Rango

Gore Verbinski may have handed over the helm of the "Curse of the Caribbean" series, but he hasn't finished working with Johnny Depp. However, the dream team's latest is set not on the high seas, but in the middle of the desert. And then there's the not insignificant fact that Johnny Depp was able to leave his Jack Sparrow outfit in the closet. Because all that was needed for "Rango" was Depp's voice - and he lends it to a not-really-pretty chameleon in this quirky animated film.

A silly accident transports chameleon Rango from his safe terrarium into the middle of the Mojave Desert. Here, of course, the pet stumbles from one mess to the next, as he is so unfamiliar with the dangers of nature. When he arrives in the small town of Dreck, which is suffering from increasing drought, Rango's greatest adventure begins. Before Rango knows it, he's appointed sheriff of the town and a new beacon of hope for the townspeople. But the search for water proves enormously difficult, especially since Rango's mouth is much bigger than his courage. Soon, however, the chameleon gets the opportunity to rise above.

The fact that Gore Verbinski does not offer straightforward family entertainment, but likes it a bit quirky, dark and whimsical, he has already shown in his first film "Mouse Hunt", but especially in the first third of his last "Curses of the Caribbean" film. And so viewers shouldn't expect a cute animated film a la "Disney" from "Rango" either. The protagonists are only mildly attractive, the cuteness factor is barely existent, and the environment in which the story is set is one of dust, dirt, and bleakness. The humor is occasionally very offbeat and is constantly laced with references to classic westerns like "12 o'clock noon". While there are moments here and there that are clearly aimed at a younger audience, overall this animated film is more suitable for mature viewers.

While especially in Germany there is still a stubborn prejudice that animated films, and especially those with talking animals, are primarily kids' stuff. "Rango" offers the perfect opportunity for a long overdue rethinking process. After all, animation can be used to tell wonderful stories for adult audiences, as has happened time and time again in the past. Admittedly, there's no need to be ashamed if you can have fun with drawn, kneaded or computer-created fellows even beyond adolescence. "Rango", while appealing to more than just an adult audience, at many moments eludes the common patterns of classic children's films, making it a perfect example of how animated films just don't want to appeal to little ones.

Technically, Verbinski has managed to do something great. The landscapes are almost photo-realistic and the characters blend in perfectly. While they too are perfectly animated down to the tiniest hair and scales, they still don't seem too realistic, like the owls from "Legend of the Guardians", for example, but still look like cartoon characters. This then also leads to the fact that they seem charming and not repulsive to the viewer, despite their not-so-pretty appearance.

In the original American version, Johnny Depp is joined by several other prominent voice actors behind the microphones. For the German version, besides Depp's regular speaker David Nathan, Michael Kessler, Martin Semmelrogge or the band The Boss Hoss, who make their dubbing debut as the mariachi owls accompanying the film musically, were engaged. Although the German dubbed version can not hold a candle to the original in terms of either voice celebrities or wordplay, overall it can be described as quite successful and appropriate.

A reptilian western, an eco-thriller, a fairy tale with an unusual hero, a whimsical trip with many classic movie quotes, all this applies to "Rango". As a result, the film eludes the common mass tastes a bit, but at the same time offers the animation-saturated viewer something new and original. Whether that will draw the droves to the theaters remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure: Gore Verbinski has once again proven that he knows how to perfectly mix his quirky style with straightforward blockbuster entertainment to a whole worth seeing. Not for little kids, but absolutely recommended for older animated film fans with a penchant for the whimsical!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp