Last week, a perplexing video debuted on Apple. It appeared to be a trailer for Gore Verbinski’s animated adventure, Rango, but only by way of a few illegal substances. It turns out that was only a preview for the film’s website (oh, what marketing times we live in!) and the actual trailer premiered this week.
Rango centers on a little household pet who goes on a journey to discover his true self. Now we finally know what the “household pet” voiced by Johnny Depp is — an adorable, Hawaiian shirt wearing lizard. Somehow, he’s made his way into the desert where he has no instinct for survival. The trailer doesn’t betray much in terms of story, and simply lets little Rango run shrieking and wild.
The trailer is pretty cute, and is absolutely gorgeous and immersive in its animation. The animals are stylized in their features, but their fur, feathers, and scales look photoreal. The desert feels sunbaked and scary. And the little Wild West town? Well, that’s just adorable. Who knew Rango was going to be a kiddie Western? Not me. I was expecting Bolt all over again. Rango looks like it might just make Nickelodeon and Paramount a worthy animation rival to DreamWorks and Pixar.
The trailer can be seen after the jump. Watch it, and tell us what you think. Rango is scheduled to hit theaters March 4, 2011.
