![]() Countless other Western plot, character, or actor references.The name Rango is an awful lot like Django.When Rango gets existential he says “Who am I? I’m nobody,” which could be a reference to Spaghetti Western My Name is Nobody.Rango calls a mouse “little sister,” like Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) calls Mattie in True Grit.Speaking of which, there’s a view of the town that’s identical to Al Swearengen’s balcony view of Deadwood.Also the fact that Olyphant himself starred in the epic modern Western Deadwood.Then there’s the final showdown, which references The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.The Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant) is Clint Eastwood, complete with Oscars – Rango also calls him “the man with no name”.Roadkill the armadillo is clearly based on Don Quixote Depp and Terry Gilliam tried to make a Don Quixote movie, which underwent a series of catastrophic failures you can see in the documentary Lost in La ManchaĪnd DOZENS of nods to other Westerns, including:.Rango lands on the windshield of the ‘Great Red Shark’ convertible driven through the desert by Hunter S.Early in the movie Rango claims he will be the world’s greatest lover, like Don Juan DeMarco.This includes THREE great references to previous Johnny Depp characters: Or at least give an appreciative nod, if you’re not the shouty type. Johnny Depp flip-flops between familiar voices from his many past roles, which could either be inexperience in voice acting OR a conscious choice to highlight Rango’s identity crisis.įor the adults in the room, Rango is jam-packed with little winks and nods that will make you shout and point at the screen. The character is a literal chameleon, with no real personality of his own. Seriously, every detail is so good!Īlthough Rango himself delivers lots of hilarious lines, he’s actually the least exciting thing about the movie. Other faves are Balthazar the blind mole, Bad Bill the Gila monster, and Rattlesnake Jake – whose coils make the sound of a spinning gun cylinder spinning when he moves. My hands-down favourite character is Spoons, the grizzled prospector mouse, who is so fiercely cute and funny that I want to get him tattooed on myself so I can look at his face every day. Much of this is apparently thanks to designer Mark ‘Crash’ McCreery, whose work you’ve seen in the Jurassic Park and Terminator franchises BUT even more importantly, he’s the digital artist behind Davy Jones and his gang of piratical sea creatures in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – which also starred Johnny Depp and was directed by Gore Verbinski. Each character is completely authentic to the Mojave Desert, and so well thought-out and animated that it’s worth watching the movie a separate time just to pause on each one and take them in. There are tons of reasons to adore Rango, and they’re all thanks to the clever writing and the cast of memorable characters.įrom the villains to the colourful inhabitants of Dirt, there are so many gems in this story. Now it’s his job to find not only his purpose in life, but also where the water’s gone – and this mystery runs deeper than any of the critters could have imagined. ![]() Dirt has two big problems: a water shortage, and not one but MULTIPLE bad guys – a Gila monster, a hawk, a rattlesnake, and maybe even somebody the townsfolk trust.īy sheer dumb luck, Rango fibs his way into the role of sheriff. Rango ends up in a parched town called Dirt. But as his family’s vehicle is passing through the Mojave Desert, a bump in the road, aka Roadkill the armadillo (Alfred Molina), causes his terrarium to fall out the back window. Rango is theSpaghetti Western-style story of a pet chameleon (Johnny Depp) who sees himself as a big star, but is more like an Instagram celebrity with no personality beyond the filters. Whether you’re a Western fan with kiddos or just really love animated movies, Rango delivers endless laughs as it pays loving tribute to the genre. And holy forking shirtballs (respecting the PG rating) – this is a brilliant piece of work. It wasn’t until I spotted the lonely DVD at a thrift store that I finally took the plunge. I always meant to see it, but I didn’t want it badly enough to put it on a wish list or anything. Released: 2011 Mood: If it’s a lazy weekend morning and you can’t decide between a Western or cartoons and you wish you could have it all. Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Gil Birmingham Director: Gore Verbinski
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