Depp once again proves his range

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2012)

Rango is more than just a pleasant, well-conceived kids' film. I'm not even sure kids are the target audience. There really aren't any adorable animals afoot, although there is an obvious Bad Guy and a whimsical Good Guy. But there's a level of delightful sophistication that makes Rango a cut above most of its ilk - and, as a prize, it picked up the Best Animated Feature Oscar, so there's that.
Rango (Johnny Depp) is a chameleon. Well, truthfully, we don't know what his name is; he merely adopts the name when he has to. See, our chameleon is really a family pet who finds himself stranded in the middle of the desert, alone for the first time. He wanders into an aptly named town called Dirt, a place that is naturally beset by bad'uns despite a paternal mayor (Ned Beatty). Our friendly chameleon, who has spent his life in a terrarium wishing he could star in a musical (seriously!) finds his acting prowess put to the test. Yes, he must become Rango, the daring gunslinger who has saved other towns in the Old West.
It seems Dirt has a problem: little water. I know, if they had water they'd be Mud, right? True, true, but the critters who inhabit the town still need water, apparently, to farm and, you know, exist. Such denizens include lizards, iguanas, moles, mice, armadillos, rabbits, Gila monsters, and tortoises. You know, desert critters. Anyway, the town actually has a bank - a bank in which water resides. Citizens make deposits, withdrawals, and you get the idea. But the supply is running precariously low. Why is that?
Rango to the rescue! I won't bore you with how exactly our chameleon susses out the situation, but let's say he takes the bull by the horns, suffers some indignities, proves he's not what he says he is, and maybe wins in the end. After all, it's an animated film that kids are going to be interested in, so don't expect a lot of violence or a detailed plot. It's not important.
What is important, and what truly makes this a wonderful film, is Depp. If I didn't know any better - and I don't, really - I would swear he was ad-libbing all of his lines. Depp's patter is rapid, intelligent, witty, and delightful. Often, if an actor improvises and isn't up to it, you'll darn well notice - none of the made-up lines connect with each other or the rest of the movie, jokes fall flat. Hey, actors aren't usually writers as well. But if he or she is good at improv, then you get lines that seem even more natural than the scripted variety. For the record, John Logan wrote the screenplay, and since he was nominated this year for writing Martin Scorsese's Hugo, I think we can assume that the words we hear Depp speak are indeed from the pen of Mr. Logan. Most of them, anyway.
Good supporting cast, too, including a creepy, oily turn by Bill Nighy as a rattlesnake; Beatty as the tortoise-mayor (who might remind one of Noah Cross in Chinatown); Isla Fisher as Beans, the nominal love interest who has catatonia as a defense mechanism; and Alfred Molina as a run-over 'dillo. Directing the shenanigans (his first animated feature) is Gore Verbinski, who directed Depp in three Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Kids will like this movie, although maybe those who are fans of shoot- em-up cartoons will take a greater shine to it than those who like love stories, but we're not going to stereotype here. Truth is, Beans is one of the toughest characters in the movie, much more so than poor Rango. In any event, Rango contains some scenes that may frighten small children (scenes involving the rattlesnake Jake, for example), but much more action and comedy than anything else, and even for jaded moviegoers it's a lot of fun to watch.