There isn’t another film quite like Rango, an animated Western that holds a clear reverence for the genre it emulates while barely managing to remain a family-friendly animated picture. One of the best films by Gore Verbinski of the Pirates of the Caribbean series fame, Rango is an Academy-Award-winning animated feature centering on an eccentric pet chameleon, played by Johnny Depp, who fancies himself a thespian. When he’s abandoned in a frontier town full of rustic critters in the Mojave, the chameleon ᴀssumes the role of Rango, a hardened gunslinger tasked with uncovering an alarming conspiracy.

As a legitimate Western in its own right, Rango operates as a mᴀssive love letter to the genre, incorporating elements and obvious references to some of the greatest Westerns ever made. However, some of its nods and Easter Eggs extend to more obscure cowboy media, showing off just how refined Gore Verbinski’s palette for the Wild West truly is. Rango may indulge in references to all sorts of films that will fly over the heads of child viewers, but its homages to Westerns take center stage.

10

Clint Eastwood As The Spirit Of The West

Rango’s Most Overt Reference

By far the most obvious Western reference in Rango is the appearance of Clint Eastwood himself as the “Spirit of the West”, a sort of mythical figure spoken about in hushed whispers that Rango himself eventually meets. The only human character in the film to get more than a single throwaway line of dialogue, Rango seems to know who Clint Eastwood is, mentioning that people used to call him “The Man with No Name”. This moniker refers to Eastwood’s characters in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy, none of whom are given real names.

Just as the legend states, the Spirit of the West rides an ivory carriage (a golf cart) and is flanked by five golden guardians (Clint Eastwood’s Oscars). Sadly, Eastwood didn’t lend his voice to Rango as himself, but is instead played by Timothy Olyphant. Olyphant is a fitting enough choice, considering he’s also something of a Western staple, starring in the 2004 series ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood.

9

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Hand

A Classic Hand Of Cards Included In Rango

Rango doesn’t just make references to specific Western films or characters, but pays homage to time-honored tropes in the genre as a whole. One of the best examples is the “ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Hand” held by a card-playing owl when Rango first makes his saloon entrance in Dirt. Consisting of a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights, this hand is infamous for supposedly being the two pair held by real-life gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok when he was killed in the middle of a poker game.

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Hand has appeared in all sorts of other Westerns, from more recent fare like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs to the older Stagecoach, which introduced the world to the legendary John Wayne. The hand has even made it into other genres, appearing in blockbusters like John Wick: Chapter 4. In most cases, it’s an ill omen, signifying the death of the character who holds it, though the owl in Rango lives to see the end credits.

8

Rattlesnake Jake’s Mustache

Evokes The Image Of Lee Van Cleef

As compelling as a hero Rango himself is, the film would be nothing without the fearsome villainy of Rattlesnake Jake, the notorious terror of Dirt who serves as the Rango‘s secondary antagonist. Brought to life by the dulcet tones of Bill Nighy dripping with venom, making him the second excellent animated villain played by the actor in a Gore Verbinski movie after Davy Jones, Rattlesnake Jake has an amazing design. From his multi-chambered gatling gun rattle to his sharp jet-black hat, Jake is a terrifying force of nature that pushes the boundaries of PG.

It figures that Rattlesnake Jake is based off one of the greatest Western actors known for his villainous roles, Lee Van Cleef. Though he was sometimes a hero, more often than not, Lee Van Cleef’s characters were antagonists, most famously Angel Eyes from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Rattlesnake Jake’s visage mimics Van Cleef’s striking cat-like face, and black striations on his facial scales even evoke Angel Eyes’ signature pencil mustache.

7

Rango And Bad Bill’s Gunfight

Gives A Nod To Once Upon A Time In The West

After Rango makes an impression on the folk of Dirt during his saloon entrance, it’s not long before he’s forced to put his money where his mouth is as Gila monster and gangster Bad Bill challenges him to a classic Wild West showdown. Of course, the idea of a duel with six-shooters is a time-honored Western tradition, appearing in all sorts of cowboy content. Rango’s first duel is as classic as it gets, at high noon in the middle of a dusty main street in a small frontier town.

But the sound effects of Rango and Bad Bill’s showdown actually bear an even more specific reference. As the two reptiles face each other down, one confident and one terrified, the tension is cranked up by the utter silence with which the town of Dirt watches their standoff. The only sound audible is the lazy creaking of an old windmill, a direct reference to a similar duel at the beginning of the film Once Upon a Time in the West.

6

Rango’s Entrance In The Saloon

Is Similar To Back To The Future 3

Being quite the unconventional Western itself, Rango isn’t afraid to draw comparison to more overlooked Westerns in addition to the classics. A great example is the reference it makes to Back to the Future 3, a rare Westerns sequel to a non-Western film. Though frequently disparaged as the worst of the Back to the Future trilogy, Back to the Future 3 at least clearly has a fan in Gore Verbinski going by the strangely specific way Rango echoes it.

Specifically, the scene in which Rango first makes himself known to the citizens of Dirt in the saloon is strikingly similar to Marty’s meeting of Wild West townsfolk in Back to the Future 3. Both protagonists are strangers that clearly don’t belong, draw the attention of a large group, order a water only to get a seemingly toxic drink, and give a fake name when asked who they are. One desert critter that talks to Rango even sounds like Pat ʙuттram’s character in Back to the Future 3, paying homage to yet another iconic Western actor.

5

Dirt Looks Exactly Like ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood

From The тιтular TV Series

Timothy Olyphant’s presence as the Spirit of the West’s voice isn’t the only nod Rango gives to the beloved Western series ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood. Just like ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood, Rango centers heavily on the welfare of a single town, the frontier settlement called Dirt. At one point, Dirt evokes ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood with a specific sH๏τ iconic to the series overlooking the тιтular town from above.

Towards the beginning of the film, audiences are treated to a view of Dirt from the balcony of a local establishment. This sH๏τ is almost totally identical to an iconic one from ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood, giving a view of the town from character Al Sweargen’s balcony. Just like ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood, Dirt is a largely lawless town that attracts all kinds of scummy elements, but this specific sH๏τ can only be an expertly-crafted homage to the series by Gore Verbinski.

4

The Toad’s Curses Are Cut Off By A Hawk’s Cry

Just Like Tuco’s In The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Above all other influences, Rango clearly holds The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly in particularly high esteem. While “The Good” is represented by Clint Eastwood as the Spirit of the West and “The Bad” is covered by the Lee Van Cleef-looking Rattlesnake Jake, “The Ugly” also gets a far more brief, but obvious reference. Early on in his adventures in the desert, Rango stumbles across an ornery toad whose voice is a ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ringer for the character Tuco, who represents “The Ugly” in Sergio Leone’s masterpiece.

As a surprisingly adult animated film, Rango gets away with some surprising displays of adult-oriented content, from humor that flies over children’s heads to mild swears like “damn” or “hell”. During Rango’s encounter with the desert toad as they both run from a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly bird of prey, the film skirts around PG guidelines by censoring his final curses at Rango, screaming “You son of a-!” before being interrupted by a hawk cry. This is nearly identical to Tuco’s last words in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, similarly censored by fanfare.

3

The Hawk’s Metal Beak Calls To Mind A Metal-Nosed Gunslinger

Lee Marvin’s Character In Cat Ballou

Rango’s initial encounter in the desert with the hawk and toad references more than one iconic Western character. The hawk himself is something of a tertiary antagonist in the film, terrorizing the town of Dirt with his presence before being accidentally felled by Rango’s stray bullet. Though he doesn’t speak, the Hawk seems to take sadistic glee in its predatory attacks on the desert critters of Rango, with even Rattlesnake Jake fearing it.

The hawk’s most striking feature is the elaborate silver prosthetic beak it wears, making its natural weapons all the more intimidating with an artifical enhancement. This calls to mind the character of Tim “Silvernose” Strawn, the main villain from the similarly comedic Western Cat Ballou. Strawn’s nickname comes from the silver prosthesis he wears over his face due to the loss of his nose.

2

Bad Bill’s Gang Has Some Familiar Clothes

Just Like The Gang From For A Few Dollars More

Like most of the film’s other antagonists, Bad Bill and his gang serve as a clear homage to other more famous Westerns in Rango. Specifically, the garb worn by Bad Bill and his cronies bears a striking similarity to the notorious gang from the Sergio Leone film For a Few Dollars More. In particular, one background character in Bill’s gang draws to mind an infamous Western actor.

Amid Bad Bill’s lackeys is a hunchbacked rabbit with a German accent listed in the credits as Kinski. Kinski’s name is a clear reference to the controversial German actor and diagnosed psychopath Klaus Kinski, a notoriously difficult actor to work with, better known for his collaborations with famed documentarian Werner Herzog. However, Kinski also played several villains in Westerns, including the hunchback Juan Wild in For a Few Dollars More.

1

Rango’s New Outfit Makes Him Look Like One Of The Three Amigos

Johnny Depp Is A ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Ringer For Steve Martin

One of the best parts of Rango as a hero is how audaciously he enjoys his false role as the undisputed lawman of Dirt before eventually earning the тιтle for real. While reveling in the praise of Dirt’s townsfolk, Rango enjoys a fitting for some particularly audacious clothes. Specifically, he dons a gregarious all-black outfit with red trim, evoking the image of a Mariachi musician, complete with a mᴀssive upturned sombrero adorned with small red balls dangling from the brim.

This ostentatious and over-the-top outfit is not dissimilar to Steve Martin’s famous wardrobe in Three Amigos. Interestingly enough, Three Amigos also features a story centering on actors who are mistaken for real heroes by the people of a small town being terrorized by bad guys. In that way, the entire plot of Rango is something of a reference to another film, but his brief costume change at the start of the third act solidfies it.