Gore Verbinski’s “Rango” wins Oscar for best animated feature film
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES | Mon Feb 27, 2012 (Reuters) – “Rango,” starring Johnny Depp as the voice of a pet chameleon who tries to bring law and order to a town in the Wild West, won the Oscar for best animated feature film on Sunday.
Depp voices Rango, who ends up stuck in a desert town called Dirt, where he takes on the role of sheriff and leads a quest to replenish the town’s water supply.
The film is directed by Gore Verbinski, the man behind three of the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies that also star Depp. “Rango” is Verbinski’s first animated movie.
The film features references to classic movie westerns and is filled with sophisticated humor appreciated by adults.
“Someone asked me if this film was for kids,” Verbinski said as he accepted the award. “It was certainly created by a bunch of grown-ups acting like children.”
Asked backstage if he had hoped to win an Oscar for live action rather than animation, Verbinski said: “I’m feeling I’m dreaming right now. I don’t think it matters.”
“Rango” has won a slew of other awards, including a BAFTA and a People’s Choice Award for favorite animated movie voice.
The movie distributed by Viacom Inc unit Paramount Pictures has taken more than $245 million at the worldwide box-office and also features the voices of Ilsa Fisher, Abigail Breslin, and Ned Beatty.