RANGO begins with quite possibly the strangest and most fascinating prologue not only so far this year but in all 3D animated films. Our main character is directing while acting out an original theatrical play in what appears to be the remodelled set of the early Pixar short film, Knick Knack. He laments at his fellow cast members, a toy fish, a plastic tree, an one-armed Barbie torso and a dead bug, before he openly questions his role in his own life and in the film itself. Can he transform into a Latin lover? How about a jungle explorer? Can he actually have a real name instead of being just a no-name film character?
This Duck Amuck-like imagery and dialogue seems to be shattered completely into pieces once the chameleon's artificial world as a pet merges into the barren reality of the desert. However, the film doesn't take the usual tame family animation route and instead continues along its own surreal and postmodern road. Easy pop culture jokes never come up nor exist as the film's main blueprint like the SHREK films. Instead, RANGO is a original witty surprise that will entertain viewers while having film students and scholars get ready to write essays about it.
The chameleon with no name ventures into the unknown dry desert before reaching the western town simply known as Dirt. There, he creates and adopts his new persona of Rango, a gunslinging hero who has often solve problems with only one bullet. Besides somehow killing off the violent hawk and scaring off outlaws that haunt the town, the newly appointed sheriff is tasked with solving the town's biggest problem. Water, which serves as a religious figure and a consumer good for the townsfolk, has been mysteriously taken away from them and their bank supply is dwindling by the day. I will not give away the rest of the plot but I will say that this is the second "family" animated film that can be retitled as A Child's Introduction to the Works of Robert Towne.
John Logan's script focuses heavily on absurdist fourth wall breaks. One of the major metaphors, a highway road symbolizing the gateway between reality and afterlife, is often joked between the characters as being simply a metaphor. The casting of Johnny Depp as the chameleon hero is often poked at, especially when his previous performance of Hunter S. Thompson is featured in a noteworthy cameo. The clearest example of the absence of a fourth wall is the use of a marachi chorus of owls. They serve as the film's storytellers yet the other characters can easily see them and comment frequently with them, such as when they miss a musical cue for a important plot point. They end all of their appearances by routinely bringing up that Rango will die. They do this so often that one of musicians whines about when this "fireworks factory" moment is going to happen.
However, the film's biggest finger point at itself is its commentary on how the Western film is seen as a bygone era and product. Similar to the Coen Brothers' take on TRUE GRIT, RANGO makes unique choices to the gender politics and the action choregraphy of Westerns in order to breathe new life. Though Rango is courageous and brave, he uses trickery and mental strategy and tactics to win his battles, especially during the grand finale. While he focuses on puzzle-solving, the physical action is handled by Isla Fisher's character, Beans. The main heroine with the ultimate tomboy name, Beans is the one whose willing to fight for her survival and whose immense disdain of corruption and snarky behavior needs to be subdued by a defensive animal instinct. In the most clearest example of switching gender motifs, Rango and Beans engage in long vibrant action sequence in different outfits. Rango is the one screaming for safety in a dress while Beans pilots a carriage wearing the signature poncho seen in many spaghetti westerns. This carriage chase further stands out since director Gore Verbinski uses many film allusions such as THE ROAD WARRIOR and STAR WARS as if to tell the young audience members where the chase scene in films originally came from.
RANGO does have some faults to it: The script introduces a lot of characters but doesn't flesh out some of the important ones, a key and much talked about location is never shown, casting Ned Beatty in a similar role to his previous animated film work, and an odd sequence with a human character that features the horrors of the uncanny valley along with a surprising voice cameo. Still, the enthralling story and characters along with the tight voice acting makes up for its shortcomings. The animation is very good with great character textures and elaborate visual experiments with glass and perspective. The direction often uses the usual Western imagery and iconography while also being original in featuring many surreal sequences. For something which I thought was going to be forgettable, RANGO has proven itself to be one of dark horses of this year in animation.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
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