Rango – An animated film with a tail, er, tale to tell

Director: Gore Verbinski

Writers: John Logan (screenplay), Gore Verbinski (story)

Stars: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Bill Nighy, Timothy Olyphant

One of the films worth lining up for this year is the computer-animated film Rango. Johnny Depp, Timothy Olyphant, Ned Beatty, and Abigail Breslin are among the artists who lent their voices to this comedy with the title role voiced by (of course) Depp.

I think no one is more fit to the role of the chameleon Rango than Depp. Depp is known for his “chameleonic” roles from Edward Scissorhands to Donnie Brasco to Chocolat’s gypsy Roux. And who would forget the character of slightly gay and perennially drunk Captain Jack Sparrow? This actor, who’s been nominated as the sexiest man alive by many magazines by many times over, can easily lend credence to myriad portrayals including out-of-this-world characters. He’s also worked on several animated features notably with his pal Tim Burton coming with The Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland.

The film is the latest team-up of Depp and director Gore Verbinski with the two of them working together in the Pirates of the Caribbean enterprise. I’ve seen the trailer plus some behind-the-scenes teaser of Rango, and it sure looks like this one’s loaded with comedic sequences and great CIG effects.

The plot revolves around Rango which is described by online sources as a household chameleon pet with an identity crisis. Through bizarre series of circumstances he finds himself outside his terrarium. His adventure takes him to the Mojave Desert in a little town aptly called Dirt, a place apparently populated by a lot of misbehaving desert creatures. This green lizard, always thinking himself as a hero, appoints himself as lawman which goes after the town’s bad critters. Considering he’s from a secluded world and ends up way, way out of his comfort zone I would expect laughs when he’s faced with the swirling dust and miscreants of the desert world.

Rango hits US theaters this March. To see the trailer, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-OOfW6wWyQ.