{"id":1614,"date":"2011-03-04T09:32:29","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T09:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=1614"},"modified":"2016-10-18T15:48:28","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T15:48:28","slug":"rango-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcc.sllf.qmul.ac.uk\/?p=1614","title":{"rendered":"Rango, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plot: <\/strong>The Mojave Desert, near Los Angeles. A car swerves on the freeway, throwing out a tank carrying a chameleon. The aged armadillo who caused the accident tells the lizard to go to the desert town of Dirt. On the way the lizard encounters a monstrous hawk and a strong-willed female iguana called Beans. Arriving in Dirt, the chameleon pretends to be a hero gunslinger called Rango. He has a run-in with the local bad guys, but their showdown is interrupted by a hawk. By luck, Rango squashes the hawk with a water tower. Dirt\u2019s Mayor Tortoise John appoints Rango Sherriff. Dirt is desperately short of water. Thanks to Rango\u2019s stupidity, a team of burrowing raiders enter the bank, seemingly stealing the water reserves. Rango, Beans and others give chase, taking on the raiders in an epic battle. However, it turns out the water was stolen before the raiders entered the bank. Rattlesnake Jake, who is Tortoise John\u2019s ally, attacks Rango, exposing him as a fraud. Rango wanders delirious into the desert and has a vision of \u2018the Spirit of the West\u2019 who encourages him to try again. Seeing Las Vegas, Rango realises that Tortoise John stole Dirt\u2019s water in order to buy the land and start his own city. Rango enlists the raiders to send a deluge down Las Vegas\u2019 water pipes to Dirt. In the battle that follows, Rattlesnake Jake realises he has been betrayed by Tortoise John and drags him off to his doom. Dirt is saved (Osmond 2011).<\/p>\n

Film note <\/strong>Starring critically acclaimed actor Johnny Depp, Rango<\/em> is the first animated film from Pirates of the Caribbean <\/em>(2003-2011) director Gore Verbinksi. The film was commercially successful, achieving a worldwide gross of $245.7m, and became Nickelodeon Movies\u2019 first film to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Rango <\/em>is distinct in its attempt to break free from the classic family animation model. Indeed, it is one of the very few adult-oriented animated parodies out there. As Verbinski noted \u201cwe could make animation that\u2019s not for the kids, […] animation can be so much more if we let those boundaries loose\u201d (qtd. in Belloni and Hueso). Rango<\/em>\u2019s box office and critical success combined with animation\u2019s strong family market even moved Paramount to open its own animation division (Variety.com). But what made the film so successful?<\/p>\n

Animation economics<\/strong> Animation is a powerful force within contemporary Hollywood. This can be traced back to Disney\u2019s release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves<\/em> (1937), the first internationally distributed animated feature film (Kroon 46). With this film Disney, with a clear focus on the children\u2019s market, created a template for future animations. However, since the early nineties, animation has broken free from this child-targeted Disney template \u2013 which Jayne Pilling names \u201cthe Disney Model\u201d (Pilling xi) \u2013 to be replaced by a Pixar model which aims its animations at a wider age demographic. The growing popularity of animation is ascribed to two factors: the advent of computer technology and the importance of this more broadly defined family audience. Consequentially animation now holds a strong position within the landscape of the contemporary cinema.<\/p>\n

The release of Star Wars <\/em>in 1977 is often used as a marker of the rise of the family film. The outstanding box office performance of the film indicated the financial gains to be had from targeting the family audience and through the 1980s the family film became the dominant mode. During the 2000s family films have accounted for the highest grossing film of each year for the last fifteen years (Boxoffice.com). This again demonstrates the economic power of the family audience, making this type of film a safe-bet for production companies.<\/p>\n

Jayne Pilling notes that by the 1990s the more adult-orientated Who Framed Roger Rabbit <\/em>(1988), The Simpsons <\/em>(1989 \u2013 present) and The Night<\/em>mare Before Christmas <\/em>(1993) had allowed animation \u201cto shed its marginalised status\u201d. And this trend has continued with the success of adult\/young adult animated shows such as Family Guy<\/em> (1999 \u2013 Present), South Park<\/em> (1997 \u2013 Present), Beavis and Butthead<\/em> (1993 \u2013 2011) and American Dad<\/em> (2005 \u2013 Present). This, in part, explains the arrival and success of Pixar and its ability to dominate Disney. Through tailoring films to appeal to this adult market as well as the family one, Pixar managed to usurp Disney\u2019s monopoly on children\u2019s entertainment. In doing so, \u201cPixar animation has defined dominant cinema […] essentially replacing Disney\u2019s classic model\u201d (Wells, 89). Recent films such as Toy Story 3 <\/em>(2010) and Up<\/em> (2009) have both been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, stretching beyond the usual animation category, displaying animation\u2019s penetration into Hollywood. Pixar consistently engages openly in adult themes and double meanings in order to address their adult audiences. For example, Pixar\u2019s Toy Story<\/em> (1995) includes a toy with a fishing rod attached to Barbie\u2019s legs; a visual play on the word \u2018hooker\u2019. Whereas this joke will go over children\u2019s heads, the adult audience may understand and enjoy the humour.<\/p>\n

As technology and CGI become more advanced, and the animated feature films celebrated by an adult audience, their status is elevated, allowing the form to be \u201cprogressive and developmental within the mainstream\u201d (Wells 89). The commercial import of CGI can be seen in recent box office statistics that show that whilst live action films grossed $6.9bn domestically with 622 films, animation films grossed $1bn with just 17 films (BoxOfficeMojo.com).<\/p>\n

Rango<\/em>\u2019s position within this strong sub section of the industry is interesting. As an animated Spaghetti Western with an identity quest narrative with a postmodern twist, it is pitched more at the adult viewer than the child or family audience. As Kim Newman states, \u201cLet\u2019s face it, a Spaghetti Western with reptiles was never going to be a comfortable watch\u201d. Indeed, Andrew Osmond argues that \u201cit is debatable whether [Rango is] for children at all\u201d (45). However, as can be seen from the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean <\/em>series, Verbinski knows how to successfully satisfy a family audience. Therefore, the adult orientation of Rango<\/em> must have been intentional. It was, however, a costly decision.<\/p>\n

Star power, or in animation\u2019s case, voice power, is a significant factor in ensuring box office success. That Rango<\/em> turned a profit in spite of being pitched solely at adult viewers might be attributed to this. Just how star power affects animation has always been contested, as traditionally, a large part of a star\u2019s attraction has been the voyeuristic pleasure \u201cgrounded in some form of visual desire, the pleasure of the image.\u201d (Butler 347) The nature of animation eliminates this voyeuristic element and yet components of the star system still remain, with the voice becoming sufficient pull to bring audiences to the cinema. The use of star power to sell an animated film is nothing new and can be traced back to Disney with Robin Williams\u2019 voice acting in Aladdin<\/em>. Animation often uses the actor\u2019s voice to draw in the audience\u2019s familiarity with their previous roles. This can be seen in the casting of the Shrek <\/em>series (2001\u20132013), with Antonio Banderas as the debonair Puss in Boots, a feline reincarnation of Zorro. Similarly Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona in Shrek references her roles in the Charlie\u2019s Angels <\/em>series (2000\u20132003). Rango <\/em>uses Depp\u2019s previous roles and character acting when playing Rango. For example, Depp\u2019s role in Pirates of the Caribbean <\/em>is repeatedly referenced and even used to market the film, as demonstrated in the theatrical release poster. The poster\u2019s heading \u2018From the director of Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em>\u2019 calls upon Depp\u2019s role as Captain Jack Sparrow, inviting the audience to make relations between the two characters, something encouraged by the tagline \u201cJohnny Depp IS Rango\u201d. By using Depp\u2019s star power and both his and the director\u2019s link to the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> franchise to market the film, it suggests that there was little faith that audiences would be attracted to an animated Spaghetti Western. Other uses of intertextual references to Depps\u2019 roles include Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas<\/em> (1998) (as Rango lands in a convertible driving through the desert) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) (an eccentric loner). It is evident that part of Rango<\/em>\u2019s economic success as an adult animation is down to the draw of Johnny Depp\u2019s star power and his reteaming with Gore Verbinski.<\/p>\n

The Spirit of the West<\/strong> Whilst Rango <\/em>may have underwhelmed at the box office its clever play with genre is undeniable. Rango<\/em> positions itself outside the Disney Model as a sophisticated pastiche by using postmodern techniques of intertextuality, parody and irony to reimagine the western genre. Contemporary Hollywood often sees a cyclical nature of genre, which Thomas Schatz argues comes in four stages; experimental, classic, refinement and baroque (36-41). The western had gone through several of these stages as it adapted to reflect current socio-economic issues. Whilst some may argue that the later stages lead to the decline and eventual death of a particular genre, it could also be argued that the baroque phase, defined by postmodern techniques such as parody, constitute the richest moment in any given genre. This is achieved by using irony and self-reflexive ideas that comedically critique the genre whilst simultaneously allowing space for nostalgia, reaffirming the genre and its place in cinema (Harries 283). Rango<\/em> self-reflexively mocks the Western. This can be seen through the characterisation of Wounded Bird which simultaneously reproduces and<\/em> ridicules the western\u2019s representation of Native Americans. These intertextual moments are not only used for pastiche but comedic value. One strong example of this intertextuality is when a Clint Eastwood-esque figure appears to Rango as \u2018The Spirit of the West\u2019. In this scene, we see him scavenging for pieces of scrap and later driving off in his downtrodden golf cart with what appears to be Eastwood\u2019s six Academy Awards in the back. Here the film makes a joke about how with the western now obsolete, with its best known star reduced to scavenging for rubbish in the desert. At the same time, he is a God-like figure who doles out wisdom with credibility and authenticity. This recontextualising forms a meta-commentary on the genre which simultaneously aligns and differentiates itself with the film. Harries states that this meta-commentary is \u201cdirectly connected to and constitutes the genre being spoofed\u201d and that this creates a \u201ccondensed and crystallized instance of a given film genre\u201d (282). Whilst it has been claimed that parody is a reconfiguration of a genre with no substance behind it, Harries argues that these parodies are \u201cemblematic of Hollywood\u2019s heightened fascination with intertextuality\u201d (283) and that fans of these spoofs are likely to be fans of the genre itself. This resonance with audiences serves to reanchor the genre and allow for its evolution. Rango <\/em>demonstrates the way in which a genre becomes self-conscious and acts self-reflexively and in doing so engages in a sophisticated exploration of the genre\u2019s deep structure.<\/p>\n

Another postmodern aspect of Rango <\/em>arises from its animated style. The film calls on techniques found in early animation such as Looney <\/em>Tunes<\/em> (1930-1969) whereby the animator\u2019s hand would interact with the animation on screen or where a character like Bugs Bunny would address the audience with a wink or sly comment. This animated ability to function as a direct commentary is used in Rango <\/em>through the comedic stylings of the mariachi owl band. The band function as a narrative frame whilst commenting on the story. However, their commentary is uninformed and keeps promising the gruesome death of Rango, something that never happens. This is humorous as it highlights the expectation for multiple deaths often seen in the violent western genre and yet, Rango <\/em>refuses to live up to this narrative convention and offers only one unseen death in the whole film. This again draws attention to, whilst simultaneously mocking, the stereotypical western conventions. Rango\u2019s <\/em>postmodernism engages with the western and its audience through iconography, pastiche and intertextuality with westerns as well as other films such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas <\/em>and Chinatown <\/em>(1974), not only creating a rich commentary on the nature of cinema and genre but helping to target an adult audience as well as families. However, unlike other parodies such as the Scary Movie<\/em> series (2000-2013), the parodic nature of Rango<\/em> is not entirely empty of substance.<\/p>\n

Lizards and capitalist corruption<\/u><\/strong> As a result of the civil rights movement, anti-Vietnam war activism and counter-cultural protest, the 1970s were defined by \u201cmany liberal and leftist social and political agendas\u201d (William and Hammond 132). This permeated into film in the form of \u201cdirectionless antiheroes […] and unsettling bleak or simply indecipherable endings [seen in] a wave of neo-noir private eye remakes\u201d (William and Hammond 144) such as Chinatown<\/em>. Rango<\/em> calls on Chinatown<\/em> to stake out similar political territory. Not only is it similar in its story of \u2018detective saves town by investigating where the water has gone\u2019 but it also features the resurrection of some of the earlier film\u2019s central characters, including The Mayor, whose performance is a near perfect facsimile of Chinatown\u2019s <\/em>Noah Cross (John Huston). From the exact same costumes to the charming exteriors that hide their sociopathic tendencies, they are essentially the same character. From the mid 1970s American cinema engaged themes of corruption, criminal activity and abuses of power. This “profound alienation and distrust of both government and big business\u201d (Williams and Hammond 145) was a product of political embarrassments of the period such as the Watergate Scandal. There are clear parallels with this and the current period of cinema. Following the conflicts in the Middle East, the financial crisis and the embarrassing presidency of George W. Bush, America is again left in a very similar position of disillusionment and this sensibility has infiltrated the film industry in a similar fashion. Rango <\/em>represents this disillusionment by making cynical references via its characters. For example, The Mayor represents big business and corrupt politicians. He is at first presented as a man of the people, looking out for their interests and leading the ritual to the water pipe but we soon learn that his actions are driven by ulterior motives. This can be read as a metaphor for George W Bush\u2019s plan to invade Iraq, which was presented as a defensive move to protect citizens from WMDs but later revealed to be driven by a desire to secure access to Middle eastern oil reserves.<\/p>\n

As the plot moves forward it is revealed that The Mayor is stealing from the people of Dirt to build a mega-city. This mimics the capitalist expansion and business ideology that the US and its cinema are dependent on. When the Mayor exclaims the world is changing and there is no place left for legends in the West anymore, \u201cjust businessmen\u201d, it not only addresses the decline of the western in modern cinema, but offers a critique of the US\u2019s relationship to a capitalist society where only businessmen triumph. Here we see Rango<\/em> \u201ccontesting the ideological norms as well as producing them to provide an ideological critique\u201d (Keller, 359). This ideological critique stretches to our relationship with money, visually represented through the Sundance to the water pipe alongside the decrepit and deprived town. This metaphor establishes the nature of a financially deprived town and relates directly to the recession faced at the time of Rango<\/em>\u2019s release. At the water pipe, religious words are spoken and the Sundance appears primitive and hopeless. The characters have little understanding of what the dependence upon the water means and how much power is given to the corrupt Mayor, allowing him to manipulate them with it. Rango<\/em> reflects back to us our relationship with our tendencies to worship money, ultimately revealing how society is completely dependent on capitalism.<\/p>\n

Rango<\/em> expands the animation genre in contemporary cinema in a mature and political way. The film provides a perceptive critique on contemporary relations with capitalism while remaining comedic and light-hearted. No mean feat! Rango<\/em> does not endeavour to provide a solution to these problems but simply raises the issues. A real pleasure of the film is that for 107 minutes it\u2019s lovely to believe that a Lizard with an identity crisis can solve all our economic woes and become a cinematic legend in the process.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll-Time Top 232 Movies by U.S. Theatre Attendance\u201d. Mrob.com. <\/em>Web. 20 Feb. 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cDigital Animation in 2011\u201d. the-numbers.com.<\/em> Web. 10 Oct. 2012.<\/p>\n

Belloni, Matthew and Noela Hueso \u201cTHR’s Animation Roundtable: 7 Top Filmmakers Debate R-Rated Toons and If ‘Tintin’ Should Be Eligible for Ani Oscar.\u201d <\/strong>hollywoodreporter.com<\/em> Web. 25 February 2014.<\/p>\n

Bridenstine, Stephen \u201cWounded Bird the \u201cCrow\u201d Indian in Rango\u201d drawingonindians.co.uk. <\/em>Web. 22 February 2014.<\/p>\n

Butler, Jeremy G. \u201cThe Star System and Hollywood.\u201d The Oxford Guide to Film Studies <\/em>ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson. Oxford: Oxford University Press,1998. 343-353. Print.<\/p>\n

Gledhill, Christine \u201cThe Western.\u201d The Cinema Book. ed. <\/em>Pam Cook. London: British Film Institute, 2007. 377-381 Print.<\/p>\n

Harries, Daniel. \u201cFilm Parody and the Resuscitation of the Genre.\u201d Genre and Contemporary Hollywood<\/em>. ed. Steve Neale. London: British Film Institute, 2002. 281-286. Print.<\/p>\n

Hill, John. \u201cFilm and Postmodernism.\u201d The Oxford Guide to Film Studies.<\/em> ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. 100-102. Print.<\/p>\n

Keller, Douglas. \u201cHollywood Film and Society.\u201d The Oxford Guide to Film Studies.<\/em> ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. 337-361. Print.<\/p>\n

\u201cKid\u2019s Fiction in 2011.\u201d the-numbers.com.<\/em> Web. 10 October 2012.<\/p>\n

King, Noel. \u201cPostmodernism and Film.\u201d The Cinema Book. <\/em>ed. Pam Cook. London: British Film Institute, 2007. <\/em>547-587. Print.<\/p>\n

Kramer, Peter. \u2018Disney and Family Entertainment\u2019 In: Williams, Linda Ruth, Hammond, Michael ed. 2006 Contemporary American Cinema.<\/em> Glasgow: Bell and Bain Ltd, 2006. Pp.275-276.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kroll, Justin. 6 July 2011. \u2018Paramount Launching Toon Division\u2019. Variety Online<\/em>, [online]. Web. 20 Nov. 2011<\/p>\n

Neale, Steve. \u201cWesterns and Gangster Films Since the 1970s\u201d, Genre and Contemporary Hollywood. <\/em>ed. Steve Neale London: British Film Institute, 2002. 28-30. Print.<\/p>\n

Newman, Kim. \u201cReview – Rango.\u201d empireonline.com.<\/em> Web. 17 November 2011.<\/p>\n

Osmond, Andrew. \u2018Review \u2013 Rango\u2019. Sight and Sound. <\/em>May 2011. P 45.<\/p>\n

Pilling, Jayne (1997) A Reader in Animation Studies<\/em>. London: John Libbey & Company Limited.<\/p>\n

\u201cRango in 2011.\u201d the-numbers.com.<\/em> Web. 10 October 2012.<\/p>\n

Ryall, Tom. \u201cGenre and Hollywood.\u201d The Oxford Guide to Film Studies.<\/em> ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. 335-336. Print.<\/p>\n

Sciretta, Peter. \u201cInterview: \u2018Rango\u2019 Director Gore Verbinksi\u201d www.slashfilm.com<\/em> Web. 20 Nov. 11.<\/p>\n

Shiel, Mark. \u201cAmerica Cinema 1970-1875.\u201d Contemporary American Cinema. <\/em>ed. Linda Williams, Hammond Ruth, Michael Glasgow. London, Bell and Bain Ltd, 2006. 124-145.<\/em> Print.<\/p>\n

Stam, Robert. Film Theory: An Introduction.<\/em> Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2000. Print.<\/p>\n

Wells, Paul. \u2018Animation\u2019. The Cinema Book. <\/em>ed. Cook, Pam. London: British Film Institute, 2007. 89 \u2013 103. Print.<\/p>\n

Written by Nicolle Ellen Cannock (2011); edited by Ellie Pacter (2014), Queen Mary, University of London<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article may be used free of charge. Please obtain permission before redistributing. Selling without prior written consent is prohibited. In all cases this notice must remain intact.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9\u00a0Nicolle Ellen Cannock\/Mapping Contemporary Cinema 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Production Companies: Blind Wink Productions, GK Films, Nickelodeon Movies
\nDistribution: Paramount Pictures
\nExecutive Producer: Tim Headington
\nProducers: Graham King, Gore Verbinski
\nDirector: Gore Verbinski
\nScreenplay: John Logan, James Ward Byrkit
\nEditor: Craig Wood
\nSpecial Effects: Industrial Light and Magic
\nArt Direction: John Bell
\nMusic: Hans Zimmer
\nRunning Time: 107 mins.
\nClassification: PG for rude humor, language, action and smoking
\nBox office: US \u00a3123.4m; worldwide $245.7m<\/p>\n

Tagline: \u2018Johnny Depp is Rango\u2019<\/p>\n

Cast: Johnny Depp (Rango), Ilsa Fisher (Beans), Abigail Breslin (Priscilla), Ned Beatty (Mayor), Bill Nighy (Rattlesnake Jake), Gil Birmingham (Wounded Bird).
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