Rango (2011 film)

Theatrical release poster

***Rango*** is a 2011 American computer-animated Western comedy film directed by Gore Verbinski from a screenplay by John Logan. Co-produced by Verbinski with Graham King and John B. Carls, the film stars the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone, and Timothy Olyphant. The film's plot centers on Rango (Depp), a pet chameleon who accidentally ends up in the town of Dirt, an outpost that is in desperate need of a new sheriff. *Rango* was produced by Nickelodeon Movies, Verbinski's Blind Wink Productions, and King's GK Films, and distributed by Paramount Pictures, with the animation provided by Industrial Light & Magic.

*Rango* premiered at Westwood on February 14, 2011, and was released in the United States on March 4, 2011. The film was both a major critical and commercial success, grossing $245.7 million against a budget of $135 million. At the 84th Academy Awards, the film won Best Animated Feature, making it the first non-Disney or Pixar film to win since 2006's *Happy Feet*, and the last one to win until 2018's *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse*.

## Plot

A theatrically-minded pet chameleon becomes stranded in the Mojave Desert of Nevada after his terrarium accidentally falls out of his owners' car. Seeking shelter, he learns from a nine-banded armadillo named Roadkill, who is seeking the mystical "Spirit of the West", and tells the chameleon of an Old West desert town called Dirt, where water comes in through a mysterious rite on Wednesdays.

Seeing no other options, the chameleon heads out into the desert. There, he narrowly avoids being eaten by a vicious red-tailed hawk before meeting Beans, a desert iguana rancher, who takes him to Dirt.

Asked about his identity, the chameleon presents himself to the townsfolk as a tough drifter named "Rango" and quickly runs afoul of Gila monster Bad Bill, who challenges him to a duel. The hawk interrupts the duel and chases Rango, who accidentally knocks over an empty water tower and crushes the hawk to death. Believing he did so intentionally, the townsfolk praise Rango, who is appointed as the new sheriff by Dirt's desert tortoise Mayor John. Meanwhile, the townsfolk worry that with the hawk dead, the infamous gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake will return.

With the town desperate for water during a drought, Beans demands that Rango investigates where the water has gone and in doing so, he inadvertently helps a gang of bank robbers, led by a mole named Balthazar, to steal the water supply. Rango organizes a posse that later finds the banker, Mr. Merrimack, dead in the middle of the desert. The posse tracks the robbers to their hideout, where they fight Balthazar's bat-riding clan over the stolen water bottle before discovering it to be empty. The robbers profess that they found it like that, but Rango still takes them into custody.

After being questioned by Rango about his buying of the land around Dirt, John brings in Rattlesnake Jake, who runs him out of town after forcing him to admit his lies to the townsfolk. Dejected, Rango returns to the highway, where he passes out after he crosses to the other side. He eventually meets the Spirit of the West, an elderly Man with No Name, who advises him to go back to Dirt and set things right, telling him that "No man can walk out on his own story".

With the aid of Roadkill and mystical moving yuccas, Rango discovers an emergency shut-off valve in a water pipeline to Las Vegas. John has been manipulating it to cause the water shortage so he could buy the land for himself.

With a single bullet, Rango returns to Dirt and challenges Jake to a duel, a diversion to allow the yuccas to restore the town's water and Rango to make his resolve clear to Jake. However, John and his men force Rango to surrender by threatening Beans' life before attempting to drown the duo inside the bank's vault.

John then tries to shoot Jake with Rango's gun – believing that both he and Rango represent too much of the old traditions – but finds Rango has taken the sole bullet, which he uses to shatter the vault's glass door, freeing himself and Beans. Impressed, Jake salutes Rango for proving his heroism before carrying John off into the desert to take his revenge for this act of betrayal. The citizens of Dirt celebrate the return of their water supply, and Rango, now a true hero.

## Voice cast

* Johnny Depp as Rango, an eccentric but heroic chameleon. His actual name is unknown, but he calls himself Rango throughout the film. Johnny Depp also voiced Lars and Raoul Duke in a cameo appearance, reprising his role from the 1998 film *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas*.
* Isla Fisher as Beans, a hotheaded but good-hearted desert iguana and Rango's love interest.
* Abigail Breslin as Priscilla, a young cactus mouse.
* Ned Beatty as John, a calculating desert tortoise who is the mayor of Dirt.
* Alfred Molina as Roadkill, an elderly nine-banded armadillo.
* Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake, a sadistic western diamondback rattlesnake gunslinger.
* Harry Dean Stanton as Balthazar, a mole and the father of Jedidiah and Ezekiel.
* Ray Winstone as Bad Bill, a Gila monster outlaw.
* Timothy Olyphant as The Spirit of the West; the likeness of Clint Eastwood is used to represent his character.
* Stephen Root as Doc, a one-eared hare who is Dirt's doctor, Johannes Merrimack III, a ground squirrel who is the banker at Dirt's local bank, and Mr. Snuggles, a North American porcupine.
* Maile Flanagan as Lucky
* Alanna Ubach as Boo, Cletus, a raccoon; Fresca, and Miss Daisy
* Ian Abercrombie as Ambrose, a burrowing owl. This was Abercrombie's final film appearance before his death in 2012.
* Gil Birmingham as Wounded Bird, a crow who becomes Rango's deputy.
* James Ward Byrkit as Waffles, a horned lizard; Gordy, Papa Joad, and Cousin Murt
* Claudia Black as Angelique, a red fox and The Mayor's secretary.
* Blake Clark as Buford, a Colorado River toad who is the bartender at Dirt's local saloon.
* John Cothran, Jr. as Elgin, a bobcat whose past is shrouded in mystery.
* Patrika Darbo as Delilah and Maybelle
* George DelHoyo as Señor Flan, the leader of the mariachi band of burrowing owls and the narrator of the film.
* Charles Fleischer as Elbows
* Beth Grant as Bonnie
* Ryan Hurst as Jedidiah, Balthazar's son and Ezekiel's older brother.
* Vincent Kartheiser as Ezekiel, Balthazar's son and Jedediah's younger brother.
* Joseph Nunez as Rock-Eye, a desert rain frog who disguises himself as a rock, until he is snatched by the hawk.
* Hemky Madera as Chorizo, a shrew
* Chris Parson as Hazel Moats, Kinski, Stump, Clinker, Lenny, Boseefus, Dirt Kid
* Lew Temple as Furgus, a bald eagle; and Hitch
* Gore Verbinski as Sergeant Turley, a wild turkey with an arrow through his eye; Crevice, Slim, a vulture; and Lupe, a member of the mariachi band of owls.
* Kym Whitley as Melonee, a frog
* Alex Manugian as Spoons, an old mouse prospector.

The likeness of Benicio del Toro is briefly used to represent his character of Dr. Gonzo from *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* in a cameo appearance, alongside Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke.