‘Rango’ is Not the Typical Animated Film

The Nickelodeon animated movie “Rango” is about taking charge of your own destiny and making yourself a hero.

"Rango" advertisement

The lizard, talents of Johnny Depp, is a no name at the opening of the film. He believes he is an actor and creates scenes where he is beloved by everyone, when in actuality his only friends are inanimate objects. 

Not by accident, the innominate lizard is dumped into the desert and forced to interact with others. He views this as an opportunity to create himself and “blend in” by pretending to be a gun-slinging adventurer. 

The citizens in the town of Dirt buy into his disguise and Rango is finally accepted. His life is just as he wants it to be until he is forced to live up to the character he has built.

Scene from "Rango"

The lizard tries to run away from his identity as Rango, fearing that he will fail his friends. The “Spirit of the West” (who strongly resembles Clint Eastwood) interferes and tells Rango that he has what it takes to save the town of Dirt. 

Rango takes on his identity and saves the day, earning the love of his friends. 

Johnny Depp was surprisingly successful at pulling off the Western style and attributed to the film.

Johnny Depp

The film was a great lesson of self-invention and a refreshing change from many of the recent animated films. However, as a film directed at children, I am not sure that children would like this movie because it is not the stereotypical animated movie. For those reasons, “Rango” deserves a 4 out of 5 rating.