It was far better than I expected.

The story was nearly Pixar quality... nearly.
All the tropes of a great western were there, as were the familiar western stereotypes. The real weakness of the story was caused by the sheer number of characters. Several characters could have been combined to give the story more focus and a stronger final act.

The characters themselves were brilliantly done.
Depp's Rango was a frenetic con-man. The voice acting reminded me a lot of George Cloony who does this kind of character perfectly. I usually think of Depp as an extension of the odd characters he plays, so to say that he is Cloony-esque is actually a compliment to his range as an actor.

Ned Beatty was THE best performance in my opinion. The Mayor was obviously based off James Coburn, both in voice and in character design. Until I remembered that he died, I thought it was him. The strenth of Beatty's performance isn't just that he could imitate Coburn. The Mayor dripped sleaze out of every pore. He was just so much fun to listen to.

Bill Nighy's Rattlesnake Jake was so deadly scary that it was a shame that he didn't have more screen time. Again, his character could have absorbed a couple of other characters easily.

Camera work ranged from "could only be done in a computer" to "iconic western". The shot that stands out in my mind framed rango between broken bottles hanging from strings. It was the kind of obstructed shot that epitomizes the stylistic shooting style that permeated westerns from the mid to late 60s.

Zimmerman did an excellent job of emulating Morricone on the soundtrack. I'm sure many people will assume that it was Ennio Morricone, but the balance between sparse and lush wasn't quite up to his quality.

I'll have to see this one again to judge it more accurately, but...
First impression- 4/5