Rango [PG]

When a household pet chameleon becomes lost in the desert, he absent-mindedly begins walking in search of water. Having been kept in a glass case alone all his life, he suffers from an identity crisis and is unsure who his really is. But when he happens upon the small, drying-up town of Dirt, he becomes Rango, the brave new sheriff that is going to bring water back to this parched Wild West community.  

This was a cute and funny animated Western, although some of the Clint Eastwood Western jokes tend to go over the heads of the younger audience. I think, for a family movie, the writers were trying to be a bit too clever. Having said that, the film wasn’t all samples from Westerns, it had drama, conflict, comedy, and heart and I did enjoy it thoroughly. 

When a household pet chameleon becomes lost in the desert, he absent-mindedly begins a fruitless search for water. Having been kept in a glass case alone all his life, he suffers from loneliness and confusion about who he really is. But when he happens upon the small drying-up town of Dirt, he becomes Rango, the brave new sheriff who fears nothing and will save the parched town from dehydration and death.  

As I mentioned before, the humour of the movie comes in the form of samples from Westerns and there is even a Pirates of the Caribbean 3 scene thrown in. The script was very clever and the characters were very memorable, especially Rango who just wants to be accepted and make friends. 

What was most impressive about this film was the animation. It was so amazingly real. Every tiny detail was perfect; Rango’s skin texture, the movement of his eyes and nose, the scales and movement of the snake, and the feathers of the hawk. Everything was so detailed, you could not help but marvel. 

Featuring the voice talents of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ray Winstone, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Abigail Breslin, and Bill Nighy, Rango was a wonderful little film about being a hero and it was filled with action, adventure, water, memorable characters, interesting creatures, and great music. I thoroughly enjoyed it amigos.