This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Casting Johnny Depp as a voice actor seems like a risky proposition, since his shambling and sometimes mumbly line readings can be difficult enough to understand when you're looking at his face.
But Depp's voicework isn't even close to being the weirdest thing about "Rango," a bizarre yet frisky and funny computer-animated homage to old Westerns directed by Gore Verbinski (who steered Depp through three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films).
Depp's character is a terrarium-bred lizard who finds himself alone in the California desert (just outside of Barstow, judging by the random Hunter S. Thompson reference), where he lands in a town populated by various animals — all of whom are waiting for a hero to rescue them from bandits and a water shortage.
Throw in an oily turtle mayor (voiced by Ned Beatty), a stalwart ranch daughter (voiced by Isla Fisher) and a flock of mariachi owls acting as a Greek chorus, and you've got a rich, strange and tasty stew. HHH
Rango
Opens today at theaters everywhere; rated PG for rude humor, language, action and smoking; 107 minutes.