Gore Verbinski’s animated film starring Johnny Depp is not only groundbreaking, it’s lots of fun.

    The film tells how a mild-mannered pet chameleon* who finds greatness thrust upon him when he makes up a past of successful gunfights in the name of justice. Then, he becomes sheriff of the dried-up desert town of Dirt, which is governed by a fat, old tortoise who controls the community’s water supply, a situation that allows the film to take a child-friendly ecological theme.

    Introduced on his way through the arid* landscapes by an owl* band, Rango meets female lizard Beans (Isla Fisher), with whom he comes to Dirt, which is occupied by a large number of creatures who share one thing in common: They’re all thirsty and can’t hold out much longer without water. The wheelchair-bound, seemingly kind old tortoise mayor, who is voiced by Ned Beatty and looks like him too, promises everyone that good times lie ahead and appoints Rango sheriff*, who furthers his invented* legend by killing a giant, metal-beaked hawk.

    While some distracting* sideline villainy* brings some busy chases and battles, the real bad guy is the mayor, who has been hoarding* water in preparation for the day when he will have bought up all the surrounding land for cheap.

    His henchman* is the giant Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy), equipped with a rapid-fire Gatling gun where his rattle* normally would be. But before Rango faces his high noon* with the serpent*, he has an inspiring encounter* with an iconic* character called the Spirit of the West who looks like an aged Man With No Name*.

    Screenwriter John Logan, working from a story cooked up with director Gore Verbinski and the latter’s longtime illustrator and conceptual consultant James Ward Byrkit, stirs* the pot of genre archetypes, conventions and cliches with a sharp eye for their amusing reusability while also writing interesting character dialogue.

    Most exceptional is the visual style, which makes even the best animated 3D look like a poor cousin.(SD-Agencies)