Rango

I didn't want to do a post about Rango until I've seen it, but I really wanted to. Rango is causing some minor controversy, which seems likely to only get bigger after the first weekend. As far as box office it's doing attendance in the same ball-park as How to Train your Dragon, but don't expect it to have the same legs. Apparently some elements of the film are considered "not kid-friendly". Many parents have complained about the violence and language used in the film. Some of them even think the film deserved a PG-13. A response to this has been "hey, just cuz it's animated don't mean its for kids!". While I agree with this, you can't deny that the film was marketed to children. Kids meals at Burger King, ads all over Nickelodeon and other kids TV (it is a Nickelodeon movie) and trailers played in front of other more "family friendly" animated movies. This isn't the first time this has happened. The black cauldron, All Dogs go to Heaven, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Incredibles: all were arguably not kid-friendly, but aggressively targeted towards children. So what's my opinion? Well as I have yet to see the movie, I can't really say, but let's be honest. Parents (bad parents) take their 5-year-olds to see Friday the 13th. Lots of kids (with good parents) went to see Lord of the Rings. A large chunk of CSI's audience is under 12. Is Rango really gonna do that much damage?

Also, I can't wait to see Rango, and this is just one more reason.