RangOWNS (2011)

Paramount Pictures

There is a lot of stuff for kids and adults to like about “Rango” and hardly anything to dislike. For starters, the creation of the creatures and critters is the most spectacular work I’ve seen for this type of movie. They look life-like; even a giant snake has a mustache! Its not a cartoonish handlebar mustache either, instead his scales are darkened along his lip so it appears like a mustache.

Besides looking at reptiles, moles and a snake, the story itself is very good. It starts with a chameleon who’s lost in the desert and in need of water. He makes his way to a town, where he impresses them enough to become sheriff and then must deal with the town’s villains and their drought problems. There is where Rango also gets his name too,  in a very funny scene. I liked how the movie didn’t mock Westerns, unlike the Scary Movies mocking horror movie scenes. Instead Rango is a tribute to the genre. There’s a saloon full of rugged critters, lots of spitting, bullets flying, even the classic theme from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” I half-expected to see a lizard named Sergio Lizardoni. It does deliver a funny cameo late in the movie, which I won’t spoil for anyone.

The voice acting was top notch too. Usually I grumble about these movies casting only big time stars but I didn’t even notice it this time. It wasn’t until the credits that I caught who provided the voices (other than Johnny Depp.) Paramount went deep and cast a lot of character actors who were perfect for this movie: Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton (from movies like The Green Mile and Escape from New York), even Bill Nighy, who’s played quite a few villains (Underworld and Pirates of the Caribbean.)

As I stated earlier, the movie is a perfect film for all ages. It includes humor for the kids and adults, as well as references to movies from years ago. I am usually under the belief that Pixar is the "king" of these animated features but Rango is a challenger to their throne.