The Little Revisionist Western Kids Comedy That Could

So, a while back, my family took me out for my birthday to see the latest contender for Best Animated Film of the Year, Rango. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Confused, yes, but in a good way. You see, the film was produced by none other than Nickelodeon Movies who, as a company, are noted for making kids stuff.

Never forget.

And Rango was billed no differently - a silly kids comedy about a talking lizard who gets lost in the desert and discovers an Old West-style society of other talking animals, and they make fart jokes for the children and thinly veiled sexual innuendos for the parents who are still listening. But, dear reader, that is a lie. Whatever Nickelodeon told you about this film is a complete and utter falsity (well, no, there are still a few fart jokes). Rango is a kids comedy in much the same way Disney/PIXAR's UP was. That is to say, hardly at all. While UP lured you in with its promise of heartwarming adventure and the occasional joke, only to dehydrate your tear ducts for the other hour and a half of the film, Rango entices you with silly characters, harrowing action scenes, and the rustic charm of the American West, but it delivers so much more in the form of strong dramatic narrative and thematic existentialism threaded throughout. That is my warning to those of you who have yet to enjoy this brilliant little film: THIS IS NOT A KIDS COMEDY. This is a surprisingly dense revisionist western wrapped up in a kids comedy quesadilla. And if you're anything like me, you'll need to see it more than once.

That being said, I've only seen it the one time, but I know I missed so much because my brain was in "silly kids movie" mode for pretty much the entire time. And frankly, I think that detracted a lot from my first viewing (which I still loved), because I was constantly squirming in my seat muttering "This is all well and good, but when's the next joke?" Mind you, Rango has several genuinely hilarious moments, but they are scattered about in a forest, rife with sharp character development, piercing philosophical discourse, and a myriad of subtle (and some not-so-subtle) film references. In addition to the hefty material thrown so loosely about that is sure to gallop right over a child's head, there are also some fairly dark moments in the film which are likely to at least get a young mind asking questions, if not scarring it permanently. Probably the most notable is a beautiful, lucid, and powerful scene in which *SPOILER* Rango tries to commit suicide. Another tense moment shows one of the female characters being crushed almost to death by the main villain. *END SPOILER* It's these sort of defining moments that not only separate Rango from the scrapheap of other kids movies, but takes several steps towards separating it from the genre altogether. But, in my opinion, the filmmakers (especially writer John Logan and director Gore Verbinski) made a great choice. They risked losing the attention of the children for the sake of making a really strong film. And while that may have created a bit of a hiccup for Nickelodeon's marketing team, it certainly paid off in the end. So, if you haven't taken the opportunity to see Rango, don't worry... it's not just another cheesy kids comedy. In fact, it's anything but. Do yourself a favor and check it out; and keep your expectations high.

Also, a very (belated) Happy Birthday to my friend Sean Thorwall who requested this review!