Rango

Hello, Hello, I am back with another review: this time its for Rango. It's an animated western which is not very common. I can only think of 1 or 2 others. Anyway let's get started with my review of Rango.

 

Rango and Beans

The film starts with a pet lizard (Johnny Depp) in a terrarium. But then he falls out of the car he is in and is stranded in the desert. He meets an armadilo named Roadkill (Alfred Molina) who is trying to cross the road. Why, you may ask? To get to the other side (that's not a joke). Roadkill says on the other side of the road there is something called The Spirit of the west. The lizard asks where he can find water. Roadkill tells him to find dirt and sends him off into the desert. After almost getting eaten by a hawk the lizard meats a desert iguana named Beans (Isla Fisher) who takes the lizard to the town of Dirt (by the way, water is money in this town). The Lizard walks into a saloon and when someone asks who he is. He says that he's a big shot hero named Rango (YES! I can stop calling him "The Lizard"). Then a Gila Monster named Bad Bill (Ray Winstone) and his henchmen come in to the saloon. Rango makes Bad Bill mad and they have a showdown. But Bill is scared away by the hawk that tried to eat Rango at the beginning. Bad Bill runs away and the hawk chases Rango. Rango defeats the hawk by making a water tower full of dirt fall on the hawk. Rango is declared a hero and the obvious villain mayor (Ned Beatty) makes him sheriff. Now let me take minute to talk about the mayor. He is like a tribute to Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life as a tortoise--he even has a wheelchair like Mr. Potter. Not saying that it's a bad thing. He is a very evil villain... sorry I am losing focus.

Flight of the bats

So at a certain time the townspeople go to a tap in middle of the desert. But no water comes out and then Beans accidentally tells the townspeople that the bank is running out of water. But Rango convinces them that he will protect what's left of the Water. That night the bank is robbed by a mole named Balthazar (Harry Dean Stanton) and his two sons. The next day Rango and a group of townsfolk investigate. They go down the tunnel that Balthazar dug and when they come up they find the bank manager, Mr. Merrimack (Stephen Root), dead from drowning, and a set of wet footprints leading away. They ambush Balthazar and his sons but Balthazar calls the rest of his family (which is a lot of moles) and Balthazar's family chases them (while riding bats). But Rango and his friends capture Balthazar. But Balthazar says that they did not steal the water. Rango has a talk with The Mayor who is buying the land around Dirt. The Mayor tells Rango that he is building a new modern town. As soon as Rango leaves The Mayor calls in a gunslinger named Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) to kill Rango/run Rango out of town.

          ***SPOILER ALERT STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END RUINED***





 At the jail, the townsfolk are angry at Balthazar and his sons. They don't believe Balthazar when he says he didn't steal the water. But Rango gives a speech but then Rattlesnake Jake comes and tells everyone that Rango is a fraud and Jake runs Rango out of town. Rango crosses the road that Roadkill the armadillo was trying to cross. When he gets to the other side he passes out and is carried off by Pill Bugs. When he wakes up he sees The Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant). By the way, The Spirit is modeled after Clint Eastwood. So The Spirit tells Rango that "No man can walk out on his own story". Then with the help of Roadkill and some magical walking yuccas (no comment), Rango finds an emergency shut off valve near a pipeline near Las Vegas. So Rango goes back to Dirt to face Rattlesnake Jake. He gets the help of the rest of Balthazar's family. So in the climax, the water comes back to the town, Balthazar and his sons escape from jail, and Rattlesnake Jake drags The Mayor away. Rango is declared a real hero. The End.


                                    ***SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING***



What did I think of this movie? It's pretty good. The Animation is amazing and it has a pretty interesting story. But it does get very, very surreal at the end. By the way I just noticed that we never find out The Mayor or Rango's real name. Rango may be to over the top for some and Beans may seem too much like the generic love interest. But all the weird and / or funny side characters are memorable. Not to mention it is always nice to see a western. That is all I have to say. See you next time.