>‘Rango’ a clever nod to famous westerns

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“Rango,” an animated spoof of spaghetti westerns, stars the little chameleon that could. Boy, could he.

The score, with lots of horns and a mariachi band of owls, is by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”). It more than suggests Ennio Morricone’s legendary work on “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

The cinematography, by Roger Deakins, rivals his Oscar-nominated work on “True Grit” and eight more films.

Double Oscar nominee John Logan (“Gladiator,” “The Aviator”) wrote the script.

Gore Verbinski, who knows something about spoofing a genre after helming the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy, directed.

And Johnny Depp gives a voice and character to that little chameleon that echoes more than a little of Capt. Jack Sparrow’s swagger, bravado and ability to fly by the seat of his pants when in a tight spot.

As the movie opens, the chameleon (we never learn his real name) lives alone in a terrarium. He uses his imagination to cast a decapitated doll, a plastic palm tree, a dead bug and a yellow wind-up fish as supporting players in his self-starring movies.

Suddenly, the car in which the terrarium is riding swerves, and our lizard friend finds himself out the window, learning new survival skills in the Mojave Desert.

Chased and nearly eaten by a hawk, he ends up in the aptly named town of Dirt, populated by a variety of birds, rodents, bugs, fellow lizards and a turtle mayor. The dilapidated town has mysteriously lost its water supply, and the citizens are desperate.

Amid a hostile crowd downing cactus juice in the saloon, the chameleon calls on his fertile imagination and casts himself as Rango, a legendary gunslinger. Soon he’s tracking down the mystery of the missing water, giving the town hope and a hero.

Parents and grandparents will be thoroughly entertained by all the references to classic westerns and a long list of nicely realized characters. Kids will love an exciting chase and aerial assault sequence involving a water-cooler jug passing as a covered wagon and bomb-diving bats.

The animation, from Industrial Light & Magic, is incredibly crisp, finely detailed and realistically rendered with a mix of real-looking objects and animals infused with human personalities. Imagination is on display everywhere.

Depp is by no means alone in the list of top voice talent, which includes Alfred Molina as Roadkill, an aptly named armadillo; Bill Nighy as the fearsome villain, Rattlesnake Jake; Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”) as Rango’s love interest who talks with a perfect western twang; Abigail Breslin as a cute little tyke who embodies the town’s hope in their hero; and Ned Beatty as the smooth-talking mayor.

I could have sworn the legendary character, Spirit of the West, was voiced by Clint Eastwood, but no, that’s Timothy Olyphant doing a mighty fine impersonation.

Just about every western cliche is in here somewhere, including a duel on main street at high noon.

Pixar better watch out. The new kid on the animation block is on the street with both guns blazing.