The most pleasant, heck, even exhilarating, surprise of the year so far is Rango, which may actually count as being of the largely chimerical “one for me” category of motion picture, as it comes to us courtesy of two of the prime movers of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The above image constitutes the reference to Henery Hawk that I cite in my official review of the film for MSN Movies, which I hope you’ll check out. And the film, too. Hope you check that out.
A must in the dust
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The trailer is delightful, so I’m glad to have it Kenny approved. Logan also wrote Red (the Rothko play, not the Willis shoot-em-up). That’s some diversity.
Glad you liked, Glenn. I must have been at the same screening and I liked it a lot, too. Sort of like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” as animated by Basil Wolverton and Big Daddy Roth. But for the kids.
Yeah, I thought this looked really good when I first saw the trailer. Glad to hear that confirmed.
Given that a real chameleon is capable of turning its eyes in entirely independent, opposite directions, its whole life must be one long split-screen montage.
I’m not sure why everybody has been praising the trailer – the jokes are beyond obvious – falling and burping – but hopefully the movie is more than the ads.
There’s a lot more than falling and burping jokes in that trailer. I know, because I saw it. But it’s your relentless positivity that keeps us reading, Christian.
I guess I should just get with the program, eh?
Yes, that’s precisely what I meant. Hell, not even what I meant – that’s precisely what I *said*!
Oh this is a pleasant surprise! I liked the trailer too, and thought “I should see that!” The next day, I thought “Wait, why in god’s name did I get taken in by a trailer from Nickelodeon studios?!?!? Was I high?!??!? Or rather, was I *that* high?!?!?” Yet a niggling hunch persisted that maybe this really was going to be good, even as I became more dubious about my initial reaction to the trailer. Glad I can see it without wondering, like a Patricia Highsmith character at each step what the hell am I doing.
Just for everybody’s info, the film proper doesn’t even come close to having the bodily-function-humor quotient of “Blazing Saddles,” an acknowledged classic in the Western-comedy genre. Or that of the Coen’s “True Grit” for that matter, even. In fact, the only real bathroom joke in the movie is centered on the actual makeup of the “outhouse” Rango hides in at one point. As for the burping, well, it comes with the territory. Spitting, too. And yes, Christian, you SHOULD get with the program, and insert the Charlie Sheen joke of your choice after that phrase…
But what will Jeff Wells think?
Your review describes a movie I would never have known existed, if I only had its TV commercials to go on – the ad campaign for this thing is HORRIBLE. I’ll toss it on the Netflix queue when my wife’s not looking.
This movie is the real fucking deal. See it big, see it loud, see it as often as possible. But it might freak out some kids in some spots. They call those kids “lame-o’s” where I come from, fwiw, but those kids deserve love, too, and the opportunity to see an early shoe-in for, you know it, THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR. Given it’s hard to imagine any film nerd not liking this movie and all its quotes and gags and puns and colors, whereas the Pirates movies are way unruly (but awesome), I hearby mark this my “toldja so” moment with Gore Verbinski. Dude may very well be a genius.
I came across the trailer a couple months ago scouting for new stuff to take the little one to. Alas, this won’t be it (we don’t call him a “lame‑o”; we call him a three year old) but I was astonished at the ballsyness of the look. By the end I’d forgotten that the trailer had been preceded by “Nickelodeon.” Really, you figure Logan and Verbinski had to squelch a lot to get this thing in with a PG rating. I mean, it’s a Western with Johnny Depp and Alfred Molina. We know how those go.
My sis is a 14yo lame‑o, she will likely get a lil sweat goin…
Okay, yeah, 14, that’s a little, erm, lame. To be having the freaking.
No offense to sis or anything.
A pure heart allows all others their dance and unfolding, even if the others end their incarnation in death or disease.
Ann Force
Wow, great article.Much thanks again. Awesome.