t sit through it again but it was decent for the most part.
Early in the film the main character is accidentally left on a highway in the desert. He almost gets run over and is trapped on the windshield of a red convertible being driven by Hunter S Thompson with his attorney.
I thought it was very good. The textures, the character models, and the animation were fantastic. The story was so-so. How in the world does Beans, a lizard, have hair? Rattlesnake Jake was awesome, I loved his pencil mustache.
My biggest problem with the movie had to do with Pop Tarts and Kim Novak. Where in the world did that come from? Is it simply a non sequitur? Confused the heck outta me…
We took the kids over the weekend and enjoyed it a lot. My son is a big fan of Lee Van Cleef, so he particularly enjoyed Jake the Snake.
The movie is just packed with little moments that riff off other movies: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Chinatown, Apocalypse Now, High Plains Drifter, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Paint Your Wagon, True Grit, etc. Sometimes it’s as subtle as copying a famous camera angle or a line reading.
I make a point to stay through the end credits for Pixar movies. I was rewarded this time out with the animators’ nods to Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix–animated owls doing windmills, smashing and burning their guitars…very cool!
Wonderful to look at. Truly amazing critters and brilliant lighting techniques. But the plot was overstuffed with familiar twists and turns. The result was that it felt really long but with few real surprises.
I saw it today and really liked it. I think it’s a tough sell because it’s not a traditional animated movie, it’s a straight action comedy that happens to be animated. It does sort of drag in the third act, but I think it’s a very good movie. I wouldn’t expect kids to like it, though; there’s nothing there that’s meant for them.
The website for the movie is kind of fun, too. It has interactive graphics…you can strum a guitar that’s lying in the road and an owl pops up to play a solo.
I hadn’t even heard of it but today they had the toys in the Burger King kid’s meals. My little girl is six and was so scared of that skinny neck lizard thing on the package she made me throw the toy (a deck of playing cards? I guess it’s movie related?) in the trash and pouted all the way home.
Doubt we’ll be seeing it.
I thought it was absolutely sensational. Yes, the plot was familiar, but in many ways the film was daring and original. It was a fantastic movie. Two thumbs up, four stars, and two very happy people here.
“If this was Heaven, we’d all be eatin’ Pop Tarts with Kim Novak.”
Yeah, it was OK. I thought it would be even better, but my wife and I basically liked it.
It was weird and I actually think most kids, even my 7th graders at school, would find it rather dull for quite a bit of it. However, it was not terrible and I liked some of the jokes.
I’m surprised he said, “Are these real?” when looking at the mannequins boobs.
I was also surprised when Rango said, “I’m going to expose this plan and show it’s private parts to everyone!”
