The Western Chameleon

Rating: Null/10 (1 May 2014)

Gore Verbinski's 'Rango' tells the story of a pet Chameleon who suddenly finds himself stranded in a desert where he meets a number of colourful unpleasant characters. With vivid animation, vivacious characters and plenty of energy, this little film highly entertains. It's not the best of its genre as there are problems with pacing and it does occasionally tend to derail from the main story. Needless to say it requires the 'Madagascar' level of suspension of disbelief. The humour works in most parts even if at times it tends to be a little too all over the place, leaving no time to resonate. The voice acting is superb, especially by leads Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy, Ned Beatty and Isla Fisher. Verbinski also pays several references to Western classics. This is a cute and funny tribute to that once-popular genre that dominated the screen in the 60s.