Movie Review - Rango

Think Pixar on an acid trip and you get Rango.  Rango may be in the category of "kids" movie but really it's just a great adventure/comedy that will appeal to everybody.  I haven't had that much fun in the theater since The Hangover.  Rango (Johnny Depp) is a fish...or ahem...lizard out of water that is thrown out of his aquarium home (quite literally) and left to fend for himself in the wild west.  Rango is not your average underdog hero, he is a quirky self-proclaimed thespian that is lonlier than he knows - since he is too busy living in his head to notice.

I guess it's a typical "kids" movie plot where an unexpected downtrodden character finds adventure everywhere he turns, and ultimately finds friendship and love along the way.  But unlike your average kids movie the laughs are bigger.  Kinda like Shrek they really push the adult humor - just out of reach of a child's comprehension.  Plus, the characters are fully-formed and not just your stereotypical plot fillers, which makes this much more engaging than you'd expect.

The whole movie takes on a sort of surreal look, starting off with the wierd-featured Rango, and all the supporting cast of misfit animals.  Plus, there are some really trippy moments when Rango is wandering through the desert, hallucinating, and asking that age-old question "who am I."  Does the "man with no-name" have the answer?  You'll have to watch and see.  4 stars.