Jason McKiernan (25 May 2012)

absolutely wonderful

FatMan-QaTFM (25 May 2012)

An interesting movie if you're in the mood for something odd

Rango's trailer really contains everything truly funny in the movie.Normally this would be a problem for a hilarious children's movie, butapparently only the first 5 minutes of the film were delivered andmarketing went off running to promote a funny kid's film. Painted in apalate of grays and browns, Rango is a gritty western with an oddassortment of grizzly animals that are so water-starved, they'vestarted talking with Texas accents (and some British). Rango comesalong like a fish out of water and uses his charm and filthy lizardlies to endear himself to the townspeople, eventually solving thecrisis and living happily with some rodent.While the story didn't come across as terribly creative, it was thedirty details that got me. Rango's first exposure to the desert sunresults in two quick skin-sheddings – a scene that I rewatched 10times, cringing each time. Kids movies generally approach death like-aso: there's some comical violence throughout, maybe some threats tolife and limb, but at the climax of the film the uncontested villain ofthe movie finally gets his through a noncommittal death. Thinksabre-toothed tiger in Ice Age and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (we allknow he was dismembered by the croc). In Rango, death comes constantlyand brutally – drowning, crushing, falling, and being shot. There is nomercy, but the animals do act as animals and don't seem to care. Themovie also had some beautiful landscapes, tributes to other movies, andso much sand and dirt.I don't really attribute much of the movie to Gore Verbinski. Havingseen how companies like Pixar work, a lot of the little details thatmake a film come from the animators themselves, not the story or thedirector. He'll thumbs up/thumbs down, but these are ideas originatingin a far more creative place. The story was not very compelling ororiginal, but everything else made up for those shortcomings. I wasn'tparticularly impressed by Johnny Depp, who seemed to be channeling amixture of Kermit the Frog and Sam Rockwell playing Zaphod Beeblebrox.I couldn't even recognize the voices of every other cast member and Ithink that speaks to voice work more than being easily recognizable.Whatever it takes to sell a ticket, I suppose.Speaking of selling tickets at all cost, the one thing that took whatwould have been an A-range movie in to the B's was the idiotic punch-ups. Knowing the studio and director, it probably went like this: "Wow,that was really dark. Can't you, uh, make it funnier for kids? Like addsome crotch shots and farts? Thanks a bunch, buddy!" And add them theydid! During random, surreal scenes, audiences were treated to someanimal farting. I'd say that might have been to add to the bizarrenessof the movie, but again, knowing the studio and director, that'sdoubtful. Some poor animator was tasked with going back and adding apuff of feathers or sand so some poor sound designer could go back andadd a stupid fart sound. Well done, you masters of subtlety.While Rango was no El Topo (not enough midgets), it had some surrealmoments. It's probably one of the most interesting animations I've everwatched, although I can't say I enjoyed it as much as HTTYD or Wall-E.Still, a pretty interesting movie if you're in the mood for somethingodd.

Katherine Dixon (23 May 2012)

Dull Characters

Rango is a film about a nameless lizard who becomes lost in the dessertand finds his way to a small old western town. But the town of Dirt isrunning out of water and only has a few days left to survive on. Thetown has its suspicions on who has the water but they are fearful to goup against the town's own Mayor. Then a lone lizard comes into town andre-enacts one of his Thespian moments from back in his cage. He becomesRango, a tough gun slinger who claims to have killed seven brotherswith one bullet. But trouble comes when he is made the sheriff of theDirt and must help to solve their water problem and is entangled withinthe the web of deception in the small nearly abandoned town. From thefirst trailer I saw of Rango I found this movie to be cute, predictableand one more interesting role on the list of Johnny Depp's characters.I never have been much of a fan of the film. My dad kept saying how itwas going to be so cute and he couldn't wait to see it so finallyyesterday we went to see the film. It was a predictable child's film onthe exception with the lack of emotions emitted from the characterstherefore lacking in the development on the characters. Rango wasabandoned by his family left in the dessert and they never onceaddressed that. He was not upset that his "friends" had been shatteredacross the the hot asphalt left to melt in the scorching sun. Priscillais going to lose her daddy's farm, and yet she shows to sense ofsadness what-so-ever through out the entire film. No one cries norseems to be DEEPLY upset that they might die in five days without thewater. With the lack of emotions produced by the characters theaudience could not sympathize for them leading to a lack of characterdevelopment and sense of uncaring for them as the plot thickens.*SPOILER ALERT* I found a small sense of relief when Rango crosses thehighway to "the other side" and meets "The Spirit of the West" akaBlondie as played by Clint Eastwood in The Good The Bad and The Ugly.The scene where he is crossing the highway is a huge sense of sympathyfor Rango and all that he is going through. We empathize with hissadness and loneliness when his called out by Big Jake for being a liarin front of the whole town. Overall I found Rango to have a predictableplot and underdeveloped character. But you can't deny it was adorable!7.75/10

Andrea Chase (23 May 2012)

Channeling spaghetti westerns, Cervantes, Castaneda, and a dash of CHINATOWN as refracted through the visual sensibilities of Dali, it is a fiendishly clever concretion of high- and low-brow in a story that is both vision quest and farce

Simon Reynolds (19 May 2012)

The most satisfying non-Pixar animated movie to emerge in some time.

Claudia Puig (18 May 2012)

Its strong suit is visual panache. It's too bad that consistent comedy and emotional resonance get lost amid the dust and cacti.

(18 May 2012)

Wonderful graphics

This DVD was played at the mall as a demo of the Sharp Aquos TV.... The graphics were amazing and I bought the disk without reading reviews about it... It stars with some cute bits but for the most part is just BORING.... it is a nice way to see how well your big screen TV puts out a high quality image but you are likely to shut it off and look for something else to entertain you.. I have no idea how kids would enjoy it ?

(17 May 2012)

Environment Plus

This review is from: Rango (DVD) The characters are great to watch and listen to. The animation is also very good. The story line still pertinent for this day and age, as we, especially in the desert, need to be aware of how we use or preserve our resources. I always enjoy anything "characterized" by Johnny Depp, and he doesn't disappoint here either.

(17 May 2012)

Got dvd quickly

This review is from: Rango (DVD) Recieved dvd qucikly and in great condition. Granddaughter (only) couldn't keep her interest in it but was good for adults to view.

Dennis Schwartz (16 May 2012)

Oddball existential western animation.

(16 May 2012)

Rango, Return of the Western

This review is from: Rango (DVD) My grandsons, aged 7 and 4, were born in the Arizona Desert and lived here until this year when they moved to Kentucky. I saw this film and thought it would be a perfect way of reminding the boys of their roots. They absolutely loved it! The desert critters were so well done. The animation was fine, the characters were amusing and the plot was child friendly. There was just enough threat to our lizard hero to keep the boys interested. Johnny Depp's voice was perfect for the little beasty. I would recommend the DVD for both boys and girls and it was well worth the price.

brucev13 (15 May 2012)

Well,this caught me off guard.Excellent movie!

Let's get this straight. Just to avoid confusion. While this had goofylooking characters and it is a CGI animation movie. This is not a kidsmovie. There is so much going on in Rango that definitely won't makesense to them.In essence Rango (obviously a Parody on Django) is aspaghetti western. Only now the lead is a chameleon voiced by JohnnyDepp. Rango is filled with funny and slapstick moments.But it also hassome real serious sequences. This is the surprising element that shouldnot work and still it does. Trying to explain them will be difficultcause most of those scenes are very visual without dialog. Describingit won't do justice to them any way. People familiar with Pirates ofthe Caribbean trilogy will recognize Gore Verbinski's style.It simplyis his best movie yet to date.Even better than the first POTC movie?.In my opinion yes.You can clearly see that a lot of work and love isput into it. For movie fans there are references throughout. One thatreally stands out is an epic scene involving a man with no name and agolf cart.Ultimate coolness. Don't make the mistake comparing this toCGI movies like Ice Age,Kungfu Panda or similar. Approach it like it isfully fledged western that has everything and more of that genre.If youget past that than you will have the pleasure to see one of the mostfunny and entertaining movies made this year.A must watch!

Charles Koplinski (14 May 2012)

Rango a dynamic tribute to a lost genre.

(13 May 2012)

Warning!!! NOT FOR KIDS!

This review is from: Rango (Amazon Instant Video) This was a pathetic excuse to make a western cartoon!!??? The story line was completely unbelievable. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

(13 May 2012)

Great animation, but really more for film buffs and lovers of animation than for kids

Gore Verbinski's animated feature Rango, with voices by Johnny Depp, Ned Beatty and a host of other talented actors, is a hard film to review, mainly because its real target audience is not the one it's being marketed towards. Let me just flat out say it: this really isn't a kids' animated movie. Not because there's anything in it that is not suitable for kids - there isn't - but because 95 percent of what really makes it worth seeing is going to go right over most kids' heads.On the surface, the plot is fairly straightforward, at least in the set-up. A terrarium-housed pet chameleon lizard (it's significant after the fact that you never know his real name) ends up stranded in the desert where he is directed to a small town that is on the verge of extinction because of a mysterious water shortage. In his efforts to blend in (he _is_ a chamelon after all), he adopts the name Rango and in quick order suddenly finds himself appointed sheriff and given the mission of finding out what's happened to the town's water. Stylistically, Verbinski was willing to take some real chances with Rango, and anyone who appreciates animation as an art will find a lot to see here. The level of detail and sheer originality is stunning. Rango does not resemble _anything_ I've seen in an animated film before. Though set in the current day, the world of Rango is essentially an Old West town - aptly named Dirt - that's literally drying up, populated by a cast of animal characters who look like they stepped out of any number of classic Westerns. The difference between Rango and your usual animated take on this theme though is that the residents of Dirt are _not_ cute. In addition to being much closer in look to the real animals they're based on - lizards, tortoises, toads, possums, snakes, prarie dogs and such - they're also grizzled, dusty, sun-bleached and wind-beaten, and in many cases, just downright _ugly_. Including, or even especially, the good guys. One suspects that merchandising for Rango will be somewhat problematic.But it says something that everything fits together seamlessly. The town really looks like an Old West town on the verge of becoming a ghost town, and the characters look like they really do live there. And again, the level of detail is stunning, from the clothes the characters wear to the characters themselves, the buildings and other structures, the interiors. The four desert-owl mariachi players who sing narration at various points in the film are a case in point. The level of detail that is taken with their intricately shaded feathers, their embroidered mariachi costumes and their musical instruments - and the way all of these things _move_ when the characters do - is amazing. This is a movie you could watch again and again just to appreciate how much the artists put into it.I have to mention two characters in particular that really stood out: the Mayor (marvelously voiced by Ned Beatty), a tortoise modeled directly on John Huston's genial but chilling Noah Cross from the classic film Chinatown, and Rattlesnake Jake (also marvelously voiced by Bill Nighy), absolutely one of the best animated villains ever created. It's absolutely spell-binding just to watch Jake _move_, a stunning feat of animation. I've never seen an animated character manage to radiate sheer menace on the level that Rattlesnake Jake does. In thinking about it, I now have to amend my earlier statement somewhat; Rattlesnake Jake could definitely scare some younger children. But that said, Rango is worth seeing for Rattlesnake Jake alone.My mention of Chinatown brings me to the other prospective audience for Rango: film buffs. Rango references a truly astonishing number of movies: several classic Westerns (High Noon; The Good, the Bad & the Ugly; The Quick & The Dead, Paint Your Wagon) as one would expect, but also a number of non-Westerns, some fairly recent (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, A Bug's Life), some classic (Lawrence of Arabia, Apocalypse Now) and some obscure (Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas). And of course Chinatown, not only for the Mayor character but for a number of scenes (watch for the glasses) and a good deal of the plot. And there's also a key scene that's a nod to a famous actor/director who is still remembered for his association with Westerns and for a certain classic character he created. A good example of the little in-jokes in Rango is what he's carrying around in the back of the golf cart. As I said, most kids are going to miss 95 percent of this stuff. Me, I want to get the DVD just so I can watch it again and pick out all of the references I probably missed the first time around. It's that kind of movie.About my only real criticism of Rango - other than its being marketed to the wrong audience - is that parts of it are uneven and do tend to drag a bit. I think this is because the parts that do seem to be meant for kids tend not to mesh that well with the rest of the film. The parts that adults will enjoy most will probably be of little interest to kids, and the parts that kids will enjoy most will probably make things drag for adults.But overall, I highly recommend Rango. It's not your typical animated film, and most kids will probably complain that a lot of it's boring, but for anyone who loves the sheer art of animation or who just loves films that reference all manner of movies from the great to the obscure, this is definitely a film you'll want to see.

mozartman2000 (13 May 2012)

Ugly Characters, Female Topless ... in a Family Film??

As several posters already mentioned, the movie is very dark and creepyvisually and not in a good way, and what's done to/with the toplessfemale doll near the beginning of the film would make many parents andtheir young kids blush. (Rango, "Are those real??") And thelanguage...all that mumbled Western lingo a' la "True Grit" withMexican accent was supposed to be comprehensible to young kids?? Gimmea break. I'll stick with Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo for true familyentertainment. In the theater I was in, kids were screaming and cryingduring the entire movie, obviously traumatized by the ugly rodents andviolence they saw on screen. About Johnny Depp's voice over for Rango,I have to say this has to be the most overrated actor currently workingin Hollywood. What ever happened to alpha male actors of yore likeGable, Bogart, Cooper, Peck...? Today they're all emaciated/girly-manlooking boy scouts like Depp, DiCaprio and such. Basta!

Sandie Angulo Chen (10 May 2012)

Guns and deep thoughts make this best for older kids.

Peter Canavese (10 May 2012)

I suspect the young'uns will...take a shine to the hero of Rango: a chameleon that's part Kermit the Frog, part street-corner kook (and all Johnny Depp, who supplies the often hilarious voice).

(09 May 2012)

I like it!

This review is from: Rango (Amazon Instant Video) I like this movie due to the fact that it's really funny and that it shows how some old weapons were used.

meeza (08 May 2012)

Plenty of boring dirt in Rango, but overall Depp's delight and the classic movies homage makes it a marginal recommendation!

"Rango Rango Man, I have to see that Rangoman" I said to myself severaltimes in anticipation of the next Johnny Depp starring vehicle "Rango".The trailers of this computer-animated movie looked enticing. Come on,Johnny Depp voicing a bug-eyed, fast-talking lizard! How could it miss?But after seeing "Rango", I must say that I am a bit disappointed."Rango" does delight in playing homage to classic movies such as"Apocalypse Now", "2001: A Space Odyssey", and the infamous "man withno name" Eastwood westerns. But what "Rango" dangles primarily on is onits dull narrative. Our protagonist Rango is a lizard drifter (aren'twe all?,whatever that means) who ends up in the animal western-town ofDirt. The Mayor of Dirt (voiced by Ned Beatty) does plenty of dirtydeeds done first cheap by stealing the town's water for greedyinvestment purposes; or something like that. That watered-down plotline did stray my attention; it's not like I was watching "Chinatown".Rango falls for Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher), a "looks like a lizardbut I cannot make what it is" Dirt animal female who is suspicious ofthe Mayor's actions and wants to keep the land of her deceased father.Rango, with his wit and fast-talk, ends up convincing most of the townanimal residents of Dirt that he is a skilled killer & fighter. TheDirt animals love Rango, he is to them one rocking Rango Star! Rango isthen appointed Sheriff and his first sherrify task at hand is to savethe Dirt town from being waterless due to their droughtarama.Predictability then ensues as Rango gets into hot water when his Dirtfollowers found out that he has been deceiving them all this time.Writer John Logan must have not gone into a profuse analytical Logan'swriting run with Rango's formulaic script; and to make it worse he evenincluded way too much dialogue incomprehensible for children; who let'sface it, is the major demographic target audience of "Rango" . Itappeared to me that Director Gore Verbinski was trying too hard toguide the film with unorthodox elements. Gore, this is not "The Lizardsof the Non-Caribbean: The Curse of the Amphibian World"! However, whatrang in quietly nicely in "Rango" was the stellar talent of Johnny Deppas "Rango". I could not envision any other actor but Depp giving"Rango" his character justice. "Rango" is a lizard tale that loungesaround most of the time, but is salvaged by Depp and that classicmovies' homage. *** Average