History YMMV / TheLoneRanger

* FairForItsDay: First Nation characters often spoke with stilted English and were not represented faithfully, but the writers made a point to never use them as villains. Tonto was presented as admirable, noble, and courageous as a hero in his own right. All of the times natives appear to be villains, it was an understandable misunderstanding or white villains masquerading as natives, or else the Indians were "renegades" who did not represent the larger tribe.

* FairForItsDay: First Nation characters often spoke with stilted English and were not represented faithfully, but the writers made a point to never use them as villains. Tonto was presented as admirable, noble, and courageous as a hero in his own right. All of the times natives appear to be villains, it was an understandable misunderstanding or white villains masquerading as natives.

* RetroactiveRecognition: it can be strange to listen to episodes featuring Brace Beemer playing the Lone Ranger, then go back and listen to Earle Graser episodes where Beemer is the narrator rather than the main character.[[/folder]]

* WTHCastingAgency: At the time of the movie's release, Creator/ChristopherLloyd was best known as [[{{cloudcuckoolander}} spacey]] ex-hippie Jim Ignatowski on ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', so having him play the ruthless Butch Cavendish was widely viewed as an odd casting choice. However, many people in today's audiences have seen Lloyd play villains and play them well, so it doesn't seem so weird now.

* RetroactiveRecognition: it can be strange to listen to episodes featuring Brace Beemer playing the Lone Ranger, then go back and listen to Earle Graser episodes where Beemer is the narrator rather than the main character.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Butch Cavendish]] is a CorruptPolitician and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive businessman]] who masterminds the deaths of the Texas Ranger group that includes the brother and father of [[TheHero John Reid]]. Later having the families of the victims eliminated to cover his tracks, Cavendish ends up ruined by the Ranger and builds himself back up to seek revenge, killing tons of innocent people along the way, and framing the Lone Ranger himself. Upon finding John's sister in law Linda and nephew Dan Jr., Cavendish orders Linda raped and killed in front of Dan, and later tortures one of John's good friends by [[ColdBloodedTorture pouring a pot of boiling stew over him]] before trying to kill John and his best friend Tonto.

* HilariousInHindsight: If you're in the know, consider for a moment that it includes a rendition of the William Tell Overture in its opening...[[Videogame/{{Parodius}} By Konami.]]
* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: Though rather obscure, the NES game is fairly popular with those who've played it. Imagine a ''good'' version of ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBayouBilly'' and you have an idea of how it works.

[[folder:The Film (Primarily the 2013 film, not the 1957 or 1981 films)]]
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Could the entire story that old Tonto is telling the boy simply be a lie or a deliberate exaggeration just for Tonto's own amusement?
* CompleteMonster: [[TheDragon Butch Cavendish]] shows why he is rumored to be a {{Wendigo}} when, after gunning down John Reid's brother Dan, Butch cuts out his heart [[IAmAHumanitarian and eats it]]. Butch uses fear to oppress any hint of rebellion and will kill at any hint of complaint. At one point, he even kills a laborer for nothing more than saying the entrance of a cave he wanted entry to was blocked. Butch conspires to start a war with, and wipe out the Comanche people for the silver in the mines by [[FalseFlagOperation leading attacks on innocent people in settlements]], framing the Comanche. In the past, when the Comanche saved Butch's life, he repaid them by [[UngratefulBastard slaughtering them]], earning Tonto's undying hatred.
* CreepyAwesome: Butch Canvandish. Creator/WilliamFichtner plays him as an absolute psycho, but it's so hammy and entertaining that many people named him one of the best characters in the movie.
* CriticProof: Surprisingly subverted for a Creator/JohnnyDepp film. It was savaged by critics, but the audiences didn't eat it up like they did for the Pirates movies. Creator/JerryBruckheimer and Johnny Depp blamed critics for "conspiring" against the film to make it bomb.
* EndingFatigue: [[http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/07/a-punishingly-overlong-i-lone-ranger-i/277496/ In the words of critic Christopher Orr]]:
-->'''Orr''': Somewhere, around the hour-and-a-half mark, ''The Lone Ranger'' makes the fateful decision not to end. Worse, the movie keeps not-ending for another full hour.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Red, mainly for her ivory leg ''with a gun in it''.
** Butch Canvandish as well. Aside from his CreepyAwesome persona, Creator/WilliamFichtner plays him as so over-the-top [[HateSink loathsome and hateful]] that he's a blast to watch. Creator/BradJones from ''WebVideo/MidnightScreenings'' admitted that even though he hated the film, Canvandish was the best part about it.
* EthnicScrappy: Several critics have taken the stance that the "Tonto is crazy" explanation for his strange dress and manner is simply a way to try and excuse the numerous Hollywood stereotypes in the character's portrayal.
* GeniusBonus: Silver dealing with the scorpions on John and Tonto's faces ''by eating them'' seems like an AssPull at first, but horses really are immune to several types of venoms, to the extent that horse hormones have been used to develop antivenoms.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Tom Wilkinson's character essentially meets a member of the Reid family. A couple of years ago, he ''played'' [[Film/TheGreenHornet a member of the Reid family]].
** People who compare the plot to that of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' often equate Butch Cavendish to Judge Doom. Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Doom's actor, also played Cavendish in ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger''.
* JustHereForGodzilla: Some people only went to see Creator/JohnnyDepp or the [[SignatureScene chase scene]] at the end.
** Some people also watch the movie for [[CompleteMonster Butch Cavendish]] due to his [[ImAHumanitarian memorably]] [[KnightOfCerebus dark]] [[DarkerAndEdgier scenes]].
* LoveToHate: Butch Cavendish. See CreepyAwesome and EnsembleDarkhorse above for reasons why.
* MoralEventHorizon:
** Butch crosses it when he [[spoiler:guts Reid's brother Dan and eats his heart]].
** The cavalry captain has one. Where he is just with the bad guys because [[IveComeTooFar he realized too late he'd been tricked into committing war crimes against the Native Americans]], trying to gun down a kid was just superfluous ''at best''.
* OlderThanTheyThink: This wasn't the first time Johnny Depp played a Native American character. He starred and directed (for the first time) a movie titled ''The Brave'' (based on a novel of the same name by Gregory [=McDonald=]), which is about a Native American man participating in a snuff film to secure his family's financial future ([[HilariousInHindsight the premise oddly sounds familiar]] with [[Film/ASerbianFilm another movie from Serbia]]). However, due to its negative reception at 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Depp never released this movie in theaters in the US.
* OvershadowedByControversy: More than any marketing campaign, the film was in the spotlight about casting Johnny Depp as Tonto. This was not helped by Tonto featuring more heavily in the marketing than the Lone Ranger himself. Depp was given significant creative control about the character, and he has said he based the look of the character mainly on a single painting, "I am Crow" by Kirby Sattler. No Native American ever wore a dead bird on their head, and in the painting a crow is flying behind the head of the subject. Sattler himself is not a Native American, and openly says his paintings come from his imaginings and do not depict any specific native culture. With the whitewashed casting and open admissions of inaccuracy, it is not hard to see where the controversy came from.
* RomanticPlotTumor: The subplot with John being in love with his brother Dan's wife Rebecca and vice versa never really stood a chance of being remotely satisfying. Tonto proclaimed that he had a vision of John and Rebecca together and having a child together, which becomes extremely unpleasant because she already has a son with his brother Dan. That's just nine kinds of awkward right there.
* SignatureScene: The final chase sequence on the trains.
* SoOkayItsAverage: General consensus is that it's not a terrible film and has a pretty decent story. Still, at best it's just a weekend rental.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: A number of changes that were made to the characters have not gone without backlash, most notably the change of Reid from badass Texas Ranger to bumbling CityMouse lawyer who largely succeeds out of sheer luck, and the transition of Tonto from MagicalNativeAmerican to "some lunatic who's dragging the Ranger along on his own quest for revenge" (which is really just going from one problem to another), and who treats the Ranger more as a thing to be tolerated than a partner worthy of respect.
* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: A common complaint against the film is just that it's simply ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' [[RecycledInSpace in the]] [[TheWildWest Wild West]]. Tonto is Jack, The Lone Ranger is Will Turner, The Royal Navy replaced by the U.S Cavalry etc.
** The plot basics are surprisingly similar to that of ''Film/RoboCop1987'' of all things. The hero is a noble law enforcement officer who's nearly-slain by a notorious outlaw, is revived and ends up stronger than before, has a partner who helps him figure out who he should be going after, [[spoiler: brings the outlaw in -- only to discover that he was all along in cahoots with a Corrupt Corporate Executive who sets law enforcement/the army on the heroes]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Doing a DeconReconSwitch with the Lone Ranger should work, having someone who many call ''[[UrExample the]]'' IdealHero fighting villains DarkerAndEdgier than he usually faced in the radio and TV series. It could even be a SubGenre vs SubGenre, with the hero from a [[LighterAndSofter lighter]] Traditional Western vs. villains from a [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] SpaghettiWestern. However, the plot focuses more on [[OriginStory John's journey to become the Ranger]] than examining the sub-genres' clashing ideals and perspectives, leaving the film with [[ToneShift an uneven tone]] and feeling off in places.
* UnfortunateImplications:
** Parts of the audience feel that the portrayal Tonto is full of this. Specifically the costume based off of [[http://gawker.com/5906868/johnny-depps-tonto-is-based-on-a-white-mans-painting-of-an-imaginary-native-american an over-the-top fantasy painting by a white artist]], and [[http://jezebel.com/johnny-depp-wants-to-fix-racism-with-tonto-514398140 Depp's original claim that]] he wanted to provide a "warrior" character for Native American youth to look up to only for the character to instead develop into comic relief.
** Cleft-lip advocacy groups [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lone-ranger-cleft-lip-charities-590224 criticized]] the film for giving the villain a cleft lip and saying that his "terribly scarred face is a perfect reflection of the bottomless pit that passes for his soul."
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: This is probably one of Disney's darker films, as the PG-13 is pushed pretty far in regards to the violence.
* WTHCastingAgency: The casting of Creator/JohnnyDepp as Tonto caused quite a stir as the character has traditionally been portrayed by actually Native American actors while Depp only has vague feelings that he might be of Native American descent and is not at all immersed in any of the cultures, which might or might not be a big deal depending on who you ask.
* WTHCostumingDepartment: Creator/JohnnyDepp has a dead bird on his head. [[MemeticMutation Your argument is invalid.]]
** Depp came up with the idea himself based on a painting of a Comanche. What he didn't realize is that the bird in the painting was meant to be flying ''behind'' the man's head.
[[/folder]]

[[/folder]]

!!''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'':

!!The Film (Primarily the 2013 film, not the 1957 or 1981 films):

----
!!Creator/DynamiteComics comic
* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Butch Cavendish]] is a CorruptPolitician and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive businessman]] who masterminds the deaths of the Texas Ranger group that includes the brother and father of [[TheHero John Reid]]. Later having the families of the victims eliminated to cover his tracks, Cavendish ends up ruined by the Ranger and builds himself back up to seek revenge, killing tons of innocent people along the way, and framing the Lone Ranger himself. Upon finding John's sister in law Linda and nephew Dan Jr., Cavendish orders Linda raped and killed in front of Dan, and later tortures one of John's good friends by [[ColdBloodedTorture pouring a pot of boiling stew over him]] before trying to kill John and his best friend Tonto.

* BrokenBase: Is the casting of Creator/JohnnyDepp as Tonto an outrage and an insult to the Native American culture, or a fairly standard case of FakeNationality blown way out of proportion by an overly touchy section of the audience?
** While big-name Native American actors are rare, Disney ''could'' have used this as an opportunity to find and promote a new talent. It's not like Armie Hammer was an A-lister when he was cast as the '''lead''', after all.

* UnfortunateImplications: Parts of the audience feel that the portrayal Tonto is full of this. Specifically the costume based off of [[http://gawker.com/5906868/johnny-depps-tonto-is-based-on-a-white-mans-painting-of-an-imaginary-native-american an over-the-top fantasy painting by a white artist]], and [[http://jezebel.com/johnny-depp-wants-to-fix-racism-with-tonto-514398140 Depp's original claim that]] he wanted to provide a "warrior" character for Native American youth to look up to only for the character to instead develop into comic relief.

* OlderThanTheyThink: This wasn't the first time Johnny Depp played a Native American character. He starred and directed (for the first time) a movie titled ''The Brave'' (based on a novel of the same name by Gregory {{McDonald}}), which is about a Native American man participating in a snuff film to secure his family's financial future ([[HilariousInHindsight the premise oddly sounds familiar]] with [[Film/ASerbianFilm another movie from Serbia]]). However, due to its negative reception at 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Depp never released this movie in theaters in the US.

* HilariousInHindsight: Tom Wilkinson's character essentially meets a member of the Reid family. A couple of years ago, he ''played'' [[Film/TheGreenHornet a member of the Reid family]].

* OlderThanTheyThink: This wasn't the first time Johnny Depp played a Native American character. He starred and directed (for the first time) a movie titled ''The Brave'' (based on a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald), which is about a Native American man participating in a snuff film to secure his family's financial future ([[HilariousInHindsight the premise oddly sounds familiar]] to [[Film/ASerbianFilm another movie from Serbia]]). However, due to its negative reception at 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Depp never released this movie in theaters in the US.

* OlderThenTheyThink: This wasn't the first time Johnny Depp played a Native American character. He starred and directed (for the first time) a movie titled ''The Brave'' (based on a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald), which is about a Native American man participating in a snuff film to secure his family's financial future ([[HilariousInHindsight the premise oddly sounds familiar]] to [[Film/ASerbianFilm another movie from Serbia]]). However, due to its negative reception at 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Depp never released this movie in theaters in the US.

* CompleteMonster: [[TheDragon Butch Cavendish]] shows why he is rumored to be a {{Wendigo}} when, after gunning down John Reid's brother Dan, Butch cuts out his heart [[IAmAHumanitarian and eats it]]. Butch uses fear to oppress any hint of rebellion and will kill at any hint of complaint At one point, he even kills a laborer for nothing more than saying the entrance of a cave he wanted entry to was blocked. Butch conspires to start a war with, and wipe out the Comanche people for the silver in the mines by [[FalseFlagOperation leading attacks on innocent people in settlements]], framing the Comanche. In the past, when the Comanche saved Butch's life, he repaid them by [[UngratefulBastard slaughtering them]], earning Tonto's undying hatred.

* CompleteMonster: Butch Cavendish is one of the darkest villains to ever appear in a ''Disney'' film. Rumored to be a {{Wendigo}} for his unusual habits, Butch shows why when after gunning down the hero, Reid's brother, Butch cuts out his heart [[IAmAHumanitarian and eats it]]. Butch uses fear to oppress any hint of rebellion and will kill at any hint of complaint At one point, he even kills a laborer for nothing more than saying the entrance of a cave he wanted entry to was blocked. Butch conspires to start a war with, and wipe out the Comanche people for the silver in the mines by leading attacks on innocent people in settlements, framing the Comanche. In the past, when the Comanche saved Butch's life, he repaid them by [[UngratefulBastard slaughtering them]], earning Tonto's undying hatred. With his evil and his dark habits, it's easy to see why Tonto sees Butch as a flesh-eating monster of myth.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Doing a DeconReconSwitch with the Lone Ranger should work, having someone who many call ''[[UrExample the]]'' IdealHero fighting villains DarkerAndEdgier than he usually faced in the radio and TV series. It could even be a SubGenre vs SubGenre, with the hero from a [[LighterAndSofter lighter]] Traditional Western vs. villains from a [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] SpaghettiWestern. However, the plot focuses more on [[OriginStory John's journey to become the Ranger]] than examining the sub-genres' clashing ideals and perspectives, leaving the film with [[ToneShift an uneven tone]] and feeling like an IndecisiveDeconstruction in places.

** The cavalry captain has one. Where he is just with the bad guys because IveComeTooFar, trying to gun down a kid was just superfluous ''at best''.

* LoveToHate: Butch Cavendish. See EnsembleDarkhorse above for reasons why.