When it comes to animated films, I’m not usually one to rush out and buy a ticket unless of course its a Pixar movie. Rango however was not a Pixar movie, but it was a pretty darn good movie too say the least. My interest was peaked solely by a Johnny Depp performance and the direction of Pirates’ director, Gore Verbinski. That and let’s face it, there’s not much to see in theaters now, but with Rango, I was glad I did.

The plot was a fun one and not the kind you’d might expect from what looks to be a children’s film. A lonely lizard with troubles in finding who he truly is invents a character for himself and becomes the unlikely savior of a town in dire need of saving. While comical through, in turn the movie is whether intense and very mature for what it’s attempting to do. It was almost as if the filmmakers were confused themselves at who their target audience was. At times this made for a few awkward and weird moments. That would be one major complaint.

Aside from that, I had a lot of fun with this film. I loved the delivery by almost every actor, especially Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy. Ned Beatty fit right in with a role that practically mirrored the antagonist of Toy Story 3. The look and feel of the film were top-notch. The animation was absolutely breath-taking. From every scale and grain f sand, the job was done and done perfectly. You couldn’t look away.

The most fun I had with this film came from the very subtle references made to classic westerns. The most recognizable ones came from the brilliant “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, but the most entertaining to me came from the plot in general that seemed to pay homage to themes of “the dying west” that you get a full dose of in “Once Upon a Time in the West”. Rango is a western in every sense and I very fun one, I’d suggest a view.

Grade: B