Rango (2011)

I can't be the only person who shrugged this movie away. I know I'm not the only person who dismissed this movie due to the lack of the attention. I saw the poster of the chameleon with Johnny Depp in bold letters above his name. I did not carry one ounce of excitement for this movie. No one else did either. And it quietly shuffled away in the dark.

Dammit. I went along with the masses and almost missed this amazing gem of a movie. And damn you bad publicity. Oh how you have ruined so many first movie impressions ("First Class".....grrr...).


I am also really burned and bummed out from 3-D animation. I'm not impressed with it much anymore. I really miss 2-D animation. I really, really miss 2-D. So that just added to my aversion to the movie.
What saved this movie from sheer obscurity? Boredom and Redbox. Ahhh

"Rango" is a 3-D animated movie, as you might have gleaned. We are  introduced to a chameleon aspiring to be an actor. He is practicing a scene in his tank as he being driven along some non-descript desert highway. With the tank being precaroiously perched and roadkill, the car swerves to avoid being hit and the tank flies away. Disoriented, the chamelon stumbles around until he walks into a deserted town. After lack of attention, he decides to puff his character up by taking on the persona of  Rango, a tough gunslinger. Well, that will stir up a hella lot of trouble won't it? Pretty soon there's gonna be some gun fights, a town mystery, a bandana gang, water crisis, and one of the greatest chases I have seen on film.

3-D has become very innovative in its detail and ability to capture live motions. I have heard the praise that "Rise of the Apes" recieved for using realistic 3D apes instead of real ones. But damn this was amazing! I am a growing reptile lover. I own a couple and work with many of them. I know how soft and tough their scales can be. I have held onto a chameleonm they can be velvety soft. Every time I saw Rango onscreen, I could  feel his texture. That is so weird to write but thats how I felt with every character. Their visual details were stunning. And these were desert creatures!!! Wow!

The story was a great western story. A newcomer comes in, stirs up buried trouble, and saves the town. Except now you added a swollen ego chameleon, various desert creatures, and some dangerous predators all suffering from a water crisis(huh....humans are going through the same..thing...).

It's a great childrens movie but it's also a great movie for the adults. There are alot of jokes nestled in everywhere. The nod towards "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" cracked me up. The nod towards "Pirates" made me smile ( How sad is it that the "joke" worked better for this storyline than "Pirates"?).

Johnny Depp played Rango like a mish mash of Raol from "Fear and Loathing" and Jack Sparrow of "Pirates". It was an oddball mix of spazzy charisma. I loved so many of the characters.The Mariachi oqls cracked me up. Was it bearded toad? Whatever it was,I loved it.I forget their names but they all had their fun quirks and jokes.Jokes that are really adult in nature but sound so innocent. I love those.

The heart of the movies power comes from the super awesome chase scene with the water tank. I dare not describe it. I do not want to lessen the awesome feeling that you will get from watching it. It was exciting, it was breathtaking, it was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Seriously. This movie MUST be watched. It is too stunning to pass over.