This is a bit late in the posting, but I saw
Rango (Paramount, 2011) this past Friday, and I came away really liking it.
First things first:
Rango is actually associated with the kid-friendly
Nickelodeon -- yes, the same network to blame for introducing
Spongebob Squarepants to the world. However,
Rango is a PG film that I don't believe is suitable for anyone under 12.
The story revolves around an ordinary pet chameleon cum thespian accidentally coming upon the dilapidated desert town of Dirt, Nevada -- a town by anthropomorphic citizens. After coming up with a phony-baloney story at the local tavern about killing a gang of outlaws, he immediately gains the townsfolk's trust. Rango is soon assigned the role of sheriff. However, Dirt has been affected by a lack of water coming into the town, and Rango is determined to find out the cause of all this turmoil.
The only real downside I see with
Rango is that it follows a typical storyline of "stranger gains public trust, stranger's bluff is called, townsfolk loses faith in stranger, stranger regains the town's trust and leads to victory". However, the story is much less of a parody of westerns than it is a socio-political satire over natural resources.
The real reason to go see
Rango is the animation, which was produced by Industrial Light & Magic. The film looks AMAZING, and if it doesn't trump Pixar's output in recent years, IL&M provides very stiff competition.
Rango gets an A-.