Rango- Blu Ray + DVD + Digital Copy
Blu-Ray Reviews | Jul 26th, 2011
Starring: Johnny Depp, Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Harry Dean Stanton, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Root
Written By: John Logan
Directed By: Gore Verbinski
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Rango, the newest animated film from Paramount Pictures and Pirate’s of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, stars Johnny Depp as the title character. A chameleon that is a household pet that accidentally gets jettisoned from the family vehicle into the desert and a town in desperate need of a hero. Rango is a quirky critter who likes to create characters like he is an actor. Rango does a great job of showcasing Depp’s vocal talents and his many accents as well as it is visually stunning. The film is a great film to watch for both adults and children.
I can’t imagine any other actor to play Rango, than Johnny Depp. Sometimes it’s distracting when animated flicks have actors voices and they just stand out funny and don’t really fit, but not here. Johnny Depp is perfect as Rango. He’s the pet chameleon that spends his time playing around with fake dolls and other items in his tank, but if unaware of his surroundings. When things go badly and an accident sends Rango flying into the highway out in the middle of nowhere, Rango must fend for himself, as being “free” is very new to him. As he stumbles upon a dusty old town, a la the Old West, Rango finds himself using his acting skills to get him out of one sticky situation after the next. The town there needs a hero and they all look to Rango, since he talks up being a bad boy like he’s John Wayne in an Old Western.
Well after the town looks to him and appoints him Sheriff to try and rustle up water and bring a proper water supply to this desolate town out in the middle of nowhere, Rango must rise up and try to be the person he has been “pretending” to be. With a great vocal cast like Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, Stephen Root, Alfred Molina, Isla Fisher and Abigail Breslin, the actors voices were all very convincing and turned in good performances. The computer animation was quite impressive in the film, and at times you are caught analyzing the perfection of the imagery on screen. Down to little things that people take for granted in normal films, Rango really does cover everything for a computer animation flick. Gore Verbinski also does a great job of bringing a simple plot in a sense and making it a little deeper for the adults watching. Children will just enjoy it for the cute imagery on screen and all the critters, but for the adults they can watch and enjoy even more. They’ll get the humor since it is a bit darker, and more mature than just an average animated film. At one point early in the film, Rango is having a conversation with an Armadillo who is roadkill. Kids may not realize what is happening but the adults will certainly realize. Also the film pays homage and also parodies a lot of old time Western Films as well. Featuring a special appearance by the Man with No Name even, which to my surprise was not Clint Eastwood but Timothy Olyphant. He plays a badass Marshall on TV in Justified so that is still cool in my book.
Plenty of extra features on top of the film, like a DVD and Digital Copy of the film plus deleted scenes, a never before seen ending and other featurettes. The Blu Ray of the film just looks out of this world! The colors are so crystal clear and vibrant that at times the images look so lifelike. Animated films always look the best in High definition!
Rango is a fun film that is great for all families, well really anyone old enough to handle some darker humor, so maybe like 6 or 7 years old. Depends on your judgement really, but adults will enjoy this on their own as well. Johnny Depp is a real star and even a computer animated film he can be a rockstar in. Long time since he was on 21 Jump Street but hey I thought he was bad ass on that as well. Verbinski turns in a nice directing outfit with something completely different than the Pirates franchise.
Features:
-Never-Before-Seen Ending
-Uncover 10 Deleted Scenes
-Watch with Storyboard Reel Picture-in-Picture
-Go Behind the Scenes with Cast and Crew
-Meet the Real Creatures of Dirt
-Take an Interactive Trip to Dirt
-Digital Copy Of Feature Film
Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color
Audio:
ENGLISH: DTS-HD MA 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
PORTUGUESE: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
Bottom Line: Funny film that is great for the whole family
Running Time: 107 mins
Rating: PG
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
