Rango

Rango is the latest CG animation film to hit the cinemas. It features the voice of Johnny Depp as the eponymous chameleon who finds himself in the wild west town of Dirt, where the tall tales he tells land him the job of sheriff and of finding out what has happened to the town's water supply.

The first pleasant surprise about Rango is that it has resisted the current craze to put everything in 3D. The second pleasant surprise is that this is just about the best looking non-Pixar animated film you're likely to fine. They really have shown great attention to detail and produced a wonderful looking film.

The script and the characters might not quite be up to Pixar standards, but all in all, they're not bad. There's an impressive vocal cast - Ray Winstone, Isla Fischer, Abigail Breslin, Bill Nighy, Timothy Olyphant and Alfed Molina (among others) and a script that is silly enough to entertain younger ones, whilst offering enough humour to keep adults watching as it plays with the cliches of the Western and the Clint Eastwood iconongraphy.

Director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) keeps the action moving from one set piece to another, some of which are very well handled indeed, and whilst the plot might be somewhat predictable to say the least, its at least an enjoyable ride to get there.

Overall - 7/10 A pleasantly surprisingly entertaining animated feature - full of fun.