Rango Review (2011) – A Visually Stunning, Satirically Sharp, and Wonderfully Weird Western That Doesn’t Just Entertain, It Reckons!

As the summer sun scorches the landscape and the weight of this world bears down harder than ever, we potatoes found ourselves extremely thirsty… for hope, for meaning, for something weird and wonderful to help us laugh. And with it being Animated August, we knew just where to turn. Rango! Rango (2011) is so strange, so clever, and so unexpectedly profound, it slithered into our hearts years ago and refused to leave!

Before we dive into the desert, a soft heads-up: Rango is a PG-rated animated film, but it’s not exactly a kid’s movie. It’s an existential Western with death, dehydration, spiritual crises, capitalist critiques, and more surreal moments than a lizard in a Hawaiian shirt should reasonably be expected to endure! It’s weird. It’s brilliant. And it might just be one of the best animated films of the past two decades.

We will try to avoid spoilers, but please be aware that there will likely be some in this review, so read with caution and a glass of cactus juice!

We open on the title of the film RANGO along with an adorable and talented owl mariachi band singing the Ballad of Rango! “We are gathered here today to immortalize in song the life and untimely death of a great legend. Rango… so sit back, relax, and enjoy your low-calorie popcorn and assorted confections, while we tell you the strange and bewildering tale of a hero who has yet to enter his own story.”

Fade to black and open on our main character Rango (Johnny Depp)! He is a lonely pet chameleon living in a terrarium. After some vocal exercises, he begins rehearsing grandiose scenes of drama with the help of his numerous companions! A headless Barbie doll, a wind-up fish, and a dead insect. “The stage is set, the night moist with apprehension. Alone in her chamber, the princess prepares to take her own life.”

He’s a thespian with no audience, a lizard with no identity beyond what he pretends to be. Frustrated he starts breaking down the performance, “Mr. Timms? You were good. Perhaps a little too good.” He continues on until the silence of his terrarium truly sinks in. Sighing, he walks up to the glass of his terrarium, he draws a box with his finger using his breath around his reflection, “Who am I?” he asks. This is a question he will ask himself again and again throughout the film.

“I could be anyone.” He follows that train of thought, and explores various roles he could play. “That’s it! Conflict! Victor, you were right. I have been undefined. People! I’ve had an epiphany. The hero cannot exist in a vacuum! What our story needs is an ironic, unexpected event that will propel the hero into conflict!”

Fate, or possibly absurd cosmic irony, launches him from the safety of his glass box into the ruthless Mojave Desert! Skittering loudly on a piece of glass across the hot asphalt of a highway where the heat really sets in. Stripped away from the comfort and safety of his terrarium, Rango stands and pauses looking down the road.

Then he hears something! He looks down the road again, and spots an armadillo (Alfred Molina)…who has been squished by a passing car. He is hesitant at first, but the Armadillo manages to convince him to come closer and give him a hand.

The Armadillo briefly discusses his quest to see the Spirit of the West. “What are you talking about?”

“Enlightenment. We are nothing without it.”

“Nothing? Your delusional quest just ruined my life!”

Rango reluctantly tries to help him get back on his feet, but a car passes by and Rango is swept up in more absurdity, before he is settled back down on the pavement. The Armadillo has managed to get himself back onto his own feet, and offers Rango help. He then gently and kindly points Rango in the right direction, through the desert, towards the town of Dirt.

On his way there, he has a crazy and unhinged run-in with a hawk! He manages to get away by the skin of his teeth and makes it through a fitful, and nightmare filled night. The next morning, after being rudely awakened by almost drowning, chasing the water her emerged from before it evaporates, he finds himself looking up into the barrel of a shotgun.

Another lizard named Beans (Isla Fisher), shoves her gun further into his face, “I got a bead on you, stranger. So you get up real slow, lessen you want to spend the better part of the afternoon putting your face back together!”

Rango stands and manages to convince her that he is not a threat. She is confused by him, “You ain’t from around here, are you?”

After some further discussion, Beans offers him a ride, and they set off, heading for the lawless town of Dirt, a parched, cracked-mud settlement made up of dehydrated animals, desperation, and dust. Rango is a chatter box, understandable considering how long he has gone without having anyone to talk to, but he talks so much Beans loses patience with him.

She drops him off a mile or so before the town of Dirt, and rides in without him. He eventually makes it into town but Rango is out of his element. So what does Rango do?

He reinvents himself! He performs! He makes up a character for himself called Rango, and tells a wild long-winded lie about slaying seven outlaws with one bullet and accidentally becomes the town’s new sheriff. It’s absurd. It’s hilarious. And it’s achingly real. Because how many of us, especially in these past few years, have found ourselves performing to stay alive or just to keep going?

But that is not all! We also discover that the town of Dirt has a “water problem!” The water is almost gone. The people are thirsty. The mayor is shady. The land is dying. Sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it?

Wrapping up from here! What follows is a fever dream of a Western that plays with genre conventions like a cat with a toy. There are duels and posses, outlaws and spiritual quests. The adorable owl mariachi band that narrates the film gets increasingly more confused and despairing. And through it all, Rango is trying to find not just water, but truth. Meaning. Purpose. Identity. Aren’t we all?

We potatoes love films like this! Films that ask questions, and do not shy away from complex themes. One of the most striking themes in Rango is its critique of capitalism, greed, and the devastating commodification of basic needs. The town of Dirt is not simply dry by accident. Its water is hoarded, manipulated, and weaponized by those in power. The mayor, a soft-spoken tortoise (Ned Beatty) has a tight grip on the town, and literally controls life and death.

It is a brutal and accurate metaphor for how real-world systems gate keep resources, how the wealthy and privileged feed on desperation, and manufacture it. How corruption festers in the dry rot of unchecked power. How the powerful take advantage of ignorance. The film doesn’t just hint at these realities. It confronts them head-on. And it dares to suggest that justice won’t come from the top down, but from the community choosing to resist and reclaim what is theirs.

Rango also takes a sharp look at religion and superstition, especially in how these systems are used to control, pacify, or distract desperate communities. In the town of Dirt, faith is placed not in real solutions but in vague omens, ritual, and the hope that someone else will save them. The townsfolk believe in “the Spirit of the West,” a mythical figure that represents salvation, legacy, and divine intervention. The townsfolk pray for water.

Rango tries to become their savior, and plays the role of prophet, martyr, and hero. Rango eventually comes back to himself and reality, which is what actually saves people, not his performance. The film critiques the dangers of blind faith and superstition, especially in regards to institutions and charismatic figures. The heroes we create, and wait for are often not real, and the systems that promise salvation are often exploitative illusions.

The mayor cloaks his manipulations in religious metaphor, positioning himself as a godlike overseer while depriving the townspeople of the very sustenance they need to survive. The townspeople's misplaced reverence allows the corrupt Mayor to tighten his grip on power, selling false hope while hoarding the town's lifeblood. “People have to believe in something.” Once again… that sounds incredibly familiar. It’s a scathing look at how religious language is often co-opted by those in power to mask cruelty and excuse exploitation, and how myth-making can keep the masses obedient, even as they starve.

We potatoes know, it’s not always easy to sit with these kinds of truths, but we feel strongly that they’re exactly the kind we must face head-on, not avoid. We, as a society, have been looking away for far too long, and the consequences so far, have been truly horrid. Our systems, our communities, our very planet are suffering because of that refusal to engage, and refusal to see. So please, in the immortal words of Patrick Star, “LOOK AT IT!”

And then, once you’ve looked… let yourself look at something else, too. Something strange. Something beautiful. Something that reminds you why we keep going in the first place. For us potatoes, that’s where animation comes in.

Rango is stunning! Every frame is rich with texture, movement, and light. The cracked earth looks real enough to touch! The sunsets are painterly masterpieces! The character designs are wildly unpolished, leaning into the grotesque and the weathered textures of life in the desert! Every creature looks like it has been carved out of dust, heat, and survival. We potatoes adore how unapologetically strange and gritty it is! It is beautiful and outlandish in a way that feels bold, exciting, and refreshingly different from the norm.

While we love a good Disney or Pixar flick, we do feel strongly that not every animated film needs to look like Frozen. Rango dares to be bold and weird, leaning into its unique style and proving that animation can tell a story just as beautifully (if not more so) when it allows itself to be imperfect, dirty, and real. It is this mix of beauty, oddity and grotesque detail that makes Rango so memorable and sets it apart as a modern animated classic!

We potatoes crave more animation like this, weird, textured, and messy. Rango isn’t afraid to be visually distinct, and we love it all the more for that!

And it’s not just the look! It’s how the film moves. Rango carries itself with the confidence of a story that knows exactly what it wants to be. The writing is sharp, hilarious, meaningful, and occasionally even a little poignant. We get chase scenes on roadrunners, aerial dogfights with bats, and a mystical encounter with a Clint Eastwood-inspired Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant). It gives us all of that and still has room for more.

We potatoes have loved this film for years, and somehow, it still manages to surprise us! We return to Rango for the laughs, the absurdity, the glorious weirdness, but what keeps us coming back is how much it says. Beneath the spectacle is a searing, timely commentary on power, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. It’s a film that dares to ask: Who am I, really? What does it mean to be brave when the odds are against us? What if the answer isn’t in pretending to be the hero, but in choosing to be ourselves? To act, even when we’re afraid?

Rango touches on many themes, but at its core, it’s about identity and community. About the lies we tell to survive, and the truths we discover when we stop performing. About confronting systems that leave us dry and broken and choosing to fight anyway. Not for glory. Not for legacy. But for each other.

Johnny Depp’s performance is chaotic and brilliant! It’s theatrical, neurotic, and weirdly tender. Rango is arrogant, awkward, terrified, and searching. He is everything a good anti-hero should be. And the supporting cast delivers in spades! Isla Fisher’s fierce and frantic Beans, Ray Winstone’s menacing Rattlesnake Jake, and a whole host of gloriously grizzled desert dwellers round out this dusty world with grit and charm.

Now, we potatoes do not have many critiques…but we do have a few small ones! The pacing can get a bit jagged in the middle. The tone shifts from an absurd comedy to philosophical Western and back again, which can be jarring if you’re not ready for it. And while the film handles most of its commentary with surprising depth, some of the indigenous coding veers toward caricature, which we potatoes do not love. It does not come across as malicious, but it could’ve been handled with a lot more care and consideration.

Still, for all its strangeness, Rango is a masterpiece! An animated Western that critiques capitalism, questions religion, honors film history, and still manages to be deeply fun! That’s storytelling gold in our book. That’s a film that knows the desert may be hot and dry, but it is not empty. It’s brimming with life and beauty if you know where to look.

So! If you’ve never seen Rango or if it’s been a while, this is your sign to watch (or rewatch) it. It’s a campy, hysterical, contemplative, wildly entertaining gem that only gets better the more you sit with it! If that sounds like your kind of movie, we could not recommend it more!

Cheers to Rango, for proving that sometimes the weirdest stories have the most to say! Cheers to Beans, for being wild, fearless, and so much smarter than anyone gives her credit for. Cheers to the townsfolk of Dirt! And cheers to you, for looking with us, for questioning, for noticing, and for not letting the desert win!

Now go forth, drink some water, (or cactus juice), and remember: no one can walk out on their own story!

We give this movie 5 out of 5 Cactus Cocktails!

The Rango Drinking Game

Take a sip anytime:

1.     Rango lies

2.     Rango questions who he is

3.     Rango has a near-death experience

4.     Rango blusters, boasts, or displays false overconfidence

5.     Beans freezes up

6.     The Mayor gives a sinister smile

7.     Mariachi band is on screen

8.     Mariachi band talks about Rango dying or mentions his death

9.     Anyone mentions rattlesnake Jake

10.  Anyone says "water"

11.  Anyone says "dirt"

12.  Anyone says anything out-of-pocket

13.  Classic western trope on screen

14.  The Spirit of the West is mentioned

What did you think? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it? What movies should we watch? Any and all thoughts are welcome! Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly!

What do you think? Do you like this drinking game? Are there rules missing? Is the game too intense? Are there movies that you think we should make a drinking game for? Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly! (Drinks can be water, soda, anything nonalcoholic, etc. Please be safe, have fun and take care of you!)