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Arts & Entertainment

Movie Review | Rango

Johnny Depp's latest film, the animated Rango is a modern day western well worth watching.

It is apropos that Johnny Depp, the chameleon actor who has given so many memorable and varied performances over the years in both the mainstream (Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean) and in the lesser-known (Dead Man, Ed Wood) is playing just that: a chameleon in his latest foray into animated film, Rango

Rango sees Depp again teaming up with Pirates director Gore Verbinski. Though Rango at first whiff smells like a pet project that the two may have conceived together simply because they could, it proves to be anything but. Rango is an original and unpredictable homage to the western genre and most certainly Sergio Leone’s Man With no Name trilogy. It is an animated film that feels refreshingly new. 

Many moviegoers are familiar with Pixar Studios, who year-in and year-out have been creating imaginative and memorable animated films; most recently the likes of Up, Ratatouille, and Toy Story 3. While Rango is not a Pixar release, it holds its own amongst these legendary animated films. Where Rango stands alone on the animated front, however, is in its unabashed and delightful strangeness and oddity - realms into which even the most reaching of Pixar’s films do not dare to delve. This isn't to say that Rango is better than these Pixar films, just different and not markedly worse, like most contemporary animated films tend to be.

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From the opening frames, the action indicates that we are in for something new as far as animated features go. The characters are gritty and grotesque in a charming way, and so very original. The birds, bugs, rodents and reptiles are exactly what you’d expect out of an animated western. Do not expect Bugs Bunny, expect road kill. 

Rango is himself an unnamed pet chameleon that becomes stranded in the desert. The film opens with a stream-of-consciousness monologue from its main character. Immediately I was reminded of Depp’s bloated 1998 film adaptation of the 1971 Hunter S. Thompson novel of the same name, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Thankfully, this is where that allusion ends. 

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After surviving a frightening night in the desert, the chameleon meets a lizard named Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher). Beans takes the chameleon to an Old West town named Dirt. It is in Dirt, at the saloon, that the chameleon we have been following introduces himself as the rough and tumble Rango. Through a series of mishaps that eventually go Rango’s way, he kills a hawk that has been chasing him since he arrived in the desert. The mayor of Dirt, Tortoise John, then names Rango the new sherriff. 

In the process of killing the hawk, Rango destroys an empty water tower. Beans, already aware that the town has a water shortage issue, demands that Rango investigate the issue. The townsfolk are also concerned that the hawk was their only line of defense against the evil villain Rattlesnake Jake. Adventure ensues, as our new sheriff has plenty to deal with throughout the rest of the film. 

Without giving too much away, I will say that the final scene of Rango is pure raucous action that is not to be missed. The frames throughout the rest of the film are filled with plenty of cinematic charm and old western bravado. 

The vocal talents throughout are great, Johnny Depp sounds downright Kermit-esque in times of fear and doubt. Isla Fisher as Beans and Timothy Olyphant (from two critically acclaimed television westerns Justified and Deadwood) as the Spirit of the West are fabulous in supporting roles. Western legend Harry Dean Stanton also makes an appearance as a mole named Balthazar. The casting of vocal talent was clearly well-thought-out, with experience in the western genre highly recommended.

This is without a doubt one of Depp’s most energetic performances of late. To anyone who is a fan of his, or of unique and original animation, Rango is highly recommended viewing. 

Rango ultimately is about not only the odyssey of its main character but about the politics and peril of an entire old western community and the adversity that they faced in trying to make it one day at a time. As mayor Tortoise John says to Rango as he is naming him sheriff, “People have to believe in something, right now they believe in you.”

Rango -- 4 out of 5 stars

Rango is rated PG and is currently playing at  -- 24 Patriot Place, Foxboro, MA - (800) 315-4000    

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