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Rango
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Johnny Depp, Abigail Breslin, Bill Nighy, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty
Director: Gore Verbinski
Johnny Depp reteams with the Pirates of the Caribbean director in a computer animated comedy adventure and stars as a chameleon with an identity crisis.
No wait, come back - it's zanily brilliant.
Depp's pet chameleon finds his life changed one day on a road trip when he's flung out onto a desert road by accident.
Stripped of his life inside his terrarium, the chameleon finds himself in the Wild West, in the town of Dirt.
Dirt's the kind of ole town you used to see in the westerns - except this one's got various animals for residents. Iguanas, toads, cactus mice, armadillos, rattle snakes - the whole gamut's here.
Being of an actorly bent, the chameleon reinvents himself as Rango, and finds himself thrust into the role of Sheriff for Dirt.
But Dirt's got a problem - they're running out of water, the only commodity that talks in the town - and so Sheriff Rango sets out to try and save the day when their only source is stolen.
Rango is insane, loony and beautifully animated.
A film about critters and lizards it may be - but the level of detail in the animation of the characters and their depth is to die for.
The story takes a little bit of time to get going - but there's some genuine zaniness in some of the lines uttered by Rango and there are plenty of nods to westerns in general as well as a major tribute to Clint Eastwood.
It's your Classic western in many ways (even the name is a nod out to Django)- a stranger rolls into town, tussles with the local powers that be and ends up saving the day.
But what gives Rango its edge is the script and a commanding vocal performance from Depp as the lizard prone to spouting soliloquies and channeling acting; he's a wannabe thespian who's forced to play the role of sheriff to get by. Lunatic and laconic in ways Jack Sparrow never could achieve, Depp brings a joie de vivre to the thespian chameleon (did he ever think he'd see his name in a sentence like that?)
If Depp's good in this, what's more amazing and probably the bigger star is the animation.
Lushly detailed and rich in depth, every fibre of the creatures on screen stands out and every nuance of their unusualness is accentuated. These motley crew of characters are bound to become the new favourites of the young.
Prone to great one liners ("I intend to strip this mystery and expose its private parts" is just one of Rango's bizarre verbal outings) the whole film has a moodiness and tone which sets it apart from the average animation. It really is Oscar worthy on that level alone.
Stick with Rango - despite its slightly unusual opening, its oddball nature appeals and never irritates - and I for one, am hoping this chameleon and his wacky, at times, tripped out creators get another outing soon.
Watch an exclusive scene from Rango here.
