Rango (2011 film)

Rango is a 2011 American animated Western comedy film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by John Logan. The film stars Johnny Depp as Rango, with Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant in supporting roles. In the film, an anthropomorphic pet chameleon ends up in the town of Dirt, an outpost in the Mojave Desert that is in desperate need of a new sheriff.

The film contains a number of references to various other films, including The Shakiest Gun in the West, A Fistful of Dollars, Chinatown, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Cat Ballou, Raising Arizona and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Verbinski has also cited El Topo as an influence on the film. Visual effects and animation for the film were outsourced to Industrial Light & Magic.

Rango premiered on February 14, 2011, at Westwood, Los Angeles, and was released in the United States on March 4, by Paramount Pictures (under Nickelodeon Movies). The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $246 million worldwide against a $135 million budget. At the 84th Academy Awards, Rango won Best Animated Feature. Following its critical and commercial success, Rango would lead to the formation of Paramount Animation.