Rango might be most notable for being a new animated film not produced by Pixar or Dreamworks. But the lack of studio pedigree doesn't mean you shouldn't pay attention, even if the trailer makes it tough to figure out which target audience this movie is aiming at. You may be even more confused after watching the flick, but you will have probably enjoyed the confusion.
Rango is the story of a lizard voiced by Johnny Depp who, through some crazy animated hijinks, ends up in an Old West town where he must play the part of the sheriff in order to not get killed. Eventually, Rango meets a comely female lizard (voiced by Wedding Crashers' Isla Fisher) and a shadier character named Rattlesnake Jake (the great Bill Nighy), and the lonely little lizard must find a way to be the hero in this interesting spin on the Spaghetti Western.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.