Rango (2011)

Rango is an animated Western comedy that is packed full of intricately drawn and superbly voiced characters in a detailed setting and a dramatic story arc full of physical and social humor as well as in-jokes and parody. I found myself constantly laughing with simmering mirth or out-loud guffaws as a sheltered iguana and would-be drama divo (voiced by Johnny Depp though at times sounding like Kermit D. Frog) finds his world shattered (literally) and he is abandoned to certain death in the desert. Later taking the name Rango and posing as a wily tough guy (in a modern twist on the folk tale about "seven in one blow"), he becomes a parched settlement's new sheriff, determined to be the hero they both need and respect. His tracking and fighting the real culprits behind a systemic and debilitating theft of the town's water supply ranges through a passel of suspects, varmints, and conspirators and a series of increasingly climactic showdowns until justice is served. Through it all, we are tragically forewarned by a melancholy Mexican quartet of musical owls: "The lizard, he is going to die." I enjoyed the ironic scene where Rango meets "the spirit of the West" (voiced by Timothy Olyphant with his tongue planted firmly in both cheeks). I think you will love Rango since it is extremely well-done and it entertained folks from 4 to 84 in the full-price theater where I saw it last night. You may never see wizened, idiosyncratic Old West coots and characters more intricately drawn than in Rango. (I was chuckling just to see the holes on top of the holes in one character's hat.) Rango is a movie I intend to own. 5 stars. (3-18-2011, posted 3-3-2016)