Review: Rango

I've been anticipating Rango since last summer.  I was a little skeptical about the film at first because it was being made by Nickelodeon, what with their last 3D animated film being Barnyard in 2006.  However, once I saw the trailer I was sold and the feature film didn't disappoint.  Rango stars Johnny Depp as Rango teaming up with other big actors such as Abigail Breslin and Bill Nighy.  The film has easily some of the most visually stunning details I have ever seen.  Each and every scale, hair, and fiber is presented in excruciating detail.  Were the characters not anthropomorphic desert animals, I would have been close to thinking the images were real.  Not only is the CGI incredible, but the cinematography is great as well.  Some of the camera angles and lighting shots are something not typically seen in animated movies.

The story is a little lack luster at times, mainly because it's your typical loser become hero, but the world in which the movie places you really saves it.  The way I feel about the city of Dirt in Rango is the same way I felt about the background story and history of last year's How to Train Your Dragon.  The atmosphere is gritty and dry and that's only reinforced by the water crisis ever present throughout the movie.  What is even better than the environment, however, are the characters.  There are lizards, mole rats, turtles, snakes, rabbits, birds and each and every one of them has a unique look, as well as individual mannerisms and personalities.  By far the best character outside of Rango is Rattlesnake Jake voiced by Bill Nighy.  Rattlesnake Jake is one of the main antagonists of the movie, sporting a cowboy hat and a mini gun on his tail as a rattler.  While he isn't in the movie very long, his presence is menacing and very memorable and he is easily my fvaorite animated villain in recent memory.

Rango has to be the one of the best animated movies I have ever seen.  The world and culture it creates are immediately immersive and fascinating.  The characters are fun, unique, and entertaining.  The story is a little weak, but still provides for an interesting and fun adventure.  By far the stand-out feature of the movie is its incredible attention to detail and CGI.  Nothing has sucked me in more or left me awestruck visually since Wall-E.  I'm going to make a large claim right now and say that Rango is going to win Best Animated Feature at next year's Oscars.  This is going based purely on the premise that Disney-Pixar is releasing Cars 2 this year and I'm hoping that Rango will beat it out.  Dreamworks' top movie it is releasing is Kung-Fu Panda 2 and I think Rango will walk all over that as well.  Rango is subtly hilarious and is an early monster contender for next year's Best Animated Feature Award.