What can beat the creativity, and heart of Pixar? Honestly, nothing can. There have been a few attempts that have come close though. Films such as "Shrek," "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs," and " How To Train Your Dragon." None of these come as close as "Rango.”
The movie is about an unnamed lizard. He is an average household pet that also loves acting, screenwriting, and directing. After falling out of his owner’s car, he is thrown in to the Mojave Desert. This is when he comes across the town Dirt, which is run by the desert animals. When he gets to the town he uses his creative chops to become Rango the toughest lizard the west has ever seen. The gullible town people go crazy for this story. They even name him Sheriff, after he accidently takes out the hawk, which is the town predator. After becoming Sheriff Rango is presented with the towns main concern. Dirt is almost out of water. He must help the town find more water for the people of Dirt to survive the harsh conditions of the desert.The voice acting in this movie is great. Johnny Depp, whose voice is almost unrecognizable throughout the movie, voices Rango. He brings great depth to the character, and is perfect with comedic timing. Ned Beatty lends his voice to another great-animated movie along with his performance in “Toy Story 3” as the Mayor of Dirt. Isla Fisher plays Beans a local lizard in Dirt that is Rango’s love interest. The rest of the cast is voiced by great actors with Abigail Breslin as Priscilla, Bill Nighy, and Alfred Molina as the wise armadillo. (Credited as Roadkill) There is also a secret cameo that will have western fans grinning ear to ear.
The animation in this movie is incredible. This may be one area where it tops Pixar. The whole feel of the movie is dead on to what a western should be. The character design is great as well. You have the normal cute animals, but they have a gross and gritty feel to them like cowboy should. To top it all off Hans Zimmer has outdone himself. He has taken the famous songs of the old westerns and made them his own.
Rango is a great film full of laughs and adventure. It’s the perfect family film. The quirkiness will get the kids loving it, and the adults loving the shout-outs to all of the old western films. The best part is no cheap gimmicks such as 3-D. The only problem I had with the film is some parts were slow, and the movie ran a little long. The movie clocks in at 107 minutes, and this is a little long for the average kids (and adults) attention span. All in all it’s a great family movie that’s a lot of fun, and has me looking forward to what Nickelodeon Movies next computer animated picture.
