Marvelous tongue-in-cheek parody of the classic western

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 2011)

A thespian wannabe lizard (voiced by Johnny Depp) ends up in a western town ("Dirt") and by accident (and chutzpah) becomes its sheriff -- and through a series of further accidents saves the town and ultimately gets the girl.
"Rango" seems specifically designed for and is far more fun for adults than kids. While the story can stand alone, the more movies and cowboy westerns you've seen, the more fun you'll have watching this because it uses bits and pieces from so many of them to spin a classic story in a tongue-in-cheek way. It's kind of a "Blazing Saddles" parody but done with animals in all the roles of a classic western.
Well, almost all.
A CGI animated version of Clint Eastwood makes a brief appearance driving a golf cart loaded with 4? Oscar statues.
The characters the various animals play are all marvelous and distinctive. The computer graphics by Industrial Light & Magic are incredible--the textures of everything (lizards' and snakes' skin, birds' feathers, animals' fur and hair, weathered wood, rusted iron) are extremely realistic. The director is the same as for the "Pirates of the Caribbean." Very funny, very enjoyable--both cerebral and slapstick.