Rango
About the Film
A pampered pet chameleon with a flair for the dramatic is flung from his owners’ car and stranded in the baking Mojave Desert. Guided by a philosophical armadillo toward a dusty frontier town called Dirt, the lizard reinvents himself as “Rango,” a swaggering tough-talking drifter, and spins a tall tale that wins over the parched, superstitious locals.
When a lucky accident leaves him credited with killing a fearsome hawk, Rango is made the town’s new sheriff — a role far bigger than the coward behind the bravado. Investigating why Dirt’s precious water keeps vanishing, he uncovers a conspiracy reaching the highest office in town and must face the deadly gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake. Forced to confront the difference between the hero he pretends to be and the one he could become, Rango finds his true self and saves the town.
Plot synopsis by johnny-depp.org.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp voices Rango, a stagey, self-invented chameleon who talks his way into being a hero long before he has the courage to become one. Depp recorded the part using “emotion capture,” performing the scenes in costume on a set alongside the other actors so the animators could reference real body language — giving Rango his loose-limbed, theatrical energy and the anxious charm beneath the bravado.
Cast & Crew
Cast
RangoJohnny Depp
BeansIsla Fisher
PriscillaAbigail Breslin
Tortoise John (the Mayor)Ned Beatty
RoadkillAlfred Molina
Rattlesnake JakeBill Nighy
BalthazarHarry Dean Stanton
Spirit of the WestTimothy Olyphant
Crew
DirectorGore Verbinski
ScreenplayJohn Logan
StoryJohn Logan, Gore Verbinski & James Ward Byrkit
MusicHans Zimmer
Visual EffectsIndustrial Light & Magic
ProducersGore Verbinski, Graham King, John B. Carls
StudioParamount Pictures / Nickelodeon Movies
“No man can walk out on his own story.”
— Spirit of the West, Rango
Filming Locations
- Recorded using “emotion-capture” — the cast performed the scenes in costume on a real set as live-action reference for the animators
More about this film
Trivia
- It was Industrial Light & Magic’s first fully animated feature, rendered to look and light like live action.
- The film is packed with nods to classic Westerns, including A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
- The Spirit of the West character is modelled on Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name.”
- Director Gore Verbinski himself voices Sergeant Turley, one of the townsfolk.
Awards
- 2012 Academy Award — Best Animated Feature Won
- 2012 BAFTA Award — Best Animated Film Won
- 2012 Annie Award — Best Writing in an Animated Feature Won
- 2012 Critics’ Choice Award — Best Animated Feature, nominated
