Synopsis
Rango, a chameleon living as an ordinary family pet that dreams of being a fearless hero and is challenged to become just that when he inadvertently becomes the sheriff of a lawless desert town called Dirt.
Rango is an interesting movie, and definitely one of the more character-driven animated features in some time. Johnny Depp does a superb job as the lizard hero, as he sounds just as crazy as he looks. Rango’s personality and Depp’s abilities combine in a solid acting performance, as Rango goes from inspiring actor to real-life hero. The transformation from family pet to tough guy/chameleon is treated delicately by Depp and director Gore Verbinski. One of the big issues with animated features these days is how much depth can you really put in a character that’s only onscreen for an hour and a half. Verbinski proves that shaping this simple-minded lizard into a true hero is priority on the list. By adding a life quest, evenly spaced ups and downs in the storyline, what happens to Rango really starts to shape who he is by the end of the film. That’s one of the sharpest things about Rango is how incredibly three-dimensional the main character is by the end of the film. You literally end up caring about what happens to him, which is extremely vital when it comes to getting kids to connect to the movie. Pixar does this brilliantly in almost all their films, as you can’t name one film they’ve done where you didn’t care about one or more of the main characters. Come on, we all cried at the end of Toy Story 3. Why? Because we cared about the characters and that was the result of strong character development by Pixar.
It’s the same with Rango. We care about Depp’s character. We want him to survive at the beginning of the film, go into the town of Dirt and do what he was born to do. In between these ‘destiny’ moments we get a lot of fun, quirky interaction with the town folk, which always helps to relieve any tension the film creates. Again, it’s because Verbinski and Depp did enough and cared enough about the character’s depth. The story firmly stayed on track with Rango and how important he is to the town and to his destiny. The story was crafted to fit this character perfectly.
With that said, the story isn’t exactly gold. Halfway through the film you’re still going to be sorting out what the heck is going on. The setup of Rango needing to fulfill his destiny and save the town of Dirt is fantastic, but the execution to get to that ‘destiny’ stumbles here and there. For example, once Rango becomes sheriff of the town of Dirt, the story begins to lose focus on the ultimate goal. It pans off to water problems, corruption and a set of mole people who apparently are trying to steal the town’s remaining water supply. While I get that the mole people are solely placed there to throw the audience off, the amount of time spent with them really does take away from the task at hand. I felt like the mole portion of the story took way too long to conclude, though the trio of moles was hilarious. There are moments here and there that weren’t properly balanced out in the overall scheme of the movie. It all wraps up fine at the end, but it does pull the viewer far away from the main storyline, which should always be the heavy focus of the film.
Anyway, the overall body of work is pretty good, though I’ve definitely seen better executed stories in other animated films (Shrek, pretty much anything Pixar).
Having said that, the visuals on this Blu-ray are amazing. Not only do you get some pretty crisp and richly detailed animation that would put most animated features to shame, but you also get a really sharp HD picture. If you want to see a perfect reason to own a Blu-ray player, especially if you have kids, then this movie is a great example. There is no artifacts, no grain, and no bad color banding; it’s probably one of the most gorgeous Blu-rays I’ve seen in some time. I was enormously impressed with how Paramount not only animated Rango, but also how beautifully they transferred the film to an HD format. You get some extremely rich colors, fine details and enough actual looking sand that it will make you thirsty. Paramount did a great job with this film in terms of visuals both in the animation department and the HD transfer department. To boot, the audio on this Blu-ray is just as good as the visuals. Coming to you in 5.1 DTS-HD, there’s plenty of action for the ears, especially when the mole chase begins.
As for features, here’s what you’re looking at:
– Deleted Scenes (HD)
– Storyboard Reel PiP
– Behind the scenes (HD)
– Meet the Real Creatures of Dirt (HD)
– Interactive Trip to Dirt
-DVD
-Digital Copy
While it certainly can’t compete with a Pixar release of any kind, the features here are very kid and adult friendly. While the kids may not appreciate the deleted scenes or the storyboard reel, they will enjoy the behind the scenes, meet the creatures and the interactive trip to Dirt. These are pretty good features for a pretty good film.