No man can walk out on his own story. – The Spirit of the West
Rango, starring the voiceover talents of Johnny Depp, Ned Beatty, Isla Fisher, and Timothy Olyphant, is definitely a cartoon for adults. Viewing the movie for the first time, I was struck by the similarity to another animated movie – The Secret of NIMH, directed by Don Bluth. Both films deal with complex subject matter in a family-oriented way. With Rango, the animation, action and adventure are all appealing to children, while the deeper themes of honesty, being true to one-self and working together for a common good make the film appealing to adults.
Watching Rango for the first time, I was struck by all the references and parody elements in the plot. The film is an overt homage to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, with the most obvious being the presence of the Spirit of the West, whose appearance is blatantly modeled after Clint Eastwood in pretty much every western he has ever been in. I half expected the voiceover to have been provided by Clint Eastwood himself. As a fan of films such as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good the Bad and the Ugly, I didn’t find these references offensive, merely finding it a comfort in such a surreal little world to see characters and themes that were familiar. The plot point about the control of water also had film precedent in the classic Chinatown, and the mayor’s similarity to John Huston’s character in the Polanski classic is unmistakable. I was somewhat disappointed that Rango and Miss Beans didn’t share a “She’s my sister, she’s my daughter” scene, but I don’t know if the target audience would have understood or appreciated it.
Rango is an endearing, funny, and ultimate heroic character whose overactive imagination and flawed perception of himself and his place in the world get him into a lot of trouble. He is unintentionally heroic, but then again the real heroes always are. His hero’s journey is two-fold: an exterior journey wherein he tries to save the town from destruction by dehydration, and an interior journey, his quest to discover who he is, what his place and purpose in life is, and what that means for the future. Following Rango on his quest mirrors the journey we all take to define who we are to ourselves and to others.
The supporting townspeople serve their purpose as amusing caricatures and, again, are very familiar types from classic films. Several of the voiceovers were so similar to old character actors from the fifties and sixties; I had to slow down the credits just to make sure it wasn’t them.
Filled with trippy metaphors and fast-paced action and humor, Rango is definitely my favorite 2011 movie so far and a valued addition to my video collection.