A chameleon in a Hawaiian shirt lives in a terrarium and stages plays for a plastic fish and a headless Barbie. His tank goes out the car window on a desert highway. In the town of Dirt, where the animals walk upright and the water is running out, he invents a name, Rango, and a backstory involving seven brothers he killed with one bullet. They make him sheriff. Rango won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and is the only animated film Gore Verbinski has made, which is a shame.
What Happens In Dirt
The water in the bank vault is gone. The Mayor, a tortoise voiced by Ned Beatty doing Chinatown, has plans. Rattlesnake Jake, voiced by Bill Nighy with a Gatling gun for a rattle, comes to town. There is a chase with prairie dogs on bats scored to Ride of the Valkyries played on banjos, a crossing of the highway, and a meeting with the Spirit of the West, who is Clint Eastwood in all but name. Beans, voiced by Isla Fisher, freezes when stressed.
Why It Looks Like Nothing Else
Industrial Light and Magic did their first animated feature, and the characters are ugly on purpose: every feather, scale and scar. Verbinski had the cast act the scenes together on a stage in costume rather than recording separately. Johnny Depp made it between Pirates films. It is a Western first and a kids’ film a distant second.
Watch Rango On GoMovies
107 minutes in HD. Press play above. Free, no account.
