Rango

"We weren't sure who we were making this for..."-Gore Verbinski, Director

Any one who knows me knows that I'm a rabid fan of the Coen Brothers. There's plenty to say about them, but their particular blend of popular film making has always been toeing the same line that I've hoped to achieve as a storyteller, between the deeper meanings and weirder symbols and accessible humor and character development.

I mention them, because Rango, which won the best animated picture last year, reminded me very strongly of their work. It struck me as an unusual film for the academy to pick; traditionally the best animated film are more traditional narratives and family fair (like Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Beauty and the Beast) than to films like Rango, which take a lot of risks. It struck a lot of people as a little unusual that this film was even made.

On one level, Rango is a deconstruction film; a fish out of water western that used to be very common in the John Wayne era. But it's general atmosphere is much more akin to the bloody seventies westerns, the kind Clint Eastwood used to star in (The man with no name even makes an appearance, although he is referred to as "The Spirit of the West"). The movie is, in large parts, a tribute to both eras, neither of which the target audience of most animated films would really understand.

There's also the matter of the characters. Our central character is eccentric to say the least; he seems to have gone batty from a life living solo in an aquarium tank and begins the film directing a marred ken doll, making eye contact with the camera and speaking to the audience. Even after he unwillingly escapes, Rango is constantly performing, pretending to be something he isn't until he has to actually fill the boots he's cobbled for himself. Cleverly enough, he's a chameleon, so the rapid shift in personality makes perfect sense. His entire character arc is based on the actor who would play him, and seems to be a commentary on the fluid nature self-perception has on reality. Rango assumes a role of a person he isn't and causes disaster. He has to step up and actually become the person he was trying to portray to correct his mistake; In other words, it's a fair bit deeper than the "just be yourself" moral that most kid's movies go with.

I've visited Arizona a few times, and I have to say that the visual style matches the beautiful oddness of the area in a way that I've also come to expect from a Coen film. This is a very American movie in a lot of ways, and there's something unbridled about the frontier it shows. Anything can happen in Rango's world, and it can be cruel, sad, and often very funny at the same time. And it should be mentioned: Rango is amazing as a comedy, although again, many of the jokes will go directly over a younger audiences head.

I keep harboring on about that point, but it is why I am mainly excited about Rango's success; It has proven that animated films targeted towards adults can be both a financial and critical success. This is something other nations film industries have known for a long time, but Hollywood has been reluctant to embrace. This is partially due to the failure of films like Cool World, which instead of making a movie with themes that adult could grapple with veered towards themes of grappling adults. Rango may mark the beginnings of a shift towards more complicated narrative in animated films, which is great for filmmakers who have hopes of adapting, say, Sondheim's Into the Woods for example. I hope that it serves as inspiration.

One final note on the director: I've liked Gore Verbinski for a while. He's a way with visuals that I've always quite liked, and though a lot of people don't realize it, he's been one of the more successful directors in recent years; he directed the Pirates of the Carribean Franchise, and The Ring. He's always been a bit better with plots that weren't as epic, however. One of my favorite films of his that has been often ignored is, "The Weatherman," with Nick Cage and Micheal Cane, which had a complicated message that some mistook for depressing and nihilistic, though I believe there was more too it. That's for another review though.