Cinema 2011 #20: Rango

In 1974, Roman Polanski directed what is arguably the most critically celebrated film of the controversial cinéaste’s career – Chinatown.  An intriguing and plunging film noir, the film perfectly captured the interests and anxiety of a nation in the middle of a crippling oil crisis, reminding a beleaguered audience that you never miss the water till the well runs dry.  Some 37 years later, in a world where credit and burgeoning energy crises are once again rearing their unwelcome heads, contemporary audiences are invited to view a rehash of Polanski’s mystery, starring a computerised chameleon and a host of dust bowl critters. Forget Chinatown, Jake, it’s Rango.

What immediately stands out about this Nickelodeon/Paramount picture is that it’s eye wateringly beautiful to behold, with animation as crisp and perfect as anything Pixar has produced in recent years. It marks the first foray of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic, the effects team behind some of the most celebrated of all special effects in movie history) into computer animation, and they present themselves as a force to be reckoned with. From the first frames, revealing Johnny Depp’s lead to be a daft and cracked chameleon with a penchant for classical acting, to an exciting chase scene as moles fly on bats to the sound of a bluegrass banjo Flight of the Valkyries, through to the vistas of Vegas as a desert oasis, Rango is top notch. In fact, given that Pixar are giving their commercially viable prodigal son a second outing this year, Rango runs straight to the forefront for 2012’s Best Animated Feature come awards season next year.

 The story concerns a chameleon, let loose after some dodgy driving and seeking out survival in the Mojave Desert. He makes his way to the Dirt, an Old West town drying up and in need of a hero. Being changeable by his very nature, this lizard creates the persona of Rango, a sharp shooting mercenary who talks the talk, and fakes the walk. Soon he’ll be made sheriff, do battle with a formidable hawk, and set out to solve the mystery of where all the water is going. And maybe even get the girl.

John Logan, best known for his uncompromising dialogue in films as diverse as Any Given Sunday, Gladiator and The Aviator, delivers a script that is side-splittingly slapstick, surreal and silly, and amounts to 107 minutes of pure escapist enjoyment. Particularly in its dreamlike sequences, which blend seamlessly with the creative possibilities of digital animation, lend Rango a freshness and distinctly adult feel. But there are plenty of pratfalls to keep tots amused too.

The vocal stars are all top notch, with Isla Fisher a standout as Beans, the doubtful desert iguana whose jibes are drier than the desert in which she dwells. Depp makes for an engaging and genuinely funny lead, no easy feat for a protagonist in animated cinema (think Woody, Shrek, Marlin, et al, normally the straight men to funnier sidekick foils) and Ned Beatty does a fine rendition of John Huston’s Chinatown creep. The ensemble’s success is perhaps reflective of the fact that, unlike many animated films, the cast recorded their scenes together and donned costumes and used props to better get into character. And leaping lizards, the action sequences are all speedy and fun, and the numerous in jokes and references to westerns and neo noirs are all appropriate and amusing. 

  

It’s a slight shame then that the film couldn’t keep its energy up until the end, as the final 20 minutes lose the momentum of what proceeded. The mystery is wrapped up a little too easily, and even the tiniest of tot will see where its going from a mile away. But when you’ve had this much fun in the lead up, a distinctly average denouement can hardly damage what has so far been the best comic delight of 2011.

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