Rango is meh

Is Rango weird in a good way or a bad way? It's difficult to decide.

Rango is a little lizard who has a big imagination. We meet him in his terrarium with his only friends: a wind-up fish that channels Nemo and the torso of a Barbie doll. When his home falls out of the back of a truck and lands in the desert, Rango finds himself friendless and alone in a strange world. He stumbles into the town of Dirt. A town with serious water shortage issues. Rango's tall tales get him elected sheriff. He defeats the town hawk. He encounters town intrigue. He does it all with a truly odd sensibility that is definitely wasted on children.

There are dozens of winks and homages to lot of other films (oh hey Hunter S. Thompson), especially Westerns (I knew you'd show up Clint!). It's fun to look for them and smile to yourself when you figure them out. The cast is full of fun characters that reference others you know. The story itself is missing . . . something. I've thought about it and thought about it and the only thing I’ve come up with is the fact that I think the movie expects you to root for Rango on principle (or the fact that he sounds like Johnny Depp). I enjoyed watching his adventures but unlike Woody and buzz and the old man from Up, I didn't really care where it was going.

Why is that? It could be because Rango himself looks odd. He's not your cuddly character like so many animated films. Even the supervillian in Despicable Me is cute in his own way. Rango is animated beautifully. The level of detail put into him and his cast mates is nothing short of remarkable. It makes complete sense once you realize the movie is the first animated movie to come out of Industrial Light & Magic, the place where Yoda learned to fight. But by the end, I liked the way Rango looked. I couldn't take my eyes off of his, small and beady as they were.

So what was it? If anyone can help me out, I'd love to hear it. Perhaps a second viewing will help me. Overall, Rango is fun. I just can't muster much passion about it. Good review, eh?