Rango - Comedy/Family [DVD]

A chameleon that aspires to be a swashbuckling hero finds himself in a Western town plagued by bandits and is forced to literally pl ay the role in order to protect it. An animated Western with a chameleon as the hero is an unlikely concept, but Rango is a great film thanks to its witty mix of parody, intriguing characters, and sophisticated humour. When a common pet chameleon who's suffering from an identity crisis crashes headfirst into the stereotypically classic Western town of Dirt, he has the unique opportunity to completely reinvent himself. Dubbing himself Rango, the chameleon boasts of his own heroism and creates a spiral of deception that lands him an appointment as sheriff of a town in crisis. The question is, can one unprepared and completely unqualified chameleon possibly change this little town's future for the better? And how do road kill, enlightenment, and the Spirit of the West figure in to the equation? The animation looks great in this film and kids will love the goofy characters and crazy scenarios. But adults will find the film intriguing on a whole different level because of its comic parody of the iconic classic and spaghetti Western genres and the skilled balance of action, romance, and adventure. Kudos to director Gore Verbinski ( Pirates of the Caribbean) and the talented voice cast, among them Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, and Bill Nighy, for an award-worthy film. Some kids ages 7 to 9 may find the film rather dark and the action a bit too intense, but kids 10 and older should be fine as long as parents don't object to the PG rating (some rude humour, language, smoking, and action). --Tami Horiuchi