''Rango'' is a 2011 American animated comedy

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...

from a screenplay by John Logan. The film stars

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

in the main role, with

Isla Fisher Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress. Born in Oman to Scottish parents with whom she moved to Australia during her childhood, she began appearing in television commercials and came to prominence for her portrayal o ...

Abigail Breslin Abigail Breslin (born April 14, 1996) is an American actress. Following a string of film parts as a young child, she rose to prominence at age 10 after playing Olive Hoover in ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), for which Breslin received a nomin ...

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work in numerous stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and ...

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), '' Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), '' Dilling ...

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage, and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is known ...

, and Timothy Olyphant co-starring in supporting roles. In the film, Rango ends up in the town of Dirt, an outpost that is in desperate need of a new sheriff. The film contains a number of references to Westerns and other films, including '' The Shakiest Gun in the West'', ''

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (, (''For a Fistful of Dollars'')) is a 1964 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Si ...

'', ''

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

'', ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (, literally "''The good, the ugly, the bad''") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach a ...

'', '' Once Upon a Time in the West'', ''

Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his ...

'', '' Raising Arizona'', and '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'', the latter of which also starred Depp. Verbinski has also cited '' El Topo'' as an influence on the film. Visual effects for the film were outsourced by

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...

. ''Rango'' premiered on February 14, 2011 at

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...

, and was released in the United States on March 4. The film received critical acclaim and grossed $245.7 million worldwide against a $135 million budget. At the

84th Academy Awards The 84th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011 in the United States and took place on February 26, 2012, at the Hollywood and Highland Center Theatre in H ...

, ''Rango'' won Best Animated Feature. Following its critical and commercial success, ''Rango'' would lead to the formation of

Paramount Animation Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the critical and commerical success of P ...

Plot

A theatrically-minded pet

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

becomes stranded in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

after his terrarium accidentally falls out of his owners' car. Seeking water and shelter, he learns about an

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

-like town called Dirt, where water comes in through a mysterious rite on Wednesdays, from the cause of the accident - a

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also called the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo native to North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America, making ...

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

named Roadkill, who is seeking a mystical being known as the "Spirit of the West". Seeing no other options, the chameleon heads out into the desert. After a near-fatal encounter with a vicious

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...

, he meets desert iguana rancher Beans, who takes him to Dirt. Asked about his identity, the chameleon presents himself to the townsfolk as a tough drifter named "Rango" and quickly runs afoul of

Gila monster The Gila monster (''Heloderma suspectum'', ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, slow-moving reptile, up to long, and it is the only ve ...

outlaw Bad Bill, who challenges him to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

after Rango accidentally sets him on fire. The hawk interrupts the duel and chases Rango, who accidentally knocks over an empty water tower and crushes the hawk to death. Believing he did so intentionally, the townsfolk praise Rango, who is appointed as the new

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

by Dirt's elderly

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii'') is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico ...

mayor. Meanwhile, the townsfolk worry that with the hawk dead, infamous

western diamondback rattlesnake The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-backWright AH, Wright AA. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). . (''Crotalus atrox'') is a rattlesnake species and member of the viper family, ...

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

Rattlesnake Jake, who fears predators such as it, will return. With the town desperate for water during a drought, Beans demands that Rango investigate where the water has gone and in doing so, he inadvertently helps a gang of bandits led by a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

named Balthazar, to steal the water supply after mistaking them for

prospectors Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. Traditionally prospecting rel ...

. Rango organizes a posse that later finds the banker, Johannes Merrimack III, dead in the middle of the desert from drowning. The posse tracks the robbers to their hideout, where they fight Balthazar's

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

-riding clan over the stolen water bottle before discovering it to be empty. Despite professing that they found it like that, Balthazar and his

prairie dog Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing Marmotini, ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. There are five recognized species of prairie dog: black-tailed prairie dog, black-tailed, white-tailed prairie dog ...

sons, Jedidiah and Ezekiel, are taken into custody. After being questioned by Rango about his buying of the land around Dirt, the mayor, soon revealed to be responsible for Merrimack's death, summons Rattlesnake Jake, who runs Rango out of town after forcing him to admit his lies. Dejected, Rango returns to where he was separated from his owners, where he passes out after he crosses to the other side of the highway. He eventually meets the Spirit of the West, an elderly

Man with No Name The Man with No Name () is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and '' The Good, t ...

, who advises him to go back to Dirt and set things right, telling him that "No man can walk out on his own story". With the aid of Roadkill and mystical moving

yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

s, Rango discovers an emergency shut-off valve in a water pipeline to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, which the mayor had been manipulating to cause the water shortage so he could buy the land for himself. Rango returns to Dirt and challenges Jake to a duel, a diversion staged by his allies to allow the restoration of the town's water in order to make his resolve clear. However, the mayor forces Rango to surrender by threatening Beans' life before attempting to drown the duo inside the bank's vault. The mayor then tries to shoot Jake with Rango's gun, believing that both he and Rango represent too much of the old traditions, only to discover that Rango has taken its only bullet, which he uses to shatter the vault's glass door, freeing himself and Beans. Impressed, Jake praises Rango for proving his heroism and earning Jake's respect before dragging the mayor off into the desert to murder him as revenge for his betrayal. The citizens of Dirt celebrate the return of their water supply and Rango, now a true hero.

Voice cast

as Rango, an eccentric but heroic

who impersonates a famous gunslinger and becomes the unlikely sheriff of Dirt. His actual name is unknown, but he calls himself Rango throughout the film. Johnny Depp also voiced Lars and Raoul Duke in a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

, reprising his role from ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''. *

as Beans, a hotheaded but good-hearted desert iguana rancher who has a tendency to freeze when nervous or stressed and Rango's love interest. *

as Priscilla, a young cactus mouse with a dark sense of humor. *

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...

as Tortoise John, an elderly

who is the mayor of Dirt and plots to enrich himself. *

as Roadkill, a

hermit who is seeking the Spirit of the West.O'Hehir, Andrew
"'Rango' and the rise of kidult-oriented animation"

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

, March 2, 2011
WebCitation archive
*

as Rattlesnake Jake, a sadistic

gunslinger who returns to terrorize Dirt. He is the last known outlaw left in the West. *

as Balthazar, a

bandit and the father of Jedidiah and Ezekiel. *

as Bad Bill, a

outlaw and the mayor's primary enforcer. * Timothy Olyphant as The Spirit of the West; the likeness of

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

is used to represent the character. *

Stephen Root Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the NBC sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and voiced Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland on the a ...

as Doc, a one-eared

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

who is Dirt's local doctor, Johannes Merrimack III, a

ground squirrel Ground squirrels are rodents of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) that generally live on the ground or in burrows, rather than in trees like the tree squirrels. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones ar ...

who is the banker at Dirt's local bank and Mr. Snuggles, a

North American porcupine The North American porcupine (''Erethizon dorsatum''), also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America after the North American beaver (''Ca ...

. * Maile Flanagan as Lucky. * Alanna Ubach as Boo, Cletus, a

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

, Fresca and Miss Daisy. * Ian Abercrombie as Ambrose, a

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in gra ...

and one of Rango's deputies. This was Abercrombie's final film appearance before his death in 2012. *

Gil Birmingham Gilbert Birmingham (born July 13, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater on the Paramount Network series ''Yellowstone'' (2018–2024), George Hunter on ''Banshee'' (2014), Vi ...

as Wounded Bird, a

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

Native American who becomes Rango's deputy. *

James Ward Byrkit James Ward Byrkit (also known as James Byrkit or Jim Byrkit) is an American filmmaker. Byrkit is perhaps best known for his collaborations with director Gore Verbinski, working together on films like ''Mouse Hunt'' and ''Rango (2011 film), Rango'' ...

as Waffles, a

horned lizard ''Phrynosoma'', whose members are known as the horned lizards, horny toads, or horntoads, is a genus of North American lizards and the type genus of the Family (biology), family Phrynosomatidae. Their common names refer directly to their horns or ...

, Gordy, Papa Joad and Cousin Murt. *

Claudia Black Claudia Lee Black (born 11 October 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in ''Farscape'', Vala Mal Doran in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Sharon "Shazza" Montgomery in the film '' Pitch Black''. She has had promi ...

as Angelique, a

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

who is the mayor's secretary. *

Blake Clark Blake Clark is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as Chet Hunter on '' Boy Meets World'' and Harry Turner on '' Home Improvement''. Clark has voiced Slinky Dog in the ''Toy Story'' franchise starting with 2008's '' Toy Sto ...

as Buford, a

Colorado River toad The Colorado River toad (''Incilius alvarius''), also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is a toad species found in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is well known for its ability to exude toxins from glands within its sk ...

who is the bartender at Dirt's local saloon. * John Cothran, Jr. as Elgin, a

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

whose past is shrouded in mystery. * Patrika Darbo as Delilah and Maybelle. * George DelHoyo as Señor Flan, the leader of the mariachi band of burrowing owls who tell the film's story. *

Charles Fleischer Charles Fleischer (born August 27, 1950) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, musician, and writer, best known for his recurring role as Carvelli in '' Welcome Back, Kotter'', and for appearing in films such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ...

as Elbows. *

Beth Grant Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actor, character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her ...

as Bonnie. * Ryan Hurst as Jedidiah, a

who is Balthazar's son and Ezekiel's elder brother. * Vincent Kartheiser as Ezekiel, Balthazar's second son and Jedediah's younger brother. * Joe Nunez as Rock-Eye, a desert rain frog who disguises himself as a rock, until he is snatched by the hawk. * Hemky Madera as Chorizo, a

shrew Shrews ( family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to dif ...

who is one of Bad Bill's henchmen. *

Chris Parson Christopher L. Parson is an American voice actor and a 2001 graduate of the USC School of Cinema Television (now USC School of Cinematic Arts). Parson began his career working primarily as an assistant in talent management while still a student, ...

as Hazel Moats, Kinski and Stump (Bad Bill's two rabbit henchmen), Clinker, Lenny, Boseefus and a young Dirtonian. * Lew Temple as Furgus, a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

, and Hitch. *

as Sergeant Turley, a

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

war veteran who has an

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

through his right

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

, Crevice, Slim, a

vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

, and Lupe, a member of the mariachi owls. * Kym Whitley as Melonee, a frog. * Alex Manugian as Spoons, an elderly mouse prospector. The likeness of

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...

is briefly used to represent his character of Dr. Gonzo from ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' in a

, alongside Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke.

Production

The filming was described as "emotion capture" as the actors shot their scenes in live action for the animators to use as reference. During production, the cast dressed in their character's costumes and performed on real sets in order to "give them the feel of the Wild West". As

could only schedule twenty days to film his scenes, much of the supporting cast had to film with him when it was convenient.Vejvoda, Jim
"What Exactly is Rango?"
IGN.com, June 30, 2010
WebCitation archive
/ref> Verbinski said his attempt with ''Rango'' was to do a "small" film after the first three large-scale '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' movies, but that he underestimated how painstaking, time-consuming and expensive animated filmmaking is.Moody, Annemarie
"ILM Jumps to Features with Rango"
Animation World Network, September 12, 2008
WebCitation archive
/ref> Paramount stepped in at the last possible minute as Verbinski's slim financing was about to run out. Unlike many studio animation projects produced since ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'', ''Rango'' was rendered in 2D, not 3D, as the budget would not allow for it and Verbinski did not want to do "half-assed 3D".

(ILM) turned down ''Avatar'', for which they had done some effects tests, to work on the film as they wanted to work on a less risky project, also taking advantage of their past relationship with Verbinski. The film contains a number of references to movie Westerns and other films, including '' The Shakiest Gun in the West'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Once Upon a Time in the West'', ''

'', '' Raising Arizona'', and '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''; as well as references to earlier ILM work including the dogfight in the Death Star trench in '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope''. Verbinski has also cited '' El Topo'' as an influence on the film. In a discussion about the nature of contemporary animated features, Verbinski said in December 2011:

Release

Marketing

''Rango''s

teaser trailer A teaser trailer, also shortened to teaser, is a short trailer (promotion), trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Sh ...

was released on June 9, 2010, alongside the film's official site RangoMovie.com. It depicted an open desert highway and Mr. Timms, Rango's orange, wind-up plastic fish floating slowly across the road.Rango – Movie Trailers – iTunes
/ref> On June 28, 2010, the first poster was released showing the main character Rango. Additional on March 6, 2011. A two-minute

film trailer A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

was released June 29, 2010.Young, John
"'Rango': A peek behind the scenes of Johnny Depp's epic lizard western"
''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', June 30, 2010
WebCitation archive
Another trailer was released December 14, 2010. A 30-second spot was made specifically to run during

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

on February 6, 2011.

Home media

The film was released on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on July 15, 2011. The release had been produced as a two-disc Blu-ray, DVD, and "Digital Copy" combo pack with both the theatrical and an extended version of the film, cast and crew commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes. The extended version adds a final scene that didn’t appear in the theatrical release of the film in which the flooded town is now a beach resort renamed Mud and Rango rides out to deal with news that Bad Bill is causing trouble elsewhere and gave his final speech before he falls off his roadrunner steed. A 4K

Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) video at frame rates up to 60 progre ...

SteelBook was released on June 4, 2024.

Reception

Box office

''Rango'' grossed $123,477,607 in the United States and Canada and $122,246,996 in other countries for a total $245,724,603. It is the 24th-highest-grossing film of 2011 worldwide. In the United States and Canada, ''Rango'' debuted in 3,917 theaters, grossing $9,608,091 on its first day and $38,079,323 during its opening weekend, ranking number one at the box office. Although the film dropped into second place behind '' Battle: Los Angeles'' the following week, it would go on to outgross the opening of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''

Mars Needs Moms ''Mars Needs Moms'' is a 2011 American animated science fiction comedy film co-written and directed by Simon Wells, produced by ImageMovers Digital and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Berkeley Breathed book of the same title, the ...

''. On March 26, 2011, it became the first film of 2011 to cross the $100 million mark. In markets outside the United States and Canada, during its first weekend, it earned $16,770,243 in 33 countries. It topped the international box office two times in March 2011. Although the film did not double its budget, it was declared a success by Paramount which subsequently announced the formation of its own animation department.

Critical response

The website's critical consensus reads, "''Rango'' is a smart, giddily creative burst of beautifully animated entertainment, and Johnny Depp gives a colorful vocal performance as a household pet in an unfamiliar world." Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

Richard Corliss Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''Time''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects. He was the former editor-in-chief of ''Film Comment ...

of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' applauded the "savvy humor" and called the voice actors "flat-out flawless". He later named it one of the 10 best movies of 2011, saying, "In a strong year for animation ... ''Rango'' was the coolest, funniest and dagnab-orneriest of the bunch." Bob Mondello of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

observed that "''Rango''s not just a kiddie-flick (though it has enough silly

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

to qualify as a pretty good one). It's a real movie lover's movie, conceived as a ''

Blazing Saddles ''Blazing Saddles'' is a 1974 American satirical postmodernist Western black comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, who co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg and Alan Uger, based on a story treatment by Be ...

''-like comic commentary on

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

that's as back-lot savvy as it is light in the saddle."Mondello, Bob
"Ride 'Em, Chameleon! 'Rango' A Wild, Wacky Western"
NPR.org, March 4, 2011
WebCitation archive
Frank Lovece of ''

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of '' Adweek'', '' Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodical ...

'', noting the nervous but improvising hero's resemblance to the

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

character in '' The Shakiest Gun in the West'', echoed this, saying that "with healthy doses of Carlos Castaneda,

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

and ''

'' ... this sthe kid-movie equivalent of a

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

picture. There's no gory violence or swearing, of course, but there sure is a film buff's parade of great movie moments."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film four out of four stars calling the film "some kind of a miracle: An animated comedy for smart moviegoers, wonderfully made, great to look at, wickedly satirical ... The movie respects the tradition of painstakingly drawn animated classics, and does interesting things with space and perspective with its wild action sequences." After praising "the brilliance of its visuals", Joe Morgenstern of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' wrote, "The narrative isn't really dramatic, ... utmore like a succession of picturesque notions that might have flowed from DreamWorks or

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

while their story departments were out to lunch." In one of the more negative reviews, Michael Phillips of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' acknowledged its "considerable care and craft" but called it "completely soulless" and that watching it "with a big suburban preview audience was instructive. Not much laughter. Moans and sobs of pre-teen fright whenever Rattlesnake Jake slithered into view, threatening murder."

Smoking controversy

The

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

-based anti-smoking organization Breathe California regards the film a "public health hazard"; it said there were at least 60 instances of smoking in the film. Because of this, some anti-smoking organizations, including Breathe California, petitioned for the film to receive an R rating instead of the original PG rating received by the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...

. However, no change was made to the smoking scenes and the film maintained its PG rating.

Accolades

Video games

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

released a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

of the same name served as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the film. It is rated E10+ and was released for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

, and

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

. Funtactix launched ''Rango: The World'', a browser-based virtual world set in the Rango universe, on March 4, 2011, the day of the film's release.

Music

The score was composed by Verbinski's frequent collaborator,

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

and features contributions from songwriter and actor Rick Garcia, Latin rock band

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...

, and hardcore punk/industrial band

Lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

. Non-original music includes "Finale", composed by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

for the 2007 film '' The Kingdom'', as well as excerpts of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's " Ride of the Valkyries",

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

's " The Blue Danube", and

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

cover of " Cool Water".

References

External links

*
WebCitation archive
(Archived site's opening page requires clicking on onscreen URL for entry.) *
Rango at Nickelodeon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rango (2011 film) 2011 films 2011 3D films 2011 action comedy films 2011 Western (genre) films 2011 computer-animated films 2011 American animated films 2010s children's adventure films 2010s children's comedy films 2010s children's animated films 2010s adventure comedy films 2010s Western (genre) comedy films 2010s English-language films American 3D films American computer-animated films American children's animated action films American children's animated adventure films American children's animated comedy films American action comedy films American adventure comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films American self-reflexive films Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Best Animated Feature Annie Award winners Best Animated Feature BAFTA winners Best Animated Feature Broadcast Film Critics Association Award winners Teen Choice Award winning films Animal adventure films Metafictional works Western (genre) animated films 3D animated films English-language action comedy films English-language adventure comedy films English-language Western (genre) comedy films Animated films about lizards Fictional chameleons and geckos Animated films about frogs Films about mice and rats Armadillos in popular culture Animated films about owls Animated films about turtles Animated films about snakes Fictional moles Animated films about talking animals Films about pets Films about water scarcity Animated films about death Animated films set in Nevada Films shot in Nevada Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Animated films set in deserts Films set in 2011 Animated film controversies Films using motion capture Films directed by Gore Verbinski Films produced by Graham King Films with screenplays by John Logan (writer) Films scored by Hans Zimmer Paramount Pictures films Paramount Pictures animated films Nickelodeon Movies films Nickelodeon animated films GK Films films

Plot

Voice cast

Production

Release

Marketing

Home media

Reception

Box office

Critical response

Smoking controversy

Accolades

Video games

Music

See also

References

External links