Rango is a Peak Western

when looking at the history of popular mainstream Cinema it's interesting to note how often a single genre of film will dominate the box office for years become a major staple of popular culture for its time and then when the ticket sales start to go down B slowly fizzled out and replaced by the next big thing this has been going on for decades and it's interesting to take a look at the genres and sub-genres that brought home the big bucks for their generation I'm sure we are all aware of what is by far the most popular genre of well anything right now superhero stories and comic adaptations are the biggest thing not just in theaters but everywhere it's hard to imagine that at any point in history there has been a type of story that has gotten this much mainstream attention that's why it's so interesting to look back on just how massive the Western genre was from the 1940s to the 1970s just like superheroes now you had massive hit films TV shows Comics albums radio shows and merchandise also celebrating the highly romanticized depictions of the righteous law man or heroic Rancher and eventually The Outlaw Gunslinger westerns at one point were a pop culture phenomenon but like all popular things the next big thing will come along westerns represented the ideals of the mainstream at the time politically and culturally but as times changed and media began to show the world in a more realistic light the public no longer believed in the righteous man in a badge as their hero the big budget Hollywood romanticized Golden Age westerns were soon overtaken by the smaller budget Italian spaghetti westerns while they were still romanticized the morally gray protagonists of the spaghetti western that only served themselves but might help one another out for a price and often stood at odds with local government better reflected the public sentiment at the time and helped the Western genre to stay alive throughout the 1960s however by the 1970s a new language of film was being popularized and the greedy realism better reflected the current landscape was bringing in bigger audiences and the Western genre with notable exceptions of course has never truly returned to the popularity that it once had in 2007 director Gore verbinski had just released the final film of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that he would be involved with the series that he had started with the Curse of the Black Pearl was a rare film in the schwashbuckler genre that was a gigantic hit in recent memory spawning a franchise that has earned billions of dollars for his next project rubinsky would look to another genre that had been seemingly Left Behind like the swashbuckler Not only would he tackle his first Western but he would also be at the helm of his very first animated feature reuniting with his lead from Pirates Johnny Depp in 2011 Gore rubinsky would unleash the bizarre funny sometimes surreal and at points very mature animated Western Rango onto mainstream audiences and it was a major success both critically and commercially it took home the Academy Award for best animated feature making it one of only two films in the 2010s to beat out Disney and Pixar and like the other winner it is very distinct in its visual style and tone when compared to the other animated films of its time a lot of that style can be attributed to the unique way that Rango was produced the actors all performed their scenes with one another filming them in live action so that the animators would have better reference for their movements and so that the actors could have more room to express themselves and work off of one another Johnny Depp famously described it as not motion capture but emotion capture those emotions can be felt in the final product whether it's a dramatic moment or a comedic scene involving many characters the dialogue and interactions all feel natural and spontaneous it also helps that the cast is absolutely stacked with some insanely talented character actors all adding their own little Flair to this unique world the world of Rango namely the town of Dirt is presented in a way that feels very grounded and realistic everything is scaled down to the size of the animal characters and it's fun to see some normal sized objects repurposed as buildings and other structures Rango exists in this strange Middle Ground of photorealism and anthropomorphism the environment look and feel like they were actually photographed yet the characters range in how realistically they're depicted the level of detail that's put into the texture of their clothing skin fur and weaponry is astonishing but the character designs themselves I think were made to feel more unsettlingly real if the character's personality called for it the more antagonistic the character is written the more like the actual animal they look like the most striking example of that being Jake but we'll get to him in a minute the staging of the shots and the way scenes are lit is really what makes wrangler's visuals still hold up today the majority of these shots are just downright gorgeous not only is this a result of the planning of the filmmakers during the emotion capture performances it's also because the cinematography was supervised by Roger deegans if you don't know who he is he's one of the most celebrated cinematographers in the history of filmmaking and his list of credits is beyond impressive he's a master of lighting and color so having someone like him on board to supervise the way scenes are staged along with the high level of detail tales on the characters and environments is what makes Rango what I can only describe as beautifully ugly that ugliness is reflective of the dark Western world that the story plays out in that story follows a pet chameleon who is flung out of a car onto a desert highway finding himself in the town of Dirt whereby using his honestly really impressive skills as a wannabe actor is able to convince the townspeople that he's a dangerous Outlaw named Rango the mayor of dirt names Rango the new sheriff and he's put in charge of finding the stolen water from the bank that the entire town survives off of Rango actually ends up being pretty damn good at his job despite being a total fraud and actually comes to bond with the people of dirt on their Journey to Find The Stolen water that journey is filled with some very funny character interactions thrilling action sequences and some real heart that ultimately made Rango one of my favorite westerns it celebrates the genre with visual callbacks and references as well as a phenomenal musical score by Hans Zimmer that feels reminiscent of some of the Spaghetti Western scores composed by ennio morricone and at one point I noticed on my latest watch even directly lifts from Elmer Bernstein's score for the Magnificent Seven [Music] foreign bodies the classic Western law man archetype so well that he ends up rallying his new friends together and inspiring them having underestimated the effect he would have on the people the mayor the real villain of The Story begins to see Rango as a threat and ultimately decides to dismantle the legend he's building up by calling in another for many Rattlesnake Jake is the most memorable element of this film as far as animated antagonists go he's one of the most visually intimidating right off the bat for anybody who has a phobia of snakes the fact that Jake is the most photorealistic depiction of any animal in the film will probably immediately strike as much fear as he does into the people of dirt and Rango in his first appearance that first appearance occurring way later into the film than you would think Jake is a great example of an antagonistic force that looms over the story before ever appearing he only has about six minutes of screen time but the way that characters speak of him before he arrives makes him feel like the Grim Reaper coming to collect one of the characters goes as far to say just that Jake's appearance drastically Alters the tone of whatever scene he's in just about every moment with him is played straight with no real comedic relief the way he moves the hissing sounds he makes the Gatling gun tale and the outstanding performance of Bill Nye Elevate Jake to a level near iconic for me I guess I just like movies where Johnny Depp and Bill Nye face off with one another with Jake being introduced he actually helps to bring the major thematic element of the story to its climax that element being the search for identity when we first meet Rango he's an unnamed pet that's searching for some defining characteristics to make up who he is he's alone and when he finally meets people that he could develop relationships with he defaults to a dangerous Outlaw Persona that earns him the respect of the townsfolk who see him as a Fearless killer ironically building for himself the same Legend as villainous entities like Jake the mayor then gives him a new identity a sheriff of dirt and as Rango grows to care for his friends he Embraces that new role for himself acting heroically because that's what the people need although still not entirely letting go of that Outlaw past he's made up for himself to keep his reputation Rango keeps up the LIE believing that if he keeps pretending to be the law man then he'll be respected and loved even if he isn't a hero he doesn't even realize lies that he actually is becoming the resourceful heroic figure he's playing at along the way the only reason Jake is even brought in is because the mayor sees this version of Rango as a threat to him when Jake exposes Rango as a liar he's left without purpose and wanders aimlessly to the metaphorical other side once there he meets another character that's mentioned throughout the story the mythical spirit of the West the spirit gives Rango some much needed advice most importantly he reminds Rango why he needs to go back to dirt and become the legend he's pretending to be it's not for adulation or reputation or ego don't you see it's not about you about them Rango has to transform into the hero that the people need Rango has to grow into a western Legend this story is about Legends and how Legends can Inspire both hope and fear in a collective of people but also be corrupted and used by those in power the mayor used Rango to distract dirt from his schemes of controlling the water and taking their land and even uses Jake to get rid of him when he's served his purpose but even Jake is just a tool to him and he turns on him just as quick once he scares everyone into submission early in the film Rango dresses similarly to characters portrayed by John Wayne or Gary Cooper the classic Western Heroes who often serve the law but just like the audiences so many years ago the people of dirt could no longer look up to someone who was falsely propped up by a corrupt person in power it's clear as to why the spirit of the West is modeled after Sergio Leones The Man With No Name character famously portrayed by Clint Eastwood the man with no name was an ally to some and enemy to others but but he wasn't controlled he was who he wanted to be and what audiences needed him to be at a time when those Dawning badges weren't as celebrated as they used to be when Rango returns to dirt he wears the same Dusty Poncho and squint as the man with no name but still choosing to do things his way he dons the badge deciding to uphold what the law stands for even if those in power don't the finale of Rango is just a suspenseful action-packed and badass as any Great Western that inspired it however rather than ending with one man standing Victorious over the body of another Rango concludes with an acknowledgment an understanding between two legends who both know their place in this story Rango is an amazing Western because it understands the importance of Western Legends the law man The Outlaw and the stranger Rango played all three at some point but became his own legend by the end so much so that even the widely feared Rattlesnake Jake was rendered terrified after look into the eyes of the changed Rango knowing what he intended to do this is my favorite moment in Rango because it plainly states one of the story's most important messages if you want to become a legend first you have to believe that you are one you we got the nerve try me [Music]

Channel: Mason idk

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Id: xb58BhPl9BQ

Length: 12min 4sec (724 seconds)

Published: Thu May 11 2023