![]() ‘Rango’ doesn’t really deviate from the familiar story lines of current American animated features, however. The whole film breaths spaghetti western, especially in its cinematography and Hans Zimmer’s musical score. Another curious addition is ‘the spirit of the West’, who looks like an aged version of Clint Eastwood’s ‘man with no name’ persona. ![]() One of the villains, Gila monster Bad Bill looks particularly rough, while the mayor, a tortoise, looks uncannily like actor Fred MacMurray. Rango himself, for example, has a crooked neck and an asymmetrical head, while his love interest Beans is a lizard, whose curls do not hide the fact that she’s clearly a reptile. The first thing that strikes ‘Rango’ as different from all other American computer animated films, is its surprisingly gritty visual style. Rango then has to solve an aquatic crime, which he does cluelessly, but with much bravado. Star of this original Western is a pet Chameleon (Johnny Depp) with a lot of fantasy, who accidentally ends up in the Mojave Desert, where he poses as some kind of Western hero called Rango, prompting the villagers to appoint him as a much-needed sheriff. Apparently, Paramount gave Verbinski a lot of freedom, because ‘Rango’ is a pretty quirky movie, boasting an original visual style and none too serious storytelling. In fact, the animation was essentially done at Industrial Light & Magic, supervised by Hal Hickel. The film was made at Paramount, which hadn’t had an animation studio of its own since the closure of the Paramount Cartoon Studio in 1967. ‘Rango’ was the brainchild of director and co-producer Gore Verbinski, a live action director of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ fame. The man leading the burro in this post-card photo looks like Ed Strouse.One of the most original mainstream feature films to come out of the United States in the 2010s was ‘Rango’, a Western with desert animals. ![]() Here is another photo from the Camera Day contest in the "Darkroom Magic" catagory and a fitting end to this post. He was never without all of them.Īs Blackie was leaving Knott's to return to Montana, he told his friends, "I'm going where the sky is blue and the air is clear." No doubt he has. His trademarks were his beard, of which he was very proud, his corncob pipe, vest, cowboy boots and hat. Photographs of Blackie have won many awards, including the sweepstakes prize in this year's Knott's Camera Day contest. He was one of Knott's most photogenic personalities. He lived on the Farm near the stagecoach barns since coming to Knott's, and kept several cats and a dog.Ī veteran of World War II, Blackie had been a prospector and guide for Glacier National Park. Blackie and his burros were a familiar figure as thousands of tourists stopped to have their pictures taken with him.īlackie loved animals, especially his burros. He was 67.īlackie came to Knott's in 1966, and after working a year for the stagecoach, he became the miner at the Arasta near the entrance to the Gold Mining tunnel. Virgil "Blackie" Dillion died suddenly August 5 in Cutbank, Montana, where he had gone to retire at the end of last month. And his bewhiskered, sun-weathered face will be seen and remembered by countless others who will see one of the thousands of photographs taken of him over the years. The following copy is the obituary that ran in the Augissue of "The Nugget" the employee newsletter back then.īlackie Dillion is gone but he will never be forgotten.Ī Knott's personality for nearly a decade, he will live on in the memories of those who knew and loved him.
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