Director Gore Verbinski reteams with his Pirates of the Caribbean star, Johnny Depp, for Rango, an animated Western featuring a lizard as its unlikely hero. This wickedly imaginative and original film pays loving tribute to nearly every western master, including John Ford and especially the “man with no name,” Clint Eastwood.
As the film begins, a Ne’er do well chameleon (the voice of Johnny Depp) is happily amusing himself by “staging” the rescue of a fair maiden in the safety of his cozy terrarium. That safety is quickly—and literally—shattered when the terrarium falls from the back of the family’s speeding station wagon. Suddenly, our hero finds himself abandoned on a highway in the Mojave Desert. Clad in a Hawaiian shirt, we know from the start that this chameleon is no ordinary lizard.
Looking for water, and seeking his destiny, Rango heads out into the desert. Eventually, he finds the town of Dirt. It’s a place to which he’s perfectly suited—a miniature version of an Old West frontier settlement for talking animals. The mayor (Ned Beatty) is a turtle, and the townspeople consist of badgers, possums, toads, and owls. The most feared gunslinger is a snake (Bill Nighy). It’s in the town of Dirt that the chameleon realizes he can start his life fresh, new identity and all. He gives himself the name Rango, and tells tall tales of his past adventures, enrapturing the crowd at the local saloon. The residents of Dirt, who are experiencing a severe drought and use water as currency, love him, though brassy female Beans (Isla Fisher), is skeptical. Soon Rango is installed as the new sheriff.
Rango gains his reputation as a hero through a combination of big talk and happenstance. In a showdown with a hawk, he gets lucky. An accident brings down a abandoned water tower on top of the bird. As Dirt’s new Sherriff, it’s up to Rango to find out what has become of the town’s water supply, which is no easy task.
The voice acting, led by Johnny Depp, is superb. Depp has a chameleon-like voice, and he uses it to its fullest advantage. He is so able to disappear into the character that you may not realize it was Depp if you didn’t already have that information. The supporting cast includes Isla Fisher (who gives a delightful acid tongue to Rango’s love interest, Beans), Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Ray Winstone, Ned Beatty, and Bill Nighy who all give their characters their own distinct personalities. Rango’s adventures are related by a chorus of owls. Dressed in sombreros, they play appropriate music and wonder out loud how long it will be until Rango dies.
Delightfully trippy, weird and goofy (there’s even a cameo appearance by an animated Hunter S. Thompson), Rango is the kind of film that offers plenty for kids over the age of eight (younger ones could be quite scared), but is intelligent enough to appeal to adults.
Presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Rango looks great on Blu-ray. Colors are well saturated without any bleeding or other anomalies. The dusty browns and reds of the desert come across beautifully, with Rango’s green, scaly skin adding a nice contrast to the background. Grain is non-existent, as this is an all digital production. There is no edge enhancement or DNR and detail is top notch throughout.
The supplied DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does a pretty good job. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized in the center channel. Surround usage is well done for everything from ambient noise in the desert to the slightly more active sounds of town. The surrounds come alive during the movie’s action sequences, which was nice. I didn’t have to turn down the volume a bit when the score kicked in during town scenes; so that is something to be aware of.
We get the following special features:
- Both the Theatrical Version (107 minutes) and and “Extended Version” (111 minutes) of the film Rango are included on the Blu-ray Disc.
- A DVD of the film in Standard Definition is included on a second disc. This disc contains a Digital Copy of the film, which is compatible with both Mac and PC as well as iTunes and Windows Media portable devices. Both of these are the Theatrical version of the film.
- Audio Commentary by director, story co-writer and producer Gore Verbinski, head of story James Ward Byrkit, production designer Mark “Crash” McCreery, animation director Hal Hickel and visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander (on “Extended Version”).
- Storyboard Reel Picture-In-Picture: Displays the animated storyboards as you’re watching the theatrical cut of the film.
- “Breaking the Rules: Making Animation History” (48:52 – 1080p HD) is split up into two parts “The Stage is Set” and “Now We Ride” which includes several interviews with the cast and crew, as well as the voice actors. Here we see how the film came to be; early sketches, story drafts and animated storyboards. Then we see what happened at ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), as they adapted it into complex CG animation.
- Deleted Scenes (8:27 – 1080p HD) Most of these didn’t make it to the rated theatrical cut but can be seen in the “Extended Version.”
- “Real Creatures of Dirt” (22:16 – 1080p HD) this feature discusses the characters and animals featured as the residents of the town of “Dirt” in the film and shows us their real-life counterparts with discussion by animal experts.
- “A Field Trip to Dirt” (1080p HD) is an interactive tour of the town allowing you to see details for the setting created for the film. This allows you to not only pick which location (building) you would like to visit but also to display 3D rotating models of the characters along with specifications and trivia listed.
- Theatrical Trailer (2:27 – 1080p HD)