Rango is an animated western comedy about a chameleon who comes to town and tames the wild west.
Johnny Depp is a pet chameleon who is happily ensconced in his terrarium when, after a near car accident, he suddenly he finds himself smashed upon the road and left abandoned in the desert.
On the advice of an armadillo (Alfred Molina) he treks across the desert looking for water. He meets up with a high strung iguana named Beans (Ilsa Fisher) who is struggling to hold on to her daddie's' ranch.
Together they ride into the town of Dirt, a dried up ramshackle place populated by various varmints and critters. The town is suffering from serious drought conditions since the water tap stopped working. At the nearby saloon the chameleon, in an attempt to fit in, and with a love of theatricality, invents for himself the identity of Rango, a tough drifter who survives by his wits and a lone bullet.
Because of his bravado, and his unique luck at fighting off a hawk, the Mayor (Ray Winstone) appoints Rango the new sheriff. But Rango quickly learns that the town sheriff's don't last very long. Especially when they go sticking their nose into the mayor's mysterious business dealings. Rango will go on a hazardous journey of self discovery and learn about the Spirit of the West before he can truly live up to his new identity.
After the hard work of making the Pirates trilogy director Gore Verbinski wanted to do something simple so he decided to make an animated film. He quickly learned that the new style of animated movies take a lot of hard work to produce, but teaming with star Johnny Depp, the two pulled it off and have created a visually stunning and extremely funny story that rifts on every western that has come before.
The movie spoofs elements of Chinatown, Destry Rides Again and High Noon. The character of Rango brings to mind actor Don Knotts in his role as The Shakiest Gun In The West and the movie evokes Clint Eastwood and his Men With No Name films.
Rango has enough slapstick and silliness to qualify as a kid's flick, but there is plenty here to entertain adults. especially film lovers who will love the many references to other movies. It his great to watch, full of laughs and has a sharp sense of satire. Rango is 100% enjoyable, no matter your age.
At the Movie House rating ***1/2 stars
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