role of Sheriff. When he discovers the towns water supply is almost run dry he searches for answers along side the townsfolk, all of whom believe Rango to be their Saviour.If you have seen the trailer you will have noticed the singing mariachi owls, who tunefully break down the forth wall to open the film. Not too dissimilar to the rooster in Disney's classic Robin Hood they help guide the story along and in doing so also keep you guessing. Which was a real bonus for me in terms of animated films as they do tend to get predictable, despite how well they are told. Rango himself upon first meet is absolutely NOT a hero. Even more interesting though is that his name is not Rango. In fact we have no clue as to what his name is... no doubt an obvious reference to the classic Spaghetti Westerns to which its inspired by and its Eastwood lead 'Man with No Name' character. But Rango, despite his lack of name, knows what he wants and Verbinski very clearly makes sure the audience knows too... He wants the chance to be a hero and to one have a story to tell. Let the narrative unfold...The real winner here is the scenery, its animated alright but i was struggling to believe that at various points in the film. The scene in the saloon towards the beginning is fantastically lit and the final showdown is shot better than a lot of the classics. I'm not kidding! In fact I would happily pay to see it again just to look at those shots again because they capture the tension so well.Although the real audience is those who love the classic west, Verbinski is able to make it accessible to a vast number. The younger audiences will definitely appreciate Depp's eccentric character as well as the very well timed humour, both visually and verbally. The more mature audiences will appreciate the latter a lot more so. The story is excellent! It unravels perfectly and its runtime passes by almost without effort. Rango is western... make no mistake. But i assure you one thing should you decide to give it a chance, its what it needs to be! Its entertaining, action-packed, funny and sincere. Above all else, it has what makes a great film, alongside the great protagonist is a great antagonist! Rattlesnake Jake is scary... he's great with his words and deadly with his gun and he helps build to a great and tense final showdown!Rango gets 10/10 from me!

endless. It also happens to be quite post modern in it's approach. I couldn't believe what I was watching on screen. You definitely will long for a second watch.in movie Things were not shiny and tidy. It was full of grime, the characters experienced real helplessness and despair; you could feel for them. That's a big achievement for an animation movie.

recent times. It is fresh, original, and fascinating, being completely different to all the CGI movies that came in the previous years.It works incredibly well as a spoof/homage of the spaghetti Western, combining the classic elements of the genre with the very special touch that is present in all the movies of Verbinsky Yes, even the worse ones It is incredibly weird, but also it is extremely funny and clever at the same time.Personally, I loved the character designs: Some people find them "ugly", but the "ugliness" of the characters is done in a beautiful, stylish way: All of them have a unique, strange appearance that makes them appealing and fascinating.The level of detail and the atmosphere of this film are simply magnificent; every single frame of this film it's a like a work of art, a incredibly extravaganza where Gore Verbinsky let his imagination run wild...But the most incredible thing is that he find a way to make this wild ride something enjoyable and entertaining."Rango" is the best movie of Gore Verbinsky. It is his most personal work, taking the best elements of all his previous movies, finding the greatness.I think that in a few years, this movie will be considered the "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" of this decade. After seeing "Rango", I'm convinced that a new classic is born.10/10 I would give it eleven stars if I could

eccentric. Over the top but at times subtle and felt meaningful. The only little nit pick was the mouths on some of the characters. in the attempt to make the animals look more like the animals they were representing the mouths were quite small and at times the sync was a bit odd. Though it provided for some goofy looking characters that were fun.at just over an hour and a half, at times it felt it was a little too slow paced. well, that was my wife's critique. I looked at it more so that they were going for the slower feel of some classic westerns. I thought the long stretches of little dialog, epic music and visuals, and great cinematography worked in the films favor.The crowd dug it too. I think the youngest person in the theater was about 6 which i found odd for a late night screening, but whatever and the oldest was probably in their 70's and everyone was engaged.I was kind of surprised what they could get away with in a PG rated movie. Im no prude or anything, but there were enough adult jokes snuck in there to give me the giggle fits. Couple of lite swear words, references to more... ehem, adult type themes, but overall pretty tame and enjoyable.Hats off. If this doesn't win awards I don't know what I believe in anymore. This is one of the more entertaining movies I have seen in a long time.

of instruments and nods to Ennio Morricone, without being too generic or over-the-top with some inspired musical flavour to it.The script is funny, smart and quirky as well- loved the Chinatown Ned Beatty based his performance on that of John Huston's , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Star Wars references- the characters are genuine and likable with heart and don't fall into the trap of being too cliché there are some but it works in the film's favour and I loved the title character , the film goes at a great pace while remaining wholly satisfying at its end with an almost elegiac quality that is there with almost all the best westerns, the slapstick action bounces along nicely and the story is far from formulaic instead it is original and inventive. The voice acting is wonderful, both Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy- Rattlesnake Jake is awesome!- give knockout performances, while Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Harry Dean Stanton and Abigail Breslin are equally terrific.In conclusion, a wonderful film that I wasn't expecting to be this good this early on in the year. On a side note, for those complaining about suitability for children, I actually wouldn't say this was a film for kids but more adult-oriented. 9/10 Bethany Cox

low supplies, and quite often bites off more than he can chew.The direction by Gore Verbinski, who garners enthusiastic and terrific performances from his voice cast, is wonderful, and the screenplay by John Logan pays tribute to the classic spaghetti westerns of yesteryear, right down to pre gunfight stand offs, important events happening at high noon, and the decision to have a Mariachi band narrate, and make comment on the film's events. Sure, a couple scenes seem to overstay their welcome, but in spite of that one flaw, the film is fresh, and funny, and the film quite often got a good laugh from myself. I also loved visual references to characters played by Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.I must also praise the technical crew. This is the first animated feature designed by the legendary special effects company Industrial Light & Magic, and John Knoll does a good job at supervising the film's many grand, colorful and photo realistic images. I have just as much praise for the audio crew. Sound editor Addison Teague does a good job at handling classic western sound effects such as gunfire and galloping hooves, and Hans Zimmer whose music score pays delightful homage to the scores of Ennio Morricone does a great job at heightening the excitement and wit.Before I sign off, I must make a final point. I'm normally not too vocal about censorship, but take the facts that the film is animated, and rated PG with a huge grain of salt, because Rango is NOT a kid's movie. The images are quite quirky, and sometimes even trippy, some of the subject material is rather violent and foul mouthed, and some of the jokes may fly way over kids' heads, but that's exactly why I think the film's so special. The film makers stuck to their guns, and didn't wimp out in order to get a bigger audience of children. It's a movie almost strictly for older viewers, and should be treated as such.Needless to say, I loved Rango. I give it ***1/2 out of ****

verboseness and abstract homage to classic Westerns, "Rango" equally dishes out top-notch physical humor and creative characters for the young ones to lap up, even if they're not exactly of age to, as the film puts at least once, "ruminate."We don't learn much about Rango's life as a pet lizard. In fact, his name is not even Rango; he adopts it as his identity during his adventure. We do see him create his own theatre productions with the random items in his tank and he pretends that they give him feedback and criticism. When he determines that his latest show needs some intense conflict, he finds himself flung from his tank and on the side of the dry desert road. At the advice of an old armadillo Molina , he seeks out water and stumbles upon the town of Dirt, a classic Wild West locale full or critters and experiencing a nasty drought.Johnny Depp quickly loses himself into Rango, a character that's somewhere between his take on Willy Wonka and his turn as Hunter S. Thompson. Depp churns out an outstanding animated protagonist, one who is equal parts boisterous and insecure. As the ultimate outsider in Dirt, our lizard hero has an epiphany: he can reinvent himself out here. He takes up his new name and makes up a fantastical tall tale and then with a pinch of luck, becomes the toast of the town and gets anointed sheriff. All seems swell, but something's up in the town with regards to the dwindling water supply and the local critters are getting restless. Rango must truly be the hero he masquerades as.The creatures of Dirt are fascinatingly animated. They are gritty and unpleasant looking, but awing in their detail. Rango's facial expressions even out-Depp the man behind them as embodied in the scrawny asymmetrical lizard. The animators do a particularly fine job of creating the hot and dry climate of the desert, enough so to recommend that the film is best enjoyed with a beverage in hand. It's so effective that it magnifies the problematic nature of this simple predicament done hundreds of times before. Hidden underneath it all somewhere has to be an environmental message, but not an overt one and not the main lesson to learn from the story.The language and texture of the film might be decidedly adult, but the conventions of the story and the degree of action aims specifically for children. Rather than aim for a middle ground, "Rango" somehow takes the highest road and the lowest road simultaneously. The dialogue and the situations are sophisticated but the physicality of the characters and the high-flying Western frontier action still plays to a child's understanding. This only proves that "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski has a real gift for all-ages entertainment.In addition to Rango's existential quandary, children will not understand the cinematic homages either, particularly to spaghetti Westerns. One of the film's most affecting scenes comes at the moment when our animated hero, as they all do, hits the lowest of lows after he's exposed as a "fraud." Rango has a run-in with "The Spirit of the West," an instantly recognizable figure who has some old-fashioned advice about toughness and walking tall on the path you're given. It's a tender moment as what has been considered a bygone era of cinema plays an important thematic role in such a modern mainstream story."Rango" doesn't quite capture the degree of humor and emotional depth that the Pixar greats of the last few years have, but it's a fun adventure with exquisite animation, tasteful characters and a good heart, which puts it as an above-average offering compared to others of its kind. Adults will simply marvel at the intellectual boldness of this pure and simple kids movie and rightfully so. Only with a Pixar gold standard in place does "Rango" come across as flawed; otherwise it's an absolutely pleasant watch from start to finish.~Steven CVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com

visuals are wonderful and eye candy. The character design looks old fashion zany and I love it. Kind of reminded me of "The Misadventures of Flapjack" a TV show from CN. While this movie is from Nickelodeon there are some humor that kids will perhaps laugh. The movie is not in 3D. "Rango" proves us that 3D is not necessary to our lives. 3D shrinks the scale of a movie.There are no flaws with the voice acting. Johnny Depp is really meant for Rango. Isla Fisher did this before in Horton Hears A Who so it's okay. Bill Nighy is an amazing villain. I want more Ned Beattys' sexy voice. Too bad Timothy Olyphant didn't have enough scenes but it's still great.My favorite thing about the visuals is the environment. Look at the sky and the desert. Cinematography is also great. Every visuals are eye candy. The scene when Rango and his friends are being chased by bats and gophers is truly breathtaking.Maybe the reason why Ebert gave this movie a perfect rating because it's not in 3D. Well Rango is not flawless but it is still entertaining. If you like beautiful visuals then I will recommend this movie to death. The story is not really unique. It's still worth watch. The merits makes us ignore the flaws of this movie.

constantly expect Rango's death and at one point, parody death by hanging . That is, you could arguably find just as much material in other animated films, such as The Incredibles- but it just goes to show that Nickelodeon is ready to experiment with a braver sort of film, much like Disney did with Pirates of the Caribbean. Okay, disclaimer over. Rango is beautiful film that, regardless of its content, gave everyone in the theater a darn good time. Borrowing heavily from classic Westerns The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Western comedies The Three Amigos , the film brings reinvents a past formula in an amusingly creative way. Rango, a pet chameleon unsure about how he wants his identity to develop, is suddenly cast to into the life of the wild wild west and decides to assume the duties of the sheriff in a troubled town. When the gunslingin' enemies arrive, the trouble begins...If anything, the film is revolutionary in its animation. The quality and textures of the animals and landscape is simply spot-on and never ceases to amaze. By far this is the movie's greatest strength- and supporting the beautiful visuals is a whole slew of jokes. Like I said before, sometimes the humor is a bit awkward for its targeted audience there were definitely a lot of times adults laughed instead of the kids but for the most part the theater as a whole enjoyed the comedic spots. The voice acting cast is of course lively and fun, bringing a unique quality to each and every animal character. And lastly, the score by Hans Zimmer is once again majestic and exciting influences from his work in Pirates and Sherlock Holmes are easily heard, but with a Mexican twist! .Overall, Rango is a beautiful and exciting western adventure that you shouldn't miss! As long as you know what you're in for, the humor and the visuals will take you for an unforgettably pleasing ride. 8/10