New “Rango” trailer

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on

Rango still intrigues me. Here’s the third trailer for the Gore Verbinski/Johnny Depp/ILM/Nickelodeon Movie slated for release next March:

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  • kev

    Not bad.

  • http://www.facebook.com/dylan.h.king Dylan King

    Why do CG cartoons keep on getting on uglier every year? Is it because of the advances of new technology? … Damn… why isn’t WB hiring John K. to do the He-Hog Movie… ?

    • Ryoku

      Its the arbitrary pursuit of realism, and not eliminating the ugly thus keeping that realism.

      Stop-Motion is still technically more real.

    • Is my face red?

      Because John is now a very talented man cursed with a degree of obsessive self belief that stops him considering anything outside of his own, incresingly nostalgia driven obessions. Trapped in his own mythology he can only do what he’s done before over and over again which is good for his fans but bad for his art.

      • Ryoku

        That answers Dylans second question, and Johnks work has been about the same as it was 10 years ago with the same flaws and indulgence. Fans may argue its a “style” which is always an excuse for repetition.

        Now he can’t get a job so he charges $100 for commissions and lives off donations as if he needs them. BTW guys aren’t we in a recession?

    • http://www.shoomlah.com Claire Hummel

      What is your definition of ugly? Because I haven’t been able to get that little possum girl’s design out of my head since I first saw it, and I think there’s something to be said for a talking animal film that isn’t trying to pursue the Pixar ideal.

      It’s a Western- seems gritty realism on top of stylized animals seems like an appropriate marriage.

  • TheGunheart

    I love this. I know isn’t for everyone, but I love that weird mix of photorealism and cartoonish proportions. It’s quite possibly the epitome of “Ugly Cute”.

  • Olo

    There seems a distinct lack of plasticky characters i’m so used to seeing in other animated cg features…. Hmmm. Not sure about the story but the visual details invested into this show seems miles ahead of other CG features.

    • The Brewmasters

      Our commenting guidelines are clear:

      1.) If you are recommending or discussing something, disclose any relationship you may have to the artist, film project or company. This includes friends, family, co-workers, employers, etc. (Yes, that means ILM/Lucasfilm employees like you, Olo.)

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      • Thomas Hatch

        Now that’s the classy way to do it!

  • http://joelbrinkerhoff.blogspot.com/ Joel Brinkerhoff

    Seems like a Don Knotts movie.

    • Dr. Ivo Robotnik

      I could totally see Rango being played by Don Knotts, actually.

  • http://www.mike2d.blogspot.com Mike Caracappa

    Looks good…and except for maybe towards the end of the trailer, it doesn’t look like it treads too far into the usual cliches of CG features. I’m looking forward to this.

  • http://www.caricaturesbydave.com Dave Stephens

    Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL character design and doesn’t look plasticky at all!

    This is officially on my ‘must-see’ list – looking forward to it.

    • Karen

      I couldn’t disagree more. They really should have hired a designer.

      • Me

        They have. His Name’s “Crash” McCreary and he’s great. Designed all the Creatures in Pirates of the Caribbean.

    • http://www.shoomlah.com Claire Hummel

      Agreed- I cannot for the life of me understand why everyone keeps pointing to these characters as “ugly” designs. Anthropomorphized animals in films have gotten so obscenely cuteified and smoothed out that it’s seen as the norm, when in fact there’s a varied and textured spectrum of ways to design animal characters without falling into cartoon tropes. I hated that Pascal in Tangled had big googly Disney eyes- his concept art stuck closer to proper chameleon anatomy and I think was far more interesting because of it.

      As someone who grew up with tortoises and now owns two beautiful snakes, I for one am excited to see some respect for the less typically pretty side of the animal kingdom. :D

  • Steven M.

    This movie to me looks very interesting despite how ugly the characters are.

  • Alissa

    Strange, it’s like the characters are so ugly they end up appealing… I’m actually looking forward to this!

  • http://kambodiahotel.blogspot.com BR Inle

    I like the Southwest atmosphere and all those weird animals…except for the female love-interest critter. She doesn’t seem to fit and I can’t even tell what she’s supposed to be.

    • http://www.shoomlah.com Claire Hummel

      Ditto! She’s the one character that doesn’t work for me. I do not understand why you’d give a lizard (?) hair.

  • Abby

    Now this I am excited for! I’m loving the photorealism combined with the style of the characters. It’s refreshingly different.

  • Killskerry

    I LOVE westerns and this (to me) is how a western should look. It makes you thirsty just watching it.Everything is brown, windblown and covered in dust. When I saw a preview for the other western film coming out soon…that live action aliens vs. cowboys movie. I felt such disappointment because everything was that hideous blue/orange color combo all action movies seem to be required to use. Thank goodness animation isn’t held to Transformers standards.

    The lighting is spectacular and the character designs are just…different. One of the best compliments I can give to a 3-d movie. It really stands out among most things being made right now. These are some of the most beautifully realized animal characters I have seen in ages…especially that rattlesnake. A rattlesnake villian in a western? Yes please.

    I do have one question however. If they have a standoff… how is the rattlesnake going to fire a gun? That would be embarrassing for everyone involved.

    • TheGunheart

      If what I’ve read elsewhere (admittedly, TVTropes) is in anyway to be believed…he has a machine gun for a rattle.

      To be honest, this is one of those rare movies where the CGI feels truly justified. I love all the texturing they’ve done on the characters.

      And I am in total agreement with you on the lighting. The movie’s definitely got atmosphere.

    • http://www.kellytoon.com Kelly Toon

      Teal and Orange, teal and orange, I have nightmares tinted teal and orange!! I was actually really excited about the cowboys/aliens concept (ever since Gary Larson did a Far Side strip about it), but those DAMNED COLORS will certainly keep me from seeing it, unless it’s free :(

      I LOVE westerns (Everyone should read Lonesome Dove ASAP), and talking animals, so this trailer is rocking my world.

      • http://kaseygifford.com Killskerry

        @KellyToon Ha! I had totally forgotten about that Farside comic until you brought it up.

        Why are action movies always teal and orange? Its starting to become frustrating. I don’t even remember the first movie that started this trend but If I was forced to make a action movie I would make a point to light it Lilac and Goldenrod…or maybe a little Magenta and Eggshell.

        I realize that not every movie needs to have Wes Anderson type color palette’s but this weird obsession with two of natures fugliest colors needs to be halted immediately.

  • Ryoku

    This looks interesting but yet again I find motion blur to look pretty fake.

    ILMs first animated film? True, if you exclude the Star Wars prequels and Avatar, both which use a lot of animated CGI.

    I don’t mind the realistic designs but I’d still take simplicity over deformed real world animals.

    The story? Look up the term “Arena” on Johnks sight, its a simple, cheap, easy way to write a story so theres more time and money to use on getting realistic water.

    And I’m really not liking the idea of another film with a character thats brought into a new world so we’ere subjected to pages of exposition. It worked with Back to the Future but now its just old.

  • Craig

    I love it.
    Absolutely cannot wait.

  • http://www.stringstornasunder.blogspot.com Chris Powell

    Still really dig the look, simply because it feels ‘different’ compared to everything else that is coming out. Also Love that it is a western.
    That being said, this trailer feels more cliche than the previous ones. Hope it is a nice film.

  • CallmeZ

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  • theycallmeshine

    The Humor seems light not overly slapstick and could be a whole lot of fun!
    I am loving this whole resurrection of the Western and that Black Hat Snake just BOGGLES my mind!
    The second trailer featured a Tarantula at the piano and that was just groovy cool too!
    I may actually go to a theatre to see this one!

  • http://merks-art.blogspot.com/ Tim Merks

    This looks soooo good! Not ugly at all (what the hell?!?!), it has a strong design style, which is fantastic!!!

  • Mick Collins

    This looks SO much better than “Yogi Bear”, I can’t even believe it…

  • http://www.enigmation.de slowtiger

    Love it. And I like how they built up tension with the preceding trailers: first there was nothing, then there was much to wonder, and now there’s that whole town full of really interesting characters.

    Full ACK to the praise of lighting and textures and atmosphere.

    This has the chance to be a favourite western parody, just because those dead pan jokes really fit the animals’ faces. If they keep it underplayed, I will like it.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/VujadeEntertainment#p/u/0/3HaupcJwAdk Steve Schnier

    RANGO looks very very good.
    Character design, environments, Gore Verbinsky, Johnny Depp and ILM.
    It’s a “must see” in my book.

  • http://thatssokraven.livejournal.com/ Kelly Tindall

    Looks pretty good. Interesting designs; I’m less interested in ugliness, more in the character that comes through the ugliness (the chameleon seems to have a bit of charm). Johnny Depp’s exhibiting a lot more range than he has in his past voice-over roles, so that’s good.

    Plus, it’s not a sequel or a remake, and I cannot overestimate how much I appreciate that after the last three years.

  • http://www.totalmediabridge.com Kevin Johnson

    I’m definitely intrigued by the heavier, “realistic” look of the film. It’s interesting, and I’m also curious to how the audience at large will take it. They didn’t exactly flock to that Ga’hoole film – although, to be fair, I think that’s because the leap between “owls” and “fantasy” is a rather big one.

    This seems a bit more grounded in its premise.

  • pheslaki

    I like those fuggly characters, it’s a nice change of pace from movies where hideous things (ants, monsters, robots) are given a My Little Pony style makeover to sell more toys, and it fits right in to the gritty, dingy look of the environment. The story looks bog-standard once again – looks, in fact, like A Bug’s Life – but like I mentioned before, I don’t expect innovation in movies aimed at kids.

    • WakaWaka

      I hope there will be a Rango-Action Figure. Love this guy.

  • http://www.elliotelliotelliot.com Elliot Cowan

    This looks brilliant.

  • http://www.willanimateforfood.net Adam

    I’m intrigued! Looks like a whole lot of fun.

    I’ll definitely take this over Pirates 4

  • Mike Johnson

    This looks GREAT!

    Ugliness? Have any of you “the characters look ugly” folks ever truly looked at these creatures in real life? They ARE ugly, and damned so! It’s one of the main things I like about the look of the film. I will probably always have a problem with human hair and hairstyles sprouting from the tops of the heads of creatures who in real life have none, but that’s a pretty miniscule gripe on my part.

    I love the comedic feel of this, it seems (from the trailers) to be just right, and the voice work seems very solid as well.

    This is on my “must-see” list too!

    • Alissa

      Chameleon’s are in no way shape or form ugly. Neither are red hawks or horned toads. Startling, gritty realism generally ends up ugly, however. Thankfully these characters capture alot of the real ones appeal.

  • Scarabim

    I can’t imagine spending 90 minutes or so with those..things…look, not every animated film has to look like Bambi, but it doesn’t have to look like a pest control commercial either.

    And I can’t WAIT for Pirates 4. Awesome trailer.

  • http://www.taberanimation.com Taber Dunipace

    The more I see this, the more I like it. I’m totally OK with the ugly characters because it feels appropriate for the story and setting. Also I think these more stylized than their real-world counterparts by far!

  • http://MrFun'sBlog Floyd Norman

    The live-action directors who dabble in animation remind me of the uptown folks who loved to visit Harlem or Central Avenue on the weekend.

    • Tooves

      Would you say the same about Brad Bird doing live-action now?

      Committing to direct a movie worth hundreds of millions over many years is not exactly “dabbling”. Given Verbinski’s experience with CG characters and digital sets (no to mention fully digital pre-viz) it seems more like a natural progression.

      Why do you feel the need to ghetto-ize animation?

  • Paul N

    This looks incredibly cool, and I’m not a big fan of westerns. The design looks great, and the animation is terrific. Looking forward to March.

  • Keith

    I like the look of it. The story seems familiar but that’s not a bad thing if handled well. You’ve got your “Dorothy accidentally crushes the Wicked Witch of the East” moment, your “Marty McFly dumps a spittoon on Mad Dog Tannen” moment, etc. I was pleasantly surprised that the SHERIFF sign remained hanging at the end of his “as long as that sign hangs there” speech!

    • Ryoku

      Same here, I’d expect it to fall or some other cliche gag happen.

  • Karen

    Another “talking animal” movie? With jokes from 1992? Awful.

  • David Breneman

    Don’t know why I thought this might be a remake of the Tim Conway western series from the 60s.

    From San Anton’ to the Rio Grande
    Down mountain peaks and desert sands
    Ev’ry outlaw fears the hand of danger
    This Texas Ranger
    Rango, Rango, Rang-go o o…

  • http://deaniac.deviantart.com Deaniac

    This movie definitely looks unique, I’ll give it that. I have a very hard time believing that it’s being made by NICKELODEON of all companies, you could’ve taken away the logo at the beginning and it would’ve fooled me. In any case, I’m intrigued to see how this turns out.

  • Clint

    This actually looks awesome! Seeing how the film is made by Industrial Lights And Magic, who specialize in special effects, this should be one of their triumphs.

  • http://chippyandloopus.com/ John Sanford

    I’m intrigued. Someone went and made a real animated western rather than a fake one like the one we made at Disney (Home on the Range). I like what I’m seeing regarding the tone and the mood of the film. Could it have been “cartoonier”? Maybe. I still want to see it.

  • Some girl

    I mean, who said it needed to be pretty?
    Great design and it’s different. Going to be interesting.I surely will be looking forward to seeing this.
    You guys are getting brain washed with Pixar and Disney Cuteness. Expand mind please? Thanks.

    • Alissa

      I happen to like ugly. Obsessively cute characters give me the heebie-jeebies.

  • http://www.sexymecha.com Hal

    Love the designs, love the animation, love the voice cast, love the KILLING of the threat with no regrets… but by God this is the most terrible trailer – that music is AWFUL. Nothing fun and energetic about it like the last trailer. Methinks the studio is trying to sell something weird and dark as feel-good and family-friendly.

    Here’s to live action directors with great visual sensibilities continuing to throw their hats into the animation ring.

    • http://www.spungella.com Jean-Denis Haas

      (disclaimer: I worked on the movie)
      Totally agree, the music is weird, I preferred the previous trailer presentation. The energy was so much better.

  • Tanuki

    Nervous nice-guy saves the day. Sound familiar?

    Looks fun apart from that.

  • Benjamin

    Love the look. Those who say it’s ugly are wrong. These animals are designed pretty close to the real thing (though I don’t know what that Chewbacca-lookin’ guy is supposed to be.) As a lover of reptiles and critters, I couldn’t be happier with the stylistic choices made for this film.

    • Ryoku

      Aside from Rango (a Chameleon Iguana hybrid) I can’t tell what half the characters are, they all just blend in with the background.