Despite the fact it’s an animated movie, this one stands alone, far from the rest. Rango. Where do I begin? Well, I can say it breaks a lot of typical boundaries you think would come with being an animated film. Rango is not by any means a “kid’s” movie. It is mature, and children will not be able to understand a lot of things in this film. I’ll tell you right now not to take your kids to go see it, unless you want to do a lot of explaining during or after watching.

Okay, since I got that out of the way, I can now start my review. Holy guacomole! Rango was FANTASTIC! Ahem, excuse me, I could not find any other way to express how great it really is.

It has everything. Not only is this a great animated film, but it could stand alone as a great western. A colorful cast did something for this film that no other animated film (as far as I know) before it has done. Rather than just stand in a booth and record audio, they actually acted out the scenes.

Johnny Depp (the oice of Rango) himself said, “Instead of motion capture, it’s E-motion Capture, using the actors as a reference for the motion of the animated character.” And that really must have helped. Because it gave Rango zest that I haven’t seen in an animated film before.

Rango is unique; it has a great way of telling the story. The narrative by itself could have been a book, but having such great visual aids made it even better.

Rango is the story of a pet lizard who finds himself way out of place in the middle of nowhere, trying to find out who he is, or what he can be for the townspeople of Dirt who need him. From the very beginning of the film you are told by the chorus that he’s going to die, and that this is his journey, until he meets his demise.

How odd to have such a dreary tone from the very start. I’m telling you, children wouldn’t be able to handle that. But, it works. Everything works. As much as I try I can’t really seem to find any way to criticize Rango. There are a few minor things but honestly nothing worth writing about.

There is great humor, acting, music, character development and epic scenes. My favorite was definitely the new take on the old “wagon-chase” scene from old western movies. The dragon was driven by a hog, and being chased by mice-bandits flying on bats, while “Ride of the Valkyries” is playing. Yeah, it was awesome.

I really, really want to say more. There’s plenty to talk about. But I seriously don’t want to spoil anything. Go see this film if you’ve been looking and searching but have come up empty.

This is for those of you who go to the movies in hope of something wonderful and inspiring, something to talk about with your friends. Lately there hasn’t been anything good. Well, here’s your chance.

Rango has without a doubt brought something to the table, and it deserves many rewards in my opinion. This is a mature, rich, adventurous experience. All you can do is trust me and watch.

I would pay full price to see this movig again. Also, I will buy it on DVD the minute it comes out, because I want to share Rango’s rich quality with everyone I know. Colorful, flavorful, extravagant, and unafraid to be bold, Rango has given me hope that people out there can still make good movies. Go and see it as soon as you can; you won’t be disappointed.

Check out more about how Rango was made on IMDB!