Rango (2011)
- The incredible score for Rango was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Gore Verbinski's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Rango is a 2011 American animated Western comedy directed by Gore Verbinski. Johnny Depp voices Rango, a sheltered pet chameleon who accidentally ends up in the Mojave Desert and stumbles into the town of Dirt, a dying frontier settlement populated by desert animals suffering from a mysterious water shortage. Assuming the identity of a tough gunslinger, Rango is appointed sheriff and must solve the mystery of where the town's water has gone while maintaining a heroic persona he has entirely fabricated.
Rango was one of the most visually striking and creatively ambitious animated films of its decade โ Industrial Light & Magic's first animated feature, using the same motion-capture and rendering technology as live-action films to create photorealistic desert environments and extraordinarily detailed character animation. The film paid homage to classic Westerns, film noir, and Chinatown in particular, with its water conspiracy plot directly paralleling Roman Polanski's film. Rango won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The film earned $245 million worldwide on a $135 million budget.
