This is truly a cartoon for adults, especially adults who love Westerns and have seen a lot of them. Much of this film centers around the search for water, the theme that forms the devious plot in 1974's "Chinatown," (my favorite movie of all time, by the way!). Even the Mayor of Dirt (voice of Ned Beatty) is modeled after the Machiavellian character of Noah Cross played by John Huston in "Chinatown," when he tells Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), "Either you bring the water to L.A., or you bring L.A. to the water." 

So it is in the dust bowl village of Dirt, which seems to have run out of water. The Mayor tells Rango, "Whoever controls the water, controls everything" after he has made him the new Sheriff. There will be many other asides in this movie which suggest, among other films, the many spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood. There is even a wonderful tribute to this actor near the end of the film, but Rango might not be alive to see it. Priscilla (voice of Abigail Breslin), a cute little rat in Dirt, whispers to Rango that sheriffs don't live too long in her town.

As creative as Industrial Light and Magic is, they couldn't get their animals straight. Rango (voice of Johnny Depp) is referred to in studio press releases as being a chameleon (anole), but a chameleon has small black eyes which are not extended and do not rotate independently like those belonging to Rango. Rango is obviously another member of the lizard family and not an anole chameleon. Will someone up there in Marin County please call the San Diego Zoo?

Otherwise, this movie is spot on with the lizard comfortable in his aquarium cage while being transported in the back of a family van racing down a desert highway. The van swerves to avoid an accident, which throws the aquarium and the chameleon, er, the lizard, off the van to crash on the road. There the lizard has to avoid being hit by other cars, which he does after receiving helpful advice from a roadkill armadillo (voice of Alfred Molina), who tells him to cross the road to the other side. 

Wandering through the desert the lizard barely escapes being eaten by a hawk, which chases him into an empty bottle. Barely escaping with his life, he is picked up by another lizard in a wagon by the name of "Beans" (voice of Isla Fisher), who gives him a ride into her home town known as Dirt. Dirt is a dusty, forgotten, bedraggled, down at its heels small town about ready to collapse into the desert. 

This archetypical western town has the ubiquitous saloon, which the lizard stumbles into and has the temerity to ask the bartender for a glass of water. The bartender laughs, and says there isn't any, and that he will have to go to the banker, who also happens to be the mayor, to ask for a "loan" of water. Then the bartender asks the lizard who he is, and the lizard decides to reinvent himself, so he tells the bartender that his name is "Rango." 

Everyone backs up with a look of fear and respect on their faces, even more so when the newly named lizard is challenged to a duel and the hawk eats his challengers. Rango runs for his life from the hawk, but he ends up causing its death when it crashes into a water tower. Thereafter the town looks at Rango as their hero and deliverer from the awful drought which has brought Dirt to near ruin. Even the head banker who moonlights as the Mayor eyes him with respect and perhaps a threat to his plans. He plays "nice," but then he has "Rattlesnake Jake" (voice of Bill Nighy) on his payroll to take care of business.

Listening to the pleas from the townsfolk, including Beans, who can't "borrow" any more water from the bank, Rango discovers that something isn't right with all of those damp waterbeds outside town (just like in "Chinatown"). Will he find out what is going on, or will death find him first, which seems to be the popular refrain sung by the owl mariachi band which pops up all of the time? 

In general, this movie is excellent, although I felt that it wandered somewhat towards the end with its overly complex plot. This would have been an even better movie if ten minutes or so had been cut. I also would have preferred Rango to be a little less wimpy. 107 minutes and rated PG for rude humor, language, action, and smoking.