Now on DVD: Rango

Synopsis: A chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who has been a family pet falls out of the back of the car and, finding himself in a desert town, pretends to be a gunfighter. After being named sheriff, he ends up investigating the cause of the town's water shortage.

What I liked about this movie: This is one of those movies that had the potential to be predictable. However, even though there were some things that weren't much of a surprise (the mayor being behind the water shortage, people finding out Rango is a fraud, etc.), the overall plot did keep me guessing quite a bit and I honestly didn't know how the movie was going to end. That kept it interesting.

The movie also managed to keep a good balance of drama, comedy and action throughout. There aren't a lot of animated films that will keep me on the edge of my seat but this one managed to do just that. And, even though it did have a PG rating, it did keep things toned down enough for me to be OK with my daughters watching the movie too.

What I didn't like about the movie: I'm not 100 percent sure why, but this movie, while good, wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be. I think part of the problem is the plot seemed to be a bit rushed and they were trying to fit a lot of material into a relatively short run-time. This prevented many of the characters from having any real depth; including the mayor. We know he's the bad guy pretty much from the start. But, we never are told exactly what made him so evil. Was it just greed or was there something else behind it?

I also got the feeling this movie relied a bit too much on star power to get it by. If Depp hadn't voiced Rango, for example, and given the main character his personality, I'm not sure it would have been as good.

Final Opinion: The movie was OK. But, it could have been a bit better if the writers would have taken a little more time with character development.

Average Netflix Grade: 3.7 stars out of a possible 5.

My Grade: 3 stars.