When a pet lizard is lost in an accident, the poor creature must journey through the desert of Nevada until he comes upon a small animal town of Dirt. There he has a choice: which identity will he take on in this new place? Naming himself Rango, the lizard (Johnny Depp) inadvertently becomes the sheriff of the small town. Soon the town experiences a crisis: the bank has run out of water, and now with only days to survive, Rango must unravel the mystery and find a new source of water to save the town.
Rango is a strange children’s movie that takes an interesting look at the Western genre. One part Mad Max and the other part Over The Hedge, Rango rides a line between action and comedy. The character of Rango himself (unnamed before he gives himself the moniker) is a bold and confident though wildly cowardly and naive protagonist. And yet the would-be-actor lizard becomes a very lovable character as he steps into the persona he makes for himself.
In terms of other characters, Rango flirts with a resident lizard named Beans (Isla Fisher) and makes friends with several of the town’s people. In terms of opponents, Rango delivers, having a villain in the form of the massive and intimidating “Rattlesnake Jake” (Bill Nighy), a huge snake with a gatling gun for a tail.
In terms of plot, Rango is relatively easy to follow with a twist and turn here and there to keep the action moving. The animation style is rather unusual. Instead of using bright colors and having a vibrant world, the animals are mostly colored as their real-life selves would be in mixtures of browns, blacks, and greys. On top of this the setting of a desert creates a rather bland world that is brought to life through Rango’s appearance.
Because of the animation style, some children might not find the movie as enjoyable. The animation and overall tone is rather dark, and the subplot of living up to your name might be lost on some children. Seeing it as a child, I remember not liking it too much, but as an adult I found it more enjoyable.
Rango might look rather shallow at first glance, but provides a rather deep story, centered around a lizard who tries his best to blend in when he should stand out. Because of this, children may not be interested in the rather scary looking animals and their hunt for water, but teenagers and older may appreciate the subtler themes more.
Rango is rated PG for for rude humor, language, action and smoking.
Union University Library Blog 